Petersville Road

We just jumped in the truck today and went exploring.  The highway was really busy with weekend traffic and there were many fishing.  We decided to go down a back road called Petersville Road.  The first 10 miles was paved, but then it turned into a gravel road.  There were dozens of pickup trucks along the side of the road with trailers that were carrying 4-wheelers.  The road was scenic, but parts of it were in really bad shape.  I was driving about 10 miles per hour the whole way.  There was no Internet access, so we couldn't check what was ahead of us.  After about the 22 mile marker we decided to turn around and go back to the main highway.

After we got back to the campground I read up on the road and became very disappointed that we didn't travel further.  Petersville Road is known as the "other" road to Denali, the southern gateway to Denali and the road less traveled. It's a rugged mining road that was built in the 1920s and designed for true explorers of Alaska who wished to discover the backcountry on their own terms. At about mile 26, the road passes through the long-abandoned mining camp of Petersville.  At Mile 28-30, the Peters Creek Canyon, a one-lane road hugs one side of a deep gorge with waterfalls all around.  They say that views of the Alaska Range complete the picture.  I was considering going back tomorrow to drive the road again, but I'm not sure my truck agrees.  The following pictures are from Petersville Road.