McCarthy, Mining town in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.
McCarthy is a former mining settlement in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area, now a small town within Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The place sits along the Kennicott River at roughly 1400 feet (430 meters) elevation and consists mainly of weathered wooden buildings arranged along a single unpaved main road.
The settlement emerged in the early 1900s as a supply hub for the Kennecott copper mine, drawing workers, merchants, and business owners from across the territory. When the mine closed in 1938, nearly all residents left, and it took decades before the community slowly revived through tourism and the establishment of the surrounding national park.
Life here now revolves around serving visitors to the wilderness, after the old copper mines shut down and the settlement reinvented itself as a gateway to the backcountry. During the brief stretch of mild weather each year, when the light returns and bush planes can land reliably, climbers and backpackers pass through to stock up before heading deeper into the mountains.
Reaching the place involves driving roughly 60 miles (100 kilometers) along the McCarthy Road from Chitina, a narrow and unpaved route with long sections beyond cell coverage. The road ends at a footbridge over the river, and from there you walk or take a shuttle the last mile (1.6 kilometers) into the settlement.
In winter the resident population can drop to fewer than ten people, when nearly all shops and lodges close and the settlement disappears beneath the snow. During summer the number swells with visitors, seasonal workers, and returning locals, transforming the atmosphere completely.
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