The Wild Beauty Of the Tangle Lakes Country

One hundred miles south of Fairbanks, the magnificent Alaska Range arcs through Interior Alaska. In the southern foothills of the range, the Denali Highway, a two-lane gravel road built in part on the backs of glacial moraines, winds its way for 125 miles from the tiny hamlet of Paxson in the east to Cantwell at its western terminus.

Trumpeter Swans Photo © Myron Wright

It is a rugged glaciated land with sweeping views of glaciers, tundra meadows, and alpine lakes. Grizzlies, moose, caribou and wolves are plentiful. Abundant creeks, rivers, and tundra ponds attract waterfowl like Trumpeter Swans, Harlequin ducks and dippers. Above tundra meadows golden eagles, gyrfalcons and long-tailed jaegers soar. In the spring and summer the tundra is awash with wildflowers – replaced in the late summer and fall with blueberries and lingonberries.

Photo © Myron Wright

In the heart of this stunning country are the Tangle Lakes - a chain of pristine alpine lakes. Called simply the Tangles by Alaskans, this north-south trending lake system is easily accessed by the Denali Highway. The lakes are long and irregular in shape, with crooked fingers and coves. The Tangles are renowned for their fishing and boating opportunities – and they are the put-in for boaters embarking on a float of the Delta Wild and Scenic River.

Locally known as the Denali Country, Tangles and the lands from Paxson west to the Maclaren River are favorite destinations for Alaskans and visitors alike. The most accessible wild lands in Alaska, the Denali offers something for everyone; snow machining, skiing, dog mushing, hiking, boating, fishing, hunting, biking, berry picking, birding and trapping.