Maybe it only gets 23,000 people a year because of a lack of infrastructure and accommodation.
New Zealand gets the same amount of tourists a year as our total population, five million people. We're also lucky to have the Queens Chain that gives the public access to all rivers, lakes, and seashore. What they need is more backpackers accommodation and motor camps for people to stay in at the lower priced end, and one or two high class hotels for all the rich people to stay in.
Distance doesn't put people off travelling as is evidenced by the number of tourists being the same number as our total population.
I was raised in Lake Clark in the early 80s and 90s. My dad was the chief ranger and chief pilot for Lake Clark National Park for 27 years. This park is a hidden gem that the world should know about and protect. More awareness need to be placed on this park before Its too late and the worlds largest pit mine is placed just miles away, called Pebble Mine!
If you go fly with Lake Clark Air!
6
Sounds wonderful. Humans have messed up big portions of this planet.
Please leave places like this alone.
PLEASE.
No pic of the dogs? What’s up with that?
2
Hordes of mosquitoes maybe.
1
I assume the 'hordes' are the 99%.A tad hypocritical, don't you think for the NYTimes while it's villifying of the 1%, who are those who can fly the family in to an Alaskan Preserve for a holiday.
6
Hordes more people now after this expose - it makes one despair of everlovin' 'travel writers' and their endless search for hidden, precious, hasn't-been-trammeled-to-death-yet beautiful natural places. So what if its millions of acres large - in the end, more promotion & shouting from the house tops always harms. See what you do.
4
Another overlooked set of natural gems: Wilderness Areas. If you are ready to hike a few miles with your beds and food on your back, there’s a lot of land set aside for our mutual enjoyment. Just remember to leave only footprints, and take only memories (and your trash, if you please).
7
@Alan Bucknam I can't count how many times a wilderness location has become "known" and been trashed shortly thereafter by people who simply do not understand the "do no harm" concept. I have cleaned up after "green" and "eco-conscious" campers, and put out their abandoned fires, too many times to not cringe every time some travel writer extols the wonders of some remote wilderness. Yes, there are responsible greens who pack out all they pack in and are properly careful with fire, but too many talk the talk while being lazy and self-absorbed.
4
Hi, awesome piece! Thanks. One slight correction to offer, Proenneke was mostly there by himself, but there's a number of tracking shots from land with him in canoe on water or even walking around. cheers.
Steve
2
My wife and I label all these kinds of NYTimes articles as "The Kiss of Death." We can't go there anymore.
10
Will you PLEASE STOP THIS SERIES!!!!! Our recent visits to the National Parks we so treasure (nearly annual for decades) have been pretty well ruined by the hordes of tourists, mostly foreign, and mostly seeming concerned only with selfies. We had to body block my elderly mother to keep her from being knocked off the rim of the Grand Canyon! The NPS website let’s us find all our National Parks. Please stop advertising for the ones that are not known to the world’s travel agents! Plus, the story about the one lesser known Park that I do happen to know was filled with errors of fact. I’m in favor of most aspects of globalism, but not this one.
15
I’m always curious who “hordes” refers to. Who counts as one of the “hordes” and who counts as not one of the hordes? Are the non-hordes more derserving human beings for whose appreciation the most refined should be preseved sheltered from the hordes?
6
@Astewai Hordes are the people who see you stopped on the side of the road and decide to stop because they assume there is something interesting to see, when it reality you're just trying to eat lunch in peace. Yellowstone is terrible this time of year. Go and you'll understand everyone is part of the 'horde'
1
Best trip I ever took was a ferry from Bellingham, WA to Ketchikan, AL and then a float plane to a remote cabin on a lake in the national forest (Tongass, I believe). Spent two nights on the ferry (36 hour trip total) sleeping on the back deck under the heated solarium, waking up to mountains passing me by, and drinking in the bar on the ferry. Followed that up with 5 days at the cabin with no one but my traveling companions - fishing, hiking, chopping wood, reading, and taking baths in the alpine lake. Doesn’t get much better than that!
3
Lovely article and especially the photos. It is like you can just reach out and touch the mountaintops. sigh ...
There are many places like this in Canada (a whole city where you can only get there by plane at the moment - Churchill, Manitoba).
There is also pretty much the entire country of Norway (roughly on the same latitude) where it is their way of life to have the ability to walk, hike, bike and so on anywhere in the country (outside of the cities and villages)
There are innumerable little cabins where the cost is nothing. (again. it is a way of life for Norwegians) You essentially can put a tent up anywhere. (even on private land)
Of course the dichotomy is that as the glaciers recede there is more land that is accessible.
5
What a great photograph by Christopher Miller! Thanks
National parks have two principal purposes -- preserving the land and making it accessible to ordinary Americans. This park is remote and inaccessible. So it really does not meet the purposes of a national park. Apparently, nobody cares that this is not a bona fide national park. But you have to wonder why the federal government owns the land. Absent a bona fide federal purpose, the park should rightfully belong to the state of Alaska to administer as it sees fit.
2
@michjas: Sorry, but this land, and all of Alaska, was FEDERAL government land for 100 years before the State of Alaska existed. If not for FEDERAL government money, the white folks there would be speaking Russian.
The "give it 'back' to the states" movement translates, in plain English, to "We want to sell it off to our cronies, who will then destroy it, or reserve it for the rich".
15
Great article. Thanks for pointing out a diamond lode to the miners.
1
Outing these gems in your paper is not helping them.
40
@Quinn Mclaughlin Aren't National Parks there for everyone to enjoy?
8
Spent a few days at Lake Clark a few years ago. Solitude plus is a major bonus. Be prepared for quiet. Also, if going during the version of Alaska summer, take a lot of bug dope and netting. In June, I have been overrun with bugs, then in September seen none. Go and enjoy all the parks.
9
I agree about feeding wildlife .. but a few seeds to a chicadee. Relax!
3
I really enjoyed this article. Thanks for sharing your experience.
4
@neal Thanks for reading the piece--and your comment.
Great piece, but stop running these until 21 Jan 2020. It's really provides a blueprint for the next gvt sponsored desecration of America.
28
Oh well. I was going to go there to get away from it all. I guess I'll have some company now.
7
@Chris Nah. Just one group at a time in the cabin. So you're golden if you go that route. And even if you go backpacking, you'll still find plenty of space just for you and your thoughts.
2
Be careful of what you say about the National Parks and Public Lands of America. Trump may sell them to the highest bidder.
27
I agree with one comment that it should be called a preserve, not a park, and be out of bounds for the public. We need wild open spaces to exist for their own sake, which means for the sake of humanity.
15
An FYI, in the US National Park System, preserves are areas managed by NPS but within which activities like hunting are allowed. Several of our national park units here in AK have preserves adjacent to them. And as for human use, keep in mind that there were non-European humans here for tens of thousands of years, using the areas within what are now parks and preserves (and national wildlife refuges, forests, monuments, etc.) without trashing them. In the eyes of humans living a subsistence lifestyle, the concept of "wild open spaces [that] exist for their own sake" is a rather Eurocentric, modern construct. While I love wilderness and believe in setting aside special places to preserve them from consumptive resource extraction uses, I also think it's possible for humans to continue to utilize their renewable resources (fish, game, berries) and to visit them for their own sake without the need to place the areas off-limits to everyone. Come visit Alaska, talk to some Alaska Natives, and keep your mind open to the different ways different cultures view the concept of land and resource ownership.
5
Lotta salt for such a beautiful article.
6
It is fantastic to hear of such secret places of nature. It doesn't matter that they difficult to visit. This is good. So keep it remote.
4
I fear highlighting these secret national parks will merely draw attention to land that can be parsed, sold, drilled. These are dangerous times.
17
Spent a few days in Lake Clark a few years ago, hiking and just taking it easy. One has to get used to the quiet. A lovely place to visit and hike in. Found the menu they had a bit much for my taste but to each his own.
Enjoy the parks and preserves and see as many as you can.
4
I'm glad to see the beauty and value of our National Parks being spotlighted here. We are facing a retirement crisis among national park workers--a large number will be retiring in the next few years & it is a discouraging and demoralizing time to be a federal worker of any kind. The best & the brightest of our young people have little motivation to go into public service caring for our public lands beyond their own idealism.
My son has spent years dedicating himself to working towards being a wildlife biologist for the NPS, including working for free three summer seasons in a row. He won many scholarships and awards while in college and could have gone into finance or tech as many bright students do. But he chose public service and doing the work he loves.
There is no security working for the NPS right now. My son has only ever been able to get a seasonal job. When he applied to jobs out West & received some interview calls, suddenly there was a federal hiring freeze on & he had to give up on federal work for that season. Now with the current resident of the white house's pardoning of domestic terrorists convicted of committing arson on federal land, & leniency granted to armed militia members who took over public land in Oregon, there is basically a target painted on the back of every federal worker in the NPS.
So please, keep the spotlight on the NPS. It's our land--we the people--& we need to cultivate the next generation of stewards to preserve our public lands.
89
Why call it a park? It’s a preserve. It is okay to preserve places by not enabling many visitors, but it’s a farce to call it a park.
19
@Name I don't see your logic. How is this not a park? The National Park Service maintains and services the park, and as such, then it's by definition is a park. Even with the difficulity of access for most visitors.
4
@Name, what do you mean when you say "by not enabling many visitors"? Are you saying that NPS should somehow find a way to build hundreds of miles of road from Anchorage, with its international airport, across Cook Inlet and then through a mountain range with active volcanoes and numerous glaciers in order to "enable" more visitors to this area? Or that the agency should subsidize air fares so more people can get to Port Alsworth? You don't need a permit to visit Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. NPS is not rationing access, but nor is it responsible for the fact it's harder to get to Lake Clark than it is to visit Grant's Tomb (AKA General Grant National Memorial). And you seem to be implying that national preserves are more strongly protected than parks, when in fact the opposite is true.
3
@Name It is a unit of the National Park Service, so it's generically called a "park" it's not a farce, it indicates the set of laws and policies that govern its conservation status.
1
People should never feed wildlife, which you encourage by posting a photo of people feeding wildlife. The cumulative contribution of tourists feeding wildlife can shift the balance of a delicate ecology.
22
And now that the secret is out, how long until these places are trashed? That's been my experience with beautiful natural spots that get 'discovered' by those looking to get off the beaten path.
19
And I hope it stays that way. Remote and inaccessible. Save it for my children and grandchildren.
19
@Urmyonlyhopebi1
Who will never, ever go there.
1
If this intrigued you (but you know you’ll never go someplace that remote), you can read about Dick Proenneke’s experience building his cabin in a book called “One Man’s Wilderness,” written by his longtime friend Sam Keith and based on Proenneke’s journals. There’s also another Sam Keith Alaska book, “First Wilderness”— both great reads for those of us living in the Lower 48.
8
@Brian Lies
Thanks! love to read journals of people living in this way.
These remote parks are as usual described as areas to be found. But they are really areas not to be found. With only one cabin and given the cost of getting to that cabin and the demands placed on the visitor once getting to the cabin of bringing in and taking out all the necessities of life this is by its nature and design meant to be restrictive.
If you are not rich and do not have time or the physical capabilities then forget it. That means most American whether they want to visit the park or not are never going to be able to visit the park.
It is a national park meant to be enjoyed by most Americans vicariously through the writings, pictures and videos of those who either are paid to visit the park by their publishers and producers or by a public or private scientific grant.
16
@James
"Pack it in, pack it out" is the rule in most National Parks, away from the "developed" areas, and lots of state parks, too. Just basic outdoors etiquette, and respect for the land.
1
I was a bit annoyed by the author's insistence on clarifying that the angling her traveling companion would be doing was "catch and release," as if that mode of fishing were morally superior. In fact, it's worse. You are toying with a living creature for sport. The least you could do is sanctify the torture you put it through by gutting it, cooking it, and eating it, especially if, like the author and her companion, you appear not to be vegetarian (if the shrimp paella is any indication), anyway.
In Switzerland, where I live, catch and release is generally prohibited. You are required to keep the fish you catch. The law is unenforceable, obviously, but I like the idea behind it.
59
@Luder Absolutely. The data is that a third of the fish that are subjected to the torture of "catch and release" end up dying of injury or infection. How would you like someone to put a hook through your lip, play around with you for awhile, and then pull the hook out and leave you to go without medical treatment or pain medication, to die slowly and unnecessarily.
What is it with humans who torture animals for sport? Ugh.
21
@Earthling Don't get me wrong. I enjoy fishing, including, alas, catch and release. I just wouldn't mention catch and release and expect to be commended for my enlightened mode of angling.
We really need to keep humans out of at least a few areas on this planet so as not to disrupt other species - who need to live undisturbed.
36
It is the height of irresponsibility to show a photograph of the reporter feeding wildlife ("A black-capped chickadee got a seed from a visitor in Lake Clark National Park, Christopher Miller) in a national news story advertising one of the nation's less-known national parks. The wilderness is not a petting zoo. Ironic as in the same article, the author takes pains to detail the "pack it in, pack it out, leave no trace" ethos of Alaska's wilderness. It is never OK to feed wild animals, particularly in an area as pristine and unspoiled as Lake Clark. Please be a responsible steward of our public lands by not encouraging visitors to feed wildlife.
43
Hi -- I'm the the writer. Just to clarify: that is not my hand in the photo. The photographer went in separately. I'll share your concern with my editor.
32
@RJC Sorry, but I find the concern overblown. "Feeding the wild animals"? We're talking about a chickadee. Unlike a bear or other mammal, what danger does it present to humans? As for danger to the bird--seriously? It's hardly likely to become habituated to being hand fed and give up searching for seeds on its own. I hate the phrase "virtue signaling," but this truly seems like an example of it. Unless, perhaps , you can point out exactly what the problem is.
8
@RJC This picture was probably taken at Twin Lakes at Dicks Proenekkes cabin where he fed them daily for nearly thirty years. While I agree with you totally. I hope that puts it into context.
Incredible!
2
Can the author or another reader identify the inflatable kayaks?
It's a packraft. Alpacka is the primary maker. They weigh less than 10 pounds (including pump and paddle).
3
Port Alsworth has a population of around 200. People live there all year and they own dogs. Also, Karelian bear dogs are bred to keep bears away.
1
Hi -- The photographer used the packrafts. My guess is that they're from Alpackaraft. I rented kayaks for my trip out there.
2
Some years ago I bicycled through part of Denali Park, pre-season with NPS permission. I remember having that same "I don't want to leave" feeling. I left, though, but the memories never will.
11
We visited Lake Clark for a day. Flew in as the authors did, on a float plane. For me, nervous flyer, a terrifying experience; but even I could appreciate the gorgeous scenery on the way in. The lake is beautiful, and we took a boat tour out on it for a couple of hours and saw many bears along the shore, some in the act of plucking fish from the lake. So that was very cool. The rest of the day, we watched the rain pour steadily down in sheets and shivered in the chilly air (it was August) and waited for our flight back to Anchorage. I'd recommend a visit, but the weather can veer from lovely to unpleasant on any given day.
2
Terrific series on our lesser known national parks. I enjoyed the Great Basin article, too, a place that I managed to visit in April 1999 when it was still too snowy up high to reach the bristlecone pines. I've dreamed of visiting Lake Clark for even longer, but despite living in Anchorage for a year in the '90s never made it there.
I hope this series conveys to readers that majestic and unique natural areas can be found practically all over our country with a modicum of time and effort. There's no reason to fight the crowds at the overly popular locations when so much of Ma Nature's abundance is quietly waiting for reverent and respectful visitors.
And it's not just obscure national parks waiting to be discovered. Much of our National Forest system, with its designated Wilderness, Scenic, and Recreation areas, along with all manner of other federal public lands (e.g., national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management lands), are equally peaceful, inviting and rewarding.
And of course we repay the gifts from this priceless American heritage and birthright by defending these places from all would-be plunderers, (including, alas, our own federal government), who unfortunately are feeling their oats these days.
13
All of the images depicted here were fair weather photos, making it seem more than idyllic. Alaska has weather and lots of it. Prepare to get wet and cold. Getting socked in due to rain, wind and fog is common, for days at a time. Sometimes no flights. And no mention of mosquitoes, the state bird of AK. Then there's the bears. Be prepared for anything.
35
This is a comment about Great Basin NP. It has one of the highest and most beautiful campgrounds I have ever seen with a spectacular view of the nearby shear mountain range that rivals anything in Yosemite. It is very remote but located in the middle of the Nevada Basin and Range area which is itself intensely beautiful high desert country. The desert mountains and valleys are stunning, particularly at dawn and dusk. An area that demands artistic attention.
6
Surprised by mention of the dog. Dogs attract bears/
9
We're big on dogs here in AK, bears and all. I rarely go hiking without my own pup. Good recall is important here.
4
22 years ago I was lucky to spend a summer volunteering at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. I was stationed on the Lower Lake of glacier-fed Twin Lakes, a 1/2-hour flight from Port Allsworth. Dick Proennecke, age 85, was my nearest neighbor several miles away on Upper Lake. A de facto Park Service ranger, he had a walkie talkie, and we touched base each morning. He was a kind and intelligent man, and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with him and eating his “Lake Clark Special”- a sandwich of sourdough flapjacks, raw onion, peanut butter, and honey (surprisingly delicious!). John Denver did a fly-by once and visited Dick- they were friends. We had few visitors to that part of the park- some day-trip fishing groups, some starting out on a river trip, and some staying at the grandfathered-in private rental cabins on Upper Lake. An absolutely magical place, so glad to see it profiled here.
11
Don't let Zinke find out about this place, he'll sell it.
50
Beautifully written, beautiful photos. I've been to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve several times. It is stunning. I recommend a trip to Turquoise or Twin Lakes via floatplane or a trip to the park coastline of Cook Inlet at Chinita Bay for brown bear viewing. Put in on your Bucket List!!
FYI, the proposed Pebble Mine is located just outside the park boundary near (in?) the headwaters of the world's largest salmon fishery mentioned in the second paragraph. It is highly controversial and could threaten this salmon fishery.
37
I've been there once, backpacking (at age 66) between Turquoise and Twin Lakes, ending at the Proenneke cabin. Its a beautiful place, and truly is wild. The pictures with the article are very typical of scenes at the level of the lakes. Higher up, you see more icy mountains, streams that are only crossable in the deltas into the lakes, giant talus fields, giant flower strewn fields, and very very giant grizzly bears, but no trails or trees at all.
The attraction of this park is the remoteness. While is it beautiful, the honest statement is that its really no different than many places in the lower 48 were before development.
8
Its not unnatural at all ... Proenneke did, and you can still see them at his cabin.
1
This was in fact a reply to Nick Economidis' post on stoves, etc. I have no idea why it is here!
Too used to Boy Scout camp food to understand your menu. But what a beautiful place.
5
Ha! I promise: a totally doable menu (though I am also fond of hot dogs and other easier camping fare). When at cabins, I like to add in cooking that takes a bit more time so it becomes as much an activity--important during AK's bad weather stints--as it is an energy booster.
4
It feels, to me, unnatural to carry "cookware, stoves and even a collapsible kitchen sink" into a place as remote and natural as this. It is as if you want the beauty of the pure Alaska wilderness with the convenience of urban living.
If you return to AK, I will challenge you to prepare your meals with basic utensils with reasonable local ingredients. Preparing a delicious meal with basic materials seems like the hallmark of a true "backcountry cook."
In any event, thank you for the introduction to such a beautiful location.
12
I don't feel it is unnatural at all. Carrying in (and out) cookware and stoves is often the most environmentally responsible option to keep these places natural and beautiful. This has become increasingly true in recent years as Alaska has become a tinderbox.
10
Nick,
I would contend that a "natural" trip to this remote and fabulously beautiful NP is one which takes in all the beauty, leaves it basically untouched and unspoiled, and respects everything that is required to keep it that way, i.e. the environment.
5
Thanks but I live in Alaska. Cooking while camping at a cabin is, for me, part of the fun. On my first backpacking trip in AK, before I lived here, a friend cooked some wonderfully fresh meals in the backcountry and it felt much better than the dehydrated meals so many people rely on. And our kit wasn't all that big and most were very light: nothing you couldn't bring backpacking too.
5
The glaciers are shrinking, and our precious parks and wild places are being taken away by a president and his cronies who want to eliminate wild places for personal profit.
In 20 years of cruising in Alaska and BC on our own boat we have seen much that that has been lost forever. There is no more ice in Icy Bay.
Bristol Bay is about to be ruined by gold mining.
Go now! Then come back and work hard to save what’s left.
85
They say our natural parks are for all to enjoy ... all of the rich people. We must protect them ... from the natives who might otherwise live there as they had for tens of thousands of years.
45
Do you actually know any Alaska Natives? ANILCA passed by Congress in 1980 recognizes the rights for subsistence use of natural resources in national parks. Subsistence users have meaningful participation in management decisions through commissions. The traditional way of life is singled out as an important part of protecting the ecosystem.
15
@John
Between all the Federal and State public lands, and other designated areas, there are plenty of places to enjoy that don't require one to be rich. The 'expensive' part is generally getting to the state of the park/refuge you want to visit. Once in Alaska, many of the National Parks are accessible by road. Federal lands also serve the purpose of preserving intact natural ecosystems. If few people are able to visit, they still serve a tremendous purpose.
8
Magic.
9
Truly is magical.
3
Beautiful but one question. Any issue with bugs?
10
As a born-and-raised (but transplanted) Minnesotan, I laughed out loud at this question! Thank you for reminding me of home.
3
You made me feel it! For a second there, I considered a vacation off the grid -- no cappuccinos, no internet, no people, no restaurants. Nothing! And then I went, "Nah. But that sure was a great piece." Keep going on adventures, and keep writing about them -- for us, the faint of heart.
5
The bugs are usually smaller than a Cessna, but rarely travel solo. Take bug spray and face netting, and wear long sleeves and long trousers.
7
Two hundred pounds of gear for a long weekend?! I pray you never go backpacking...
12
It's AK, where if you have any sense you're prepared for the worst.
19
That includes their boats, packs, food, gear. They weren't backpacking.
5
I promise: my backpacking load is much smaller. A trip like this is, to some degree, more like car camping (by plane and boat).
3
Simply gorgeous.
5
It is precious to have such places in today's world.
They aren't a gift. People worked hard to establish them.
And people must work just as hard to protect them in their pristine condition.
103
If this article tickles your fantasy be sure to watch Richard Proenneke's documentaries about his decades of living alone in the cabin he built. There are many scenes portraying the beautiful area as the seasons change, featuring the local wild residents who became his only companions.
27
A beautiful and rare national treasure that will become an even more valuable resource in the future. Unspoiled beauty and inspiration on a sublime scale for future generations in a world destined to become even more overcrowded and overly commercialized.
15