The View from US Creek Road

One of my favorite hiking areas near Fairbanks is barely known to people outside. It’s not riddled with majestic peaks or glaciers, rarely do I spot bears, there are only a couple roads that pass by the outskirts, and not much for food or tourist activities. To really see the area, you need to hike, ski, bike, ATV, snowmachine, or dogsled, or boat. This is the White Mountains National Recreation Area. Mostly composed of rolling hills dotted with a few tors and peaks of limestone or granite and some smaller creeks or rivers.

This photo was taken along US Creek Road off the Steese Highway, providing access to Nome Creek, Ophir Creek, and Beaver Creek National Wild River. I often compare it to the better known White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. The two areas are roughly the same size, except Alaska’s version has no roads going through it, no tourist traps, and far, far fewer people. In winter, there are 250 miles of groomed ski trails and public use cabins. It’s gorgeous country to get away in.

I’ll soon be writing some hiking guides to some of these locations. I’m compiling an online guide to hiking and travel in the state of Alaska. As of this writing, I have 6.5 guides posted, 25 in draft, and about 50 planned. I hope to have most of these up by summer. I have some exciting plans to make browsing by location, type of activity, and difficulty once some more content is up. Please check out the page and let me know what you think!