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List
of Alaska State Parks
Afognak
Island State Park
The park is known for its rugged topography, dense
old-growth Sitka spruce forests, and salmon spawning habitat. Kodiak brown
bear, Sitka black-tailed deer, Roosevelt elk, and the endangered marbled
murrelet inhabit the park. Visitors can fish, hunt, hike, or just enjoy
the pristine environment. Afognak Island State Park is accessible by air
or by water. Cabins in Afognak Island State Park can only be reached via
air, several air charters provide float plane service to Afognak Island
from either Kodiak or Homer.
Baranof
Castle Hill State Historic Site
Commonly referred to as Castle Hill, Baranof
Castle Hill State Historic Site is one of the most historically significant
sites in Alaska. Tlingit natives originally inhabited this area and built
a strategic fortification at this site. Between 1804-1867 Russians occupied
this site. In 1867, on top of Castle Hill, Alaska was officially transferred
from Russia to the United States.
Bettles
Bay State Marine Park
The park is an excellent anchorage, well-protected
from winds and with a good soft holding bottom. Bettles Bay State Marine
Park affords views of the scenic Bettles Glacier. The uplands consists
of old growth forest.
Big
Bear/Baby Bear State Marine Park
Access to this park is primarily by boat and the park
remains undeveloped with no visitor facilities.
Big
Delta State Historical Park
Located 8 miles north of Delta Junction at Mile
274.5 of the Richardson Highway. Big Delta State Historical Park, Take
a walk back into time! The Delta Historical Society maintains a museum
in a sod-roofed cabin, the artifacts in the museum, dating from 1900 to
1950, were collected from local people, artifacts include blacksmith tools,
horse tack, dog harnesses and sleds, many household items and much more.
There is also a display of historic photographs.
Birch
Lake State Recreational Site
The lake is popular with fishers, jet-skiers,
and water skiers in the summer, and with snowmachiners and ice fishers
in the winter. At Birch Lake State Recreation Site there is excellent
fishing all year for stocked species: rainbow trout, king and silver salmon,
grayling, and arctic char. Ice fishing huts are available for rent.
Boswell
Bay State Marine Park
Located on the eastern tip of Hinchinbrook Island.
Boswell Bay State Marine Park southern edge of the park is a high-energy
beach exposed to the Gulf of Alaska. Beach combing and hunting are popular.
Buskin
River State Recreation Site
Borders the Buskin River and is near the state
airport. The Buskin River State Recereation Site is one of the most productive
fisheries on the Kodiak road system. Visitors from around the world visit
this river to fish for sockeye and coho salmon.
Caines
Head State Recreation Area
Scenic site of an abandoned World War II Fort
McGilvray, can be reached by boat or foot from Seward. Caines Head State
Recreation Area, visitors are invited to explore the remains of Fort McGilvray,
the South Beach Garrison and the many natural attractions of this 6,000
acre state recreation area.
Canoe
Passage State Marine Park
Located on Hawkins Island eight miles west of
Cordova. The majority of Hawkins Island is private land.
Captain
Cook State Recreation Area
Can be reached by driving 25 miles north of
Kenai on the North Kenai Road to milepost 36. Captain Cook State Recreation
Area offers a variety of recreation activities, from canoeing and boating
on Stormy Lake to beach combing on Cook Inlet’s tide-swept shores. Anglers
may enjoy fishing for rainbow trout and silver salmon in Swanson River
as well as rainbows and arctic char in Stormy Lake. Wildlife you may see
during your visit includes moose, bear, coyote, wolves, Beluga whales,
harbor seals, beaver, muskrat, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, trumpeter
swans, arctic and common loons, golden-eye ducks, mergansers, thrushes,
warblers, and jays, Captain Cook State Recreation Area is virtually undiscovered
by most visitors to the Kenai Peninsula.
Chena
River State Recreational Area
397 square miles of forests, rivers, and alpine
tundra. Chena River State Recreation Area offers hiking and rock-climbing
at Granite Tors, you can harness up the dog team, or perhaps ride a 4-wheeler
along a forest trail. The park follows the Chena River, a clear flowing,
class I-II river ideal for kayaking, canoeing, or fishing for the abundant
arctic grayling. Chena Hot Springs Road parallels the river, providing
boaters and anglers many entry and exit points.
Chena
River State Recreational Site
Chena River State Recreation Site (also known
as Chena Wayside) is located in Fairbanks on University Avenue. Campsites
and picnic sites, as well as the restrooms, drinking water, and shelter,
are ADA accessible.
Chilkat
Islands State Marine Park
6,560-acre park is a group of islands just south
of Chilkat State Park. It is 13 air miles south of Haines.
Chilkat
State Park
Located seven miles south of Haines on Mud Bay
Road. Incredible views of Chilkat Inlet and Rainbow and Davidson glaciers.
The center also has wildlife spotting scopes so you can spot the inlet
wildlife, such as seals, porpoises, and whales.
Chilkoot
Lake State Recreation Site
Located ten miles northeast of Haines. Chilkoot Lake
State Recreation Site and surrounding area offers some of the best salmon
fishing in Southeast Alaska, with four salmon runs, starting in mid-June
and ending in mid-October.
Chugach
State Park
At the foothills at Anchorage Alaska lies the
third largest state park in America. Chugach State Park half-million acres
of some of the most accessible hiking, skiing, camping, wildlife viewing,
snowmachining, rafting, and climbing in Alaska, include clear blue waters
at Eklutna Lake, Eagle River, or Bird Creek.
Clearwater
State Recreational Site
Clearwater River provide excellent fishing opportunities
for Arctic Grayling, whitefish, and salmon. Clearwater State Recreation
Site is reached by turning onto Clearwater Road of the Alaska Highway,
or by turning onto Jack Warren Road on Richardson Highway.
Decision
Point State Marine Park
Located at the eastern end of Passage Canal
approximately eight miles from Whittier. Decision Point State Marine Park
is generally used by kayakers and small boat users, as there is no adequate
anchorage. Along with forested uplands of spruce and hemlock, there are
two excellent camping beaches. Intertidal life on the rocks at Decision
Point may be viewed during minus tides
Deep
Creek State Recreation Area
The halibut and king salmon runs at Deep Creek
are legendary. Deep Creek State Recreation Area is located at mile 137.3
of the Sterling Highway near Ninilchik. It is adjacent to the shores of
Cook Inlet with excellent scenic views of Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Redoubt.
Razor Clams: The beaches from Clam Gulch to Ninilchik are the most popular
areas for digging razor clams in Alaska.
Delta
State Recreation Site
Located in Delta Junction at mile 267 of the
Richardson Hwy. Popular campground for those traveling between Tok and
Fairbanks. On a clear day one of the tallest mountains of the Alaska Range,
Mt. Hayes with an elevation of 13,832 feet, can be viewed from the park.
Denali
State Park
Located about 100 air miles north of Anchorage
and is divided roughly in half by the George Parks Highway, the major
road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Denali State Park's 325,240
acres, provide the visitor with a great variety of recreational opportunities,
ranging from roadside camping to wilderness exploration. Denali State
Park has superb vantage points for viewing the breathtaking heart of the
Alaska Range. From the alpine tundra of Curry Ridge to the river bottoms
of the meandering Tokositna River, Denali State Park varied landscape
is home to a diverse array of wildlife, and all five species of Pacific
salmon spawn within the waters of the park and share the streams with
rainbow trout, arctic grayling, and Dolly Varden. Small numbers of lake
trout inhabit Byers, Spink, and Lucy Lakes. Burbot and whitefish can also
be found in Byers Lake.
Donnelly
Creek State Recreation Site
32 miles south of Delta Junction at mile 238
of the Richardson Highway. Donnelly Creek State Recreation Site located
on the braided Delta River, with views of some of the tallest peaks of
the Alaska Range.
Driftwood
Bay State Marine Park
Located along the southwest coast of Day Harbor
to the east of Resurrection Bay, a twenty-three mile boat ride from Seward.
Driftwood Bay State Marine Park the largest of the area's marine parks
at 1,480 acres, offers excellent mountain views and wildlife viewing opportunities.
Eagle
Trail State Recreation Site
16 miles south of Tok at mile 109.5 of the Tok
Cut-Off Highway. Historical features of the campground include the Valdez-Eagle
Trail, the Old Slana Highway, and the Washington-Alaska Military Cable
and Telephone System (WAMCATS).
Entry
Cove State Marine Park
Located two miles directly east of Decision
Point on the northeast corner where Passage Canal and Port Wells meet.
Entry Cove State Marine Park is used by larger groups of kayakers. The
lagoon is a good site for clamming.
Ft
Abercrombie State Historical Park
The historic ruins of a World War II coastal
defense installation coupled with the steep surf-pounded cliffs, spruce
forests, wildflower meadows, and a lake offer the public a unique opportunity
to learn of the events of World War II while enjoying the natural beauty
of the park.
Granite
Bay State Marine Park
Located on the northwest corner of Esther Island
about 25 miles from Whittier. Granite Bay State Marine Park includes two
bays, protective islands, muskeg and old growth forest uplands. Many lakes
and ponds dot the uplands.
Halibut
Point State Recreation Site
Located along the ocean four miles north of
downtown Sitka, Halibut Point State Recreation Site is a popular day use
recreation area. The ocean beach offers people a chance to beach comb
and explore the inter-tidal zone.
Harding
Lake State Recreation Area
45 miles south of Fairbanks on the Richardson
Highway. A boat launch facility gives access to the lake for those having
canoes, motorized boats, jet skis or other watercraft.
Horseshoe
Bay State Marine Park
Horseshoe Bay on Latouche Island is located
three miles northeast of the new town of Chenega Bay. Horseshoe Bay State
Marine Park bay is one of the only anchorages left with public uplands
in this area of the sound.
Independence
Mine State Historical Park
GOLD! discovered just southeast of Anchorage
in 1886. From there prospectors spread into the Susitna and Matanuska
river basins, testing the creeks in the nearby mountains. Gold scattered
in quartz veins throughout the granite in the Talkeetna Mountains. What
is now called Independence Mine was once two mines: The Alaska Free Gold
(Martin) Mine on Skyscraper Mountain, and Independence Mine on Granite
Mountain. In 1938 the two were bought together under one company, In 1974,
Independence Mine was entered into the National Register of Historic Places,
Independence Mine State Historical Park.
Jack
Bay State Marine Park
Located 15 miles from Valdez, southeast of Valdez
Narrows. The uplands of the park consist of alder, muskeg, salt marsh
and old growth forest of spruce and hemlock.
Johnson
Lake State Recreation Area
332 acre area surrounding Johnson Lake.
Kachemak
Bay & Wilderness State Park
Alaska’s first state park, and only wilderness
park, contains roughly 400,000 acres. Kachemak Bay is a critical habitat
area, supporting many species of marine life. Visitors frequently observe
sea otters, seals, porpoise and whales. Skiers and hikers will find glaciers
and snowfields stretching for miles. Kachemak Bay State Park and State
Wilderness Park attractions include Grewingk Glacier, Poot Peak, China
Poot Bay, Halibut Cove Lagoon, Humpy Creek, and China Poot (Leisure) Lake.
Kasilof
River State Recreation Site
Located fifteen miles south of Soldotna along
the Sterling Highway on the Kenai Peninsula. People have lived on the
Kenai Peninsula for over 8,000 years. The land and waters provide plentiful
fish, especially salmon, and game. Russian traders built Fort George near
the mouth of the Kasilof River in 1786. located in a wooded setting along
the Kasilof River, adjacent to the Sterling Highway bridge. Kasilof River
SRS is a popular put-in and take-out spot for drift fishing on the Kasilof
River.
Kayak
Island State Marine Park
Kayak Island lies in the Gulf of Alaska some
50 miles southeast of Cordova. Kayak Island State Marine Park is famed
for being the site where the first European, Georg Steller, set foot in
Alaska on July 1741.
Lower
Chatanika State Recreation Area
570-acre recreation area near mile 11 of the
Elliott Highway.
Magoun
Islands State Marine Park
Located near Krestof Sound, approximately 12
miles northwest of Sitka. Access to Magoun
Islands State Marine Park is primarily by boat and the park remains undeveloped
with no visitor facilities. Attractions at this marine park include protected
island sheltered bays with opportunities for camping, hunting, fishing,
exploring, and beach combing.
Moon
Lake State Recreation Site
Located 15 miles northwest of Tok, Moon Lake
State Recreation Site offers a variety of water recreation opportunities.
Mosquito
Lake State Recreation Site
27 miles northwest of Haines off the Haines
Highway.
quiet campground of 5 sites is nestled next to Mosquito Lake, in a Sitka
spruce and Western hemlock forest.
Nancy
Lake State Recreation Area
Ninety-minute drive north of Anchorage along
the Parks Highway. Nancy Lake State Recreation Area is scoured by massive
glaciers, which once covered it. When the ice retreated some 9,000 years
ago, it left a rolling landscape of elongated glacial deposits, called
drumlins, dotted with hundreds of lakes and ponds. Two prehistoric village
sites have been identified just outside the recreation area.
Ninilchik
State Recreation Area
Located on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula,
about 40 miles south of Soldotna. Ninilchik State Recreation Area, Three
separate state park campgrounds comprise the Ninilchik State Recreation
Area, Ninilchik View, Ninilchik Beach and Ninilchik campground.
Pasagshak
River Recreation Site
Alaska sport fishing destination through-out
the summer. Ninilchik State Recreation Area is considered one of the outstanding
sport fishing streams on Kodiak Island, angling annually for Dolly Varden,
sockeye, pink, chum, and silver salmon.
Point
Bridge State Park
Forty
miles north of Juneau. Point Bridget State Park gold was found north of
Berners Bay and east of Point Bridget. Point Bridget was named in 1794
by Captain Vancouver.
Portage
Cove State Recreation Site
Sits on the water's edge near downtown Haines.
Quartz
Lake Recreation Area
Ten miles north of Delta Junction and is reached
by a three-mile road at mile 277.8 of the Richardson Hwy. Quartz Lake
State Recreation Area, 600 acre park which often attracts large crowds
due to the variety of recreational opportunities available.
Resurrection
Bay State Marine Parks
Five State Marine Parks (SMP), accessible only
by boat, stretch along the eastern side of Resurrection Bay and around
Cape Resurrection to Day Harbor.
Safety
Cove State Marine Park
Features
a three acre fresh water lake. The cobble beach at the cove’s head provides
a reliable kayak or small boat haulout spot. Safety Cove State Marine
Park is located along the western side of Day Harbor to the east of Resurrection
Bay.
Sandspit
Point State Marine Park
Also know as Fox Island Spit. Sandspit Point SMP lies at the north end
of Fox Island.
Sawmill
Bay State Marine Park
Sealion
Cove State Marine Park
Offers more adventurous people an opportunity
to explore a remote sandy beach on the Gulf of Alaska. This park is located
on the north end of Kruzof Island, approximately 25 miles northwest of
Sitka.
Security
Bay State Marine Park
Located on the north end of Kuiu Island. Security
Bay State Marine Park provides safe haven anchorage for vessels in an
area of large open water. The nearest village is Kake, about twenty miles
to the east. There is a historic native site is in the park.
Shoup
Bay State Marine Park
Shuyak
Island State Park
Located 54 air miles north of Kodiak, Alaska.
Shuyak Island's compact dimensions measure 12 miles long and 11 miles
wide, but contain more sheltered interior waterways than anywhere in the
Kodiak Archipelago. Shuyak Island State Park comprises most of the island's
47,000 acres.
South
Esther Island State Marine Park
This marine park is located on the southern
end of Esther Island, including Lake and Quillian Bays. Lake Bay houses
one of the world's largest fish hatcheries, facility offers tours to visitors
free of charge.
Stariski
State Recreation Site
Sullivan
Island State Marine Park
South of Chilkat Island SMP and 20 air miles south of Haines.
This 2,720-acre park sits at the south end of Sullivan Island.
Summit
Lake State Recreation Site
Sunny
Cove State Marine Park
Fourteen miles south of Seward at the south
end of Fox Island (Renard Island) in Resurrection Bay. The cove faces
west, providing a good view of Callisto Head, Bear Glacier and Kenai Fjords
National Park. Sunny Cove State Marine Park is popular as an anchorage
for sailboats and power boats.
Surprise
Cove State Marine Park
Thumb
Cove State Marine Park
720 acres, with a long beach of sand. Thumb
Cove State Marine Park has a geologic feature towering above the park,
Porcupine Glacier. Thumb Cove State Marine Park is located
approximately nine miles south of Seward on the east side of Resurrection
Bay.
Tok
River State Recreation Site
Totem
Bight State Historical Park
The villages and totem poles left behind were
soon overgrown by forests and eroded by weather. In 1938 the U.S. Forest
Services began a program aimed at salvaging and reconstructing these large
cedar monuments. The Clan House, A community house or clanhouse housed
30 to 50 people, the dwelling served as living quarters for several families
of a particular lineage. Totems, skillfully carved by artists in Southeast
Alaska, reflect these resources with symbolic characters carved on totem
poles and on the community house at Totem Bight State Historical Park.
Totem poles were not worshipped, they were silent storytellers. There
was no written language. The rich resources of this area enabled the people
who lived here to have the leisure time necessary to develop their art.
Upper
Chatanika State Recreation Site
Wickersham
State Historic Site
Consists of the home of Alaska's
Pioneer Judge, James Wickersham Built in 1898 and listed on the National
Register of Historic Places
Wood-Tikchik
State Park
Is the largest state park in the nation, at
1.6 million acres. There are two separate large, interconnected lakes.
Fishing for all five species of Pacific salmon - king, sockeye (red),
pink, silver, and chum - spawn in the Wood River and Tikchik systems.
Freshwater fishing for rainbow trout, grayling, lake trout, arctic char,
dolly varden, and northern pike is popular throughout the area.
Ziegler
Cove State Marine Park
Located on of northern side at the mouth of
Pigot Bay 18 miles from Whittier. A protected anchorage with good-holding
bottom.
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