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Campsites in Palmer and Talkeetna, Alaska
Our Palmer, AK camp on the Matanuska River.
Because I lived in Alaska all my life this wasn’t a typical tourist trip, I’ve seen nearly all of Alaska so I just limited myself to a few things I had missed out on. I had four top priorities: 1) visit with my son who still lives in Anchorage 2) do the Fly-in Bear Viewing and 3) go flight-seeing around Mt. McKinley (commonly and mistakenly called Denali). As you know, I was able to do the bear viewing trip and I was able to get together quite a few times with my son so that only left the flight-seeing trip around McKinley.
This is down-town Palmer looking east to the mountains. Our camp was at the base of that mountain.
Our camp looking back toward the mountains. Because of all the rain we had this was the highest I can remember the river. In fact on our last day here it had rained so much that the river overflowed it’s banks and we had to move up to a higher spot for the night or we couldn’t have gotten out.
Looking across the River from our camp.
Palmer Campsite
Palmer is a very pleasant little town about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Oddly enough, it’s a farming town! I know you don’t associate Alaska with farming but with it’s very long days and plenty of rain it actually has a thriving farm community. Back in the 1930s the Federal government gave farmers some land and paid to get them up here to establish the industry. And it prospered! The State fair is held here in Palmer every September and I can remember coming here many times as a boy and then later with my kids and seeing the 76 pound cabbages, 20 pound carrots, 60 pound zucchini and other truly giant vegetables. With 19 hours of sun very day, things grow big! Palmer is a very pretty little town. It has a 4g internet, a Safeway and Fred Meyer grocery stores and there is a Walmart and Target just 10 miles away in the larger town of Wasilla, Alaska.
Palmer is about 50 miles north of Anchorage.
Our campsite was literally on the edge of the Matanuska River which is truly a wild and beautiful river and was surrounded by tall mountains. We got a decent internet signal. If you are in Alaska, it’s a great place to camp. To get there from Palmer turn south on the Old Glenn Highway and you’ll very soon cross the Matanuska River on a bridge. On the south side of the bridge you’ll see a parking area on the river and that’s the camp site. If it’s not to you’re liking, keep going a few miles on the Old Glenn till you come to the bridge over the Kink River. There is a large gravel bar on the eastern banks of the river that is also open to boondocking. There were probably 50 RVs down on it when we were there.
It doesn’t look like it, but Talkeetna is a major center of transportation in Alaska. 1) Three major rivers meet here and in a state with almost no roads they are a huge source of transport to the bush for trappers and homesteaders. 2) The railroad stops here. In fact it is one of the few “Flagstop” railroads in America. Stand by the track and the train will stop and pick you up. 3) The airport can get supplies out to the bush but mainly it takes climbers and flight-seers to Mt. McKinley.
Talkeetna Campsite
Talkeetna was founded at the turn of the century by gold miners who were searching for gold in Alaska. Later, when the Federal government created the Alaska Railroad that ran from Seward to Anchorage and then on to Fairbanks it became an important stop on it. When climbing Mt. McKinley became popular, it became the airport that all the climbers few from because it was the closest one to both the mountain and to Anchorage. They could fly into Anchorage, take a taxi to the Railroad depot then take the railroad to Talkeetna, jump on a bush plane and go directly to the mountain. All the climbers who try to summit Mt. McKinley pass through Talkeetna because it has a National Park Ranger Station that is the only one that can issue permits to do the climb. (An interesting fact about that is they issue the climbers a human waste container and they have to bring it back full of the good stuff at the end of the climb!). It’s one of the very few Ranger Stations that is open 7 days a week so they can accommodate the climbers.
This is the main street in Talkeetna. Notice people are out on the street.
This is very typical of the town “center” and old building that dates back to the early 1900s that wasn’t built for the buy little tourist town Talkeetna has become. Since the buildings are so small, everything moves outside.
It has kind of a Marti-Gras feeling because people are out wandering or eating outside.
This old log cabin was built by an early trapper in 1902.
It even has it’s own award-winning brew-pub, with a large outside beer garden of course. Both my sons loved Talkeetna. We spread my one sons ashes here.
Bob_
I’d like to photoshop my van over Judy’s…with me in it so I could experience that view in the first pic. Thanks again for sharing your trip/experience with us.
What do most of those people do for income…who live there year round ? Extract whatever they can from the summer tourist and then sit around and play guitar and eat moose jerky all winter…if so then count me in.
Openspaceman, I assume you’re asking about Talkeetna; very few people live there year around. Some work for the Railroad, the state, or a few pilots. Most are retired. I bought a sculpture from a guy who lives there year around and in the winter he carves and in the summer he sells. Lots of trappers in the area, but they don’t live in town, they live in the bush. Lots of people live off subsistence in Alaska. That means they work in the summer and hunt and fish and then they hunker down in the winter and live off unemployment or SS. The mostly eat hunted meat and fish.
Really, it’s not a whole lot different than boondockers except they have a house.
Bob
Bob.
Why McKinley and not Denali
Opa, Denali is the native name for McKinley so many people think it’s name is Denali, but it is not. The tallest mountain in North America is McKinley. As far as I know there is no mountain named Denali.
It’s a common mistake.
Bob
Just to update, the name was officially changed back to Denali in 2015.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali%E2%80%93Mount_McKinley_naming_dispute
Bob: Alaska is a very beautiful and rugged land. Thanks for the pictures. The pictures are very good, but I’ll bet the experience was much better than the pictures can possibly reveal. regards, Dan.
Dan, you’ve got that right!
Bob
While all the scenery in the Alaska pictures is beautiful, I think I would mainly stay out of Talkeetna, spending the nights in the bush nearby if necessary to avoid the tourists and mosquitoes.
Hate to say it but the mosquitos were EVERYwhere! except maybe Anchorage.
The tourists are worse than the skeeters, and I can find repellent for the skeeters.
Calvin, they are both very thick in Alaska!
Bob
Calvin, I agree, it’s worth a visit but not where you want to spend a lot of time.
Bob
A very informative post with plenty of great pictures to back it up, Bob. Talkeetna looks like a charming place to visit. I’ve really been enjoying reading about your adventures!
Thanks Peggy!
Bob
Charming is a good word for it Peggy!
Bob
Great pictures and commentary as usual Bob, thanks for sharing! Really good stuff…
Thanks John!
Bob
All the photos and commentary have been fantastic. It has been a wonderful adventure to read about. I’ll bet that Judy will be happy to leave ‘bear country’. Thank you for sharing this ‘Great Adventure’.
Sameer, you’re right about that! Judy wasn’t fond of bear country!! Now we’ve been in the Tetons for a week and there are signs everywhere warning that this is bear country! But we are leaving here soon so we’re okay. Be seeing you in a few months.
Bob
I’m taking notes: pictures, maps and info with a personal touch. Fantastic.
Judy, thanks for mosquito info. Did the repellent on you and your clothing work well?
Swade, we tended to just stay inside when they were really bad. It rained a lot so half the time we were inside to get out of the rain and when they were terrible we just stayed inside as well.
Bob
I hate to see your Alaska adventure come to an end. I really look forward to the post and pictures. I have enjoyed the whole trip.
Linda, I don’t know, some people are getting tied of the constant barrage of Alaska. It seems like a good balance, plenty of Alaska but now it’s time to bring it to an end. But I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Bob
It’s nice to see pictures of alaska that you don’t see on tv or general pictures or greeting cards. The only reason I recognize the names of small towns in alaska is from a tv show about a family that owns one of the airlines in alaska.
Douglas, g;ad top be of some help showing you another side of Alaska!
Bob
Bob, are those rivers and lakes pretty cold? Or could someone used to somewhat cold water take a nice dip on a warmer day? We have mountain creeks here that average some very low temperatures, but I actually go swimming in them anyway and am not bothered by the cold. I suppose I am used to it. Curious if I would be okay in some of the colder regions.
Myddy, There is a lot of silt in the river water. Maybe 1/4 inch of silt will collect in a gal of river water left standing overnight. Also the rivers we camped beside were Very fast flowing w/ misc logs/branches floating by as well. I wasn’t tempted to dip my toes into them!
Yes, it is very cold! The Matanuska River flows from the Matanuska Glacier which is about 50 miles away. When it comes off the glacier, it is 32.5 degrees, just warm enough to shift from ice to water. It warms up by the time it gets here, but not much.
It is also extremely silty. Over the thousands of years of the glaciers life it grinds along and rips the mountains around it to pieces. The rocks it tears off get ground up by the tremendous weight of the glacier and then as it melts the silt it’s carrying is carried into the river with it. You would not want to get that water in your eyes!!!!
Bob
Beautiful pictures and wonderful posts on your Alaska trip. I know you and Judy will have many wonderful memories. Thank you for taking us along for the ride.
Thank you Jan!
Bob