20250717 – McCarthy and the Kennecott Mine NHS

We camped by one of the old railroad bridges. The Kennecott company brought the supplies into the Kennecott mine and hauled the ore out. This campsite was about 10 miles in on the McCarthy Road. People talk about this road being extremely rough, but it seemed to be in fairly good condition. For anyone who has driven the Mojave Trail this one’s butter smooth.

I didn’t do as much research as I should have on McCarthy and the mine, so when we arrived, everything to the town is blocked off. I probably could have driven across the bridge that had a sign that stated “private no trespassing”, as it is owned by the town, since there is camping on the other side. But instead, I just opted for the $35 primitive campground that sits next to the glacier lake. It is definitely beautiful out here, with the Kennecott glacier and towering peaks in the background.

To get to the town there is a bus service, five dollars each way to get up to the Kennecott mine. Since you can’t drive in, and the walk is about 5 miles one way, a dollar a mile doesn’t seem to be that bad of a deal. Plus, dogs are allowed in the park, and in the town, and ride free on the bus, so we took them along.

I have wanted to visit this park for quite some time, and the Kennecott mine was the number one on my list. It is the most preserved early 1900s copper mine in the United States and in 1998 it was designated a national historic site. The town as well as the US government and some private entities are doing their best to rebuild and maintain the structures in this very harsh environment. The mine itself operated from the early 1900s until 1937 and produced $100 million in profits over that time. There is so much behind the mine that you can’t see, including the thousands of miles of tunnels that followed the veins through the mountain. It is truly impressive what humans can create. This is one of those typical mining towns where the company owned everything, and provided schools, recreation sites, stores, dining, and everything that miners would need to complete the difficult work that they signed up for.

Fortunately we didn’t have to walk the 10 miles, but the dogs were definitely pooped by the time we got back. Up at the mine there’s a creek that runs through the site that the pups had a chance to get some water and do a little swimming to cool off. It’s definitely not 110° like home, but it’s 78° and full sunshine, they can feel hot.

We decided to stop in town, the town of McCarthy, and have a beverage and some curly fries at a restaurant called The Potato. We continued on through town and checked out the Mercantile and viewed a couple of other restaurants. The old town is definitely quirky, beautiful, and falling apart in places. But more people are coming here and rebuilding and it’s kind of a neat place.

The campground is set at the end of the glacier. We were sitting on the shore watching the lake and heard rocks crumbling and falling into the lake. It’s definitely an interesting sound. After doing some research and reading a bunch of information about the glacier, it turns out all of those piles of dirt out there are actually remnants of the glacier they have melted, and are actually still part of the glacier. Underneath all that rock (debris carved for 10,000 years from the mountain) is still a big frozen hunk of ice. What we are seeing is the normal life of a glacier melting and falling into the lake. The lake actually drains off of one side into the river, which itself is impressive in size. I had looked into hiking to the glacier, but after watching all the people yesterday that we’re coming back, the 4 mile trek is very rough terrain, and definitely not suited for our pups. (People were coming back soiled up and returning clip on ice treads). The pups definitely didn’t like the bus ride, they certainly wouldn’t like that hike. We’ll see some glaciers in the pass above Valdez, and in Valdez as well.

The truck has decided to heal itself, and we’re gonna take it and offer some thanks and praise for God taking care of us. Today will only be 175 miles to Valdez, but due to the roads, it will take about five hours.

here are some additional photos from the day. https://www.overlandadventureexcursions.com/photos-albums/nggallery/album/20250717-mccarthy-and-the-kennecott-mine