Lake ClarkNational Parkand Preserve
Lake Clark National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior
Lake Clark National ParkLake Clark National PreserveAlaska
Set between the Aleut-ian and Alaska ranges,the Chigmit Mountainsdivide the park interior
Hikers and backpackersmust be well-equippedand self-sufficient forsafe backcountry travel.
The outlet of LowerTwin Lake flows intothe Chilikadrotna River,one of the three
Dall sheep haunt alpineridges and meadowsand steep, rocky slopesin the park. It takes
The Dena'ina peoplehave lived around LakeClark for at least 900years. Many residents
Wild, Spectacular Scenic Diversity
flowing southwest toward Bristol Bay. The area supports a variety of largeland mammals including Dall sheep, caribou, moose, wolves, and blackand brown bears. Lake Clark stretches 40 miles, and its watershed pro-vides critical spawning and rearing habitats for sockeye salmon and sus-tains the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, one of the world’s largest sockeyesalmon fisheries.
The park and preserve beckon anglers, wildlife viewers, river runners,campers, backpackers, and mountaineers. Anglers find world-class fishingfor rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, lake trout, northern pike, and arctic gray-ling. River runners raft or kayak the Tlikakila, Mulchatna, or Chilikadrotnanational wild rivers. Campers and backpackers explore high tundra valleys,foothills, and secluded lakeshores in the park’s wilderness areas, and someof America’s most remote, rugged peaks challenge mountaineers.
East of the Chigmits, Cook Inlet features shallow bays, rocky headlands,and many offshore reefs populated by marine mammals—harbor seals,Steller sea lions, sea otters, harbor porpoises, and beluga whales. Fromthe Chigmits’ eastern flank, rivers rush to tidewater through coastal
rainforests of Sitka and white spruce. En route these rivers createmarshes and outwash plains—prime habitat for bald eagles, diversemigratory birds, and resident waterfowl. In spring, brown bears feed insedge meadows of estuaries, where salt and fresh waters mix, and insummer catch salmon in streams and rivers flowing into Cook Inlet.Coastal cliffs hold not only fossil remnants of 150 million years of sealife but provide habitat for peregrine falcons and rookeries for puffins,cormorants, kittiwakes, and other seabirds.
This richly diverse region has been a homeland for Native Alaskan peo-ples for centuries, with Dena'ina Athabascan sites throughout today’spark and preserve, and areas of Yup'ik occupation along the southernpart of Iliamna Lake. Many Dena'ina people living near Lake Clark todayhave roots at Kijik, a national historic landmark and archeological dis-trict. It once supported a large, multi-village community. Kijik, from theDena'ina, Qizhjeh, means “a place where people gathered.”
The 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) cre-ated 10 new National Park System areas, including Lake Clark National
Park and Preserve. ANILCA gives rural Alaska residents priority for sub-sistence uses of fish and wildlife on federal public lands. Residents ofNondalton, Iliamna, Lime Village, Newhalen, Pedro Bay, and PortAlsworth, and people living in the park, continue to engage in subsis-tence hunting, fishing, and gathering activities inside the park and pre-serve under state and federal regulations. These communities and thearea inside the park are designated resident zone communities becausetheir residents have a long history of using resources in the park fortheir sustenance and livelihood.
In ANILCA, Congress also designated more than 2.4 million acres of thepark as wilderness to preserve the area’s natural conditions and wilder-ness character in perpetuity as part of the National Wilderness Preserva-tion System.
ices. Several remote cab-ins throughout the parkare staffed in summerto help backcountrytravelers. The fieldheadquarters also offersdetailed area informa-tion, topographic maps,park guides, and lists ofaccommodations andlocal services.
The administrativeoffice is at 240 WestFifth Ave., Anchorage,AK 99501; 907-644-3626. There is also afield office at 2181Kachemak Dr., Homer,AK 99603.
Lake Clark NationalPark and PreserveGeneral DeliveryPort Alsworth, AK 99653907-781-2218www.nps.gov/lacl
There are more than380 parks in the Nation-al Park System. To learnmore about parks andNational Park Serviceprograms in America’scommunities, pleasevisit www.nps. gov.
The vast undevelopedareas of the park (2.6million acres) and pre-serve (1.4 million acres)include rugged moun-tains, active volcanoes,dramatic glaciers, wildrivers and scenic lakes,boreal forests, openexpanses of tundra,and jagged coastlines.
For most activities youmust either be wellequipped and self-suffi-cient when you arriveor make advancearrangements with aguide, outfitter, orlodge operator. Airservices based in PortAlsworth, Anchorage,Kenai, and Homer offerdrop-off services, flight-
seeing, and day tripsfor fly-in fishing andviewing bears andother wildlife..A system of hiking trailsbegins in Port Alsworthand provides access toTanalian Mountain,Tanalian Falls, and Kon-trashibuna Lake for dayhikes and short back-packing trips. There areno other developedtrails. Mountainousareas are steep, rugged,and subject to inclem-ent weather all year.Lowlands can be boggy,wet, and dotted withdense thickets of alderand willow scrub. Toexplore backcountry,consider backpacking in
the western foothills,for travel on open andrelatively dry tundra.
Three national wildrivers—Tlikakila, Chi-likadrotna and Mulchat-na—provide opportuni-ties for float trips andsport fishing. Sport fish-ing is allowed in boththe park and preserve.The preserve is open tosport hunting underState of Alaska regula-tions. The park is closedto sport hunting.
Note: Winter travel isrecommended only forpeople experiencedwith cold-weathercamping and survivaltechniques.
Temperatures on thepark’s east side nearCook Inlet averagebetween 50° and 65°Ffrom June throughAugust with heavy pre-cipitation. The park’sinterior—west of theChigmit Mountains—iswarmer and drier insummer with tempera-tures reaching 80°F.
Frost and snow canoccur in September andOctober—anticipatefrost even in mid-sum-mer. March and earlyApril are best for cross-country skiing, snowpermitting. From mid-April to late May thaw-ing streams and lakesmake all travel difficult
and dangerous. Strongwinds can occur at anytime and may be severein and near mountainpasses. Winter tempera-tures in the interior canfall to -40°F or lower.
You should know andtest your gear beforeyou arrive and possessbackcountry skills forwildness survival. Filter,chemically treat, or boilall drinking water. Leavean itinerary with some-one before you headout and notify themwhen you completeyour trip.
Brown and black bears,moose, caribou, wolves,and other animals are
wild and not used tohumans. Stay at a safedistance and do notapproach closely. Getinformation on wildlifeencounters at the visitorcenter in Port Alsworthand be familiar with itbefore starting your trip.
Note: Many local resi-dents live a subsistenceway of life and manytracts of private land arein the park and preserve.These parcels are notopen to public use with-out land owner permis-sion. Please be courteousand respect privateproperty.
Guides, Outfitting, and SuppliesAccess and Information
Dynamic forces of fire and ice have shaped Lake Clark National Park andPreserve. Over many millennia glaciers gouged and shaped new landformscreated by volcanic eruptions and uplifts of Earth’s crust. These contrastingforces are still active today—as glaciers shroud the shoulders of the park’simposing and potentially active volcanoes, Redoubt (10,197 ft) and Iliamna (10,016 ft), on the Cook Inlet coast.
Lake Clark National Park’s nearly 2.6 million acres include the rugged Chig-mit Mountains bounded by the Aleutian Range to the south and the Alas-ka Range to the north. Relentless grinding of tectonic plates, uplift, earth-quakes, and glacial scraping, scouring, and mounding created the Chig-mits’ awesome, jagged array of peaks. The national preserve encompassesmore than 1.4 million acres and adjoins the park to the south and west,with rolling foothills, boreal forests, alpine lakes, wild rivers, and sweep-ing expanses of tundra. The varied topography of the park and preservecreates habitats for a diverse mix of plants and animals.
On their west side the Chigmits descend via tundra-covered foothills toboreal forest and include spectacular wilderness with lakes and wild rivers
The Lake Clark water-shed is critical spawn-ing and rearing habitatfor sockeye salmon.
Top photo: Fishing on Lake Clark ©GEORGE WUERTHNER
ALL OTHER PHOTOS NPS EXCEPT BIVY BAG ©MARK MEYER
Lake Clark NationalPark and Preserve is noton the road system.Access is primarily bysmall aircraft. Sched-uled commercial flightsbetween Anchorageand Port Alsworth pro-vide direct access, andflights from Anchorageto Nondalton andIliamna put you nearthe park. Air charterservices in Anchorage,Port Alsworth, Kenai, and Homer provide access to remote areas of the park.
The field headquartersand visitor center inPort Alsworth providevisitor information andbasic emergency serv-
from Cook Inlet. High-est of Chigmits peaks is10,197-foot RedoubtVolcano.
national wild rivers inthe national park andpreserve.
about eight years for aram to grow its circularhorns, characteristic ofits species.
Sockeye spawn in sum-mer and fall in rivers,streams and upwellingareas on the lakeshore.
Few places sell equip-ment and supplies inthe park. Stores in Non-dalton and Iliamna—airaccess only—sell limitedfoodstuffs and gear.Plan to outfit in Kenai,Homer, or Anchorageand bring adequatefood and gear so youare self-sufficient andprepared for changingweather and potentialemergencies.
Merchants in Nondal-ton, Iliamna, and PortAlsworth and lodges onLake Clark and theCook Inlet coast offerrooms, cabins, meals,and guide and outfitterservices. These servicesare limited, so make
your arrangements wellin advance. Some airand boat charter opera-tors also provide guidesand rental equipment—contact 907-781-2218 ornps.gov/akso/concessionsfor a list of licensedoperators.
You are generally onyour own and depen-dent on your ownresources here. Bringhigh-quality clothingand gear: synthetic pileand wind-proof outer-wear, thermal under-wear, rain gear, andtents able to withstandstrong winds with rainflies and mosquito net-ting. Insect repellentand sunscreen are high-
ly recommended. Allfood, toiletries, andgarbage should be car-ried and stored in bearresistant containers.These may be checkedout at the visitor centerin Port Alsworth. Carryemergency food rationsbecause bad weathercan delay your sched-uled pick-up.
Do not use the map inthis brochure for back-packing or navigation.U.S. Geological Surveytopographic maps thatcover the park and pre-serve are: Lime Hills,Lake Clark, Iliamna,Kenai, Seldovia, andTyonek.
What to See and Do Weather, Precautions, and Safety
of the region descendfrom Dena'ina peoplewho settled and livedin the Kijik area.
✩GPO:2006—320-369/00xxx Reprint 2006Printed on recycled paper.
The park offers excep-tional opportunities toexperience the remote-ness of wild Alaska.
