McCarthy Road, Remote dirt road in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
McCarthy Road is a 59-mile gravel route that winds from Chitina to the remote town of McCarthy through untamed terrain. It follows an old railway bed bordered by mountains and flowing rivers.
The route began in 1909 as a railway line built to carry copper ore from Kennecott mines toward Cordova. Mining operations stopped in 1938, but the track bed remained and became a road.
The road crosses lands where Athabascan people established traditional hunting and fishing grounds near the Copper and Chitina Rivers. Visitors can still sense the connection of the land to these historical practices today.
Travelers should plan for at least two hours in each direction to navigate the gravel surface. Emergency supplies are essential since no services exist along the way.
The Kuskulana Bridge spans about 240 feet above the water and was constructed in winter 1910 using steel girders. The structure rests on metamorphic bedrock, a remarkable engineering feat in Alaska's harsh environment.
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