Alaska's parks

Lake Clark National Park

Hikers, kayakers find the going scenic west of Cook Inlet

Alaska.com

This park on the Alaska Peninsula includes mountains from the Alaska and Aleutian ranges, and two of its 10,000-foot volcanoes -- Iliamna and Redoubt -- can be seen from Anchorage. Iliamna steams and fumes; Redoubt blew in 1989 and 1990.

Like Katmai National Park and Preserve, its neighbor to the south, Lake Clark National Park covers 6,250 square miles, or 4 million acres, bordering Cook Inlet west of the Kenai Peninsula.

Wildlife includes brown and black bears, caribou, moose and wolves. Just south of the park, inland seals live in Lake Iliamna, which at 1,150 square miles is the state's largest lake.

Access

Transportation to this wild area is by often by floatplane from Anchorage, Homer or Kenai, which is a relatively short hop away over Cook Inlet. Only one road even approaches the preserve, an old dirt road between the Inlet with Lake Iliamna; you'd have to fly or take a boat just to get to the road.

Air travel from Anchorage can be arranged to nearby Iliamna, Dillingham and King Salmon.

Activities

Hiking and mountain climbing are virtually unrestricted in the park, and there's only a ranger station at Port Alsworth on Lake Clark to represent the Park Service. Fishing is permitted.

Three of the park's rivers -- the Chilikadrotna, the Mulchatna and the Tlikakila -- are national wild and scenic rivers that have stretches of Class I-III white water and rapids.

Camping

Campers virtually have the run of the park but are encouraged to avoid bear trails.