Alaska's Mostly Abandoned Town Feels Frozen In Time Within America's Largest National Park

There's remote and then there's McCarthy. The tiny historic town sits deep in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, which at 13.2 million acres, is the largest national park in the United States. Located more than 300 miles east of Anchorage, the nearest service town is Glennallen, around 127 miles away. You could say getting to McCarthy is an adventure in itself, especially as the last 60 miles are essentially a gravel track. But if you're willing to go the distance, you'll find yourself in the vast and beautiful Alaskan wilderness, surrounded by some of the country's highest mountains, immense glaciers, and thick spruce forests teeming with wildlife.

A former mining town, McCarthy was established in the early 1900s as a kind of rough-and-ready sister town to the nearby Kennicott. When copper was discovered in the area, wealthy investors formed the Kennecott Copper Corporation (an unintentional spelling mistake), which soon became one of the richest copper mines in the world. Because alcohol and gambling were prohibited in Kennicott, McCarthy became the go-to entertainment center, where saloons, hotels, and brothels appeared, as well as a school and hospital.

A railroad was built to transport the copper to the nearest port town of Cordova, and McCarthy thrived for more than 30 years. But all good things must come to an end, and in 1938, the mines closed, leaving both Kennicott and McCarthy almost abandoned. As of the 2020 census, there were just over 100 people living in and around McCarthy, with that population growing during the summer season.

If you're driving to McCarthy, be aware that some car rental companies prohibit travel on McCarthy Road because of frequent punctures caused by old railway spikes and lack of roadside assistance. The road takes you over the impressive 238-foot high Kuskalana River Bridge. Take a moment to admire the view over the rapids of the Kuskalana River as it roars through the gorge. Otherwise, McCarthy has its own airstrip with flights from Anchorage, Chitina, and Glennallen.

When you arrive, you'll need to leave your vehicle in the parking lot and walk or take the shuttle the final mile into town. You'll find several interesting buildings, including the McCarthy-Kennecott Historical Museum, which although small, has an excellent collection of photographs and documents from the town's former glory days. Ma Johnson's Historical Hotel provides somewhere for you to lay your head for the night. The quaintly decorated and memorabilia filled rooms are limited and best booked in advance.

Next door, the Salmon & Bear Restaurant serves up locally sourced Alaskan cuisine paired with award-winning wines. You can also pop into the Golden Saloon for comfort food and live entertainment. Continue up into Kennicott to explore the Kennecott Mines, either by hiking the four-mile Wagon Road Trail or as part of a tour. If you are on foot, remember you're in the heart of bear country, and one of the things you should never do when visiting Alaska is underestimate the wildlife. Black bears are a fairly common sight so make sure you've brushed up on your bear safety skills and have your bear spray handy. Due to the harsh Alaskan winters, where temperatures can plummet to -55°F, most businesses in McCarthy are only open during summer, so plan your visit between May and September.

As fascinating as the town of McCarthy is, the trails, glacier hikes, flightseeing tours, backpacking, and packrafting in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (one of Alaska's must see places for first time visitors) are calling. Although it would take a lifetime to explore a park roughly six times the size of Yellowstone, most of these activities begin in either McCarthy or Kennicott, so you can start with some of the hikes in the immediate area.

The challenging 13-mile McCarthy Creek Trail is an out-and-back trail that follows the creek bed from McCarthy up to the river. If the water levels aren't too high, you can cross the river and go through an old mining tunnel. Not solely for hiking, some of the trails are accessible by bike, such as the Wagon Road Trail between McCarthy and Kennicott. If you haven't got room for your own bike, you can rent one in McCarthy. The Root Glacier Trail is a more reasonable 5.7-mile hike, also accessible from the Wagon Road Trail. It takes you over rocky glacial moraines before reaching the edge of Root Glacier. 

Because of the unpredictable nature of glaciers, many visitors book a guided glacier hike with St Elias Alpine Guides or Kennicott Wilderness Guides. They organize everything from ice climbs and ice cave exploration up to multi-day camping trips. They also organize packrafting too. Paddle through rapids and look out for moose, bears, and bald eagles in areas so remote, they can only be explored by river. To complete your Alaskan adventure, combine the packrafting trip with a flightseeing tour back into McCarthy for unforgettable views over America's Last Frontier.