Cantwell to Paxson Lake Campground

The Denali Highway (8) is 135 miles long, of which around 100 miles is dirt road. The Denali Highway is easily the most difficult road we’ve been on yet. The scenery was gorgeous and the landscape changed drastically from  one end to the other, from forest to alpine meadow with hundreds of small lakes and ponds. At about the halfway point the road began to be heavily washboarded, which at the 20 to 30 mph we like to travel when looking for wildlife was pretty jarring. After a few hours of getting bounced around, we finally sped up which is the only way we know of to smooth out a washboard road. Not our style, but when in Rome do as the Romans do. Washboarding is caused by driving too fast on dirt roads. The speed limit signs were all 50 mph.

We got skunked on large game, and the only wildlife we saw were ducks, rabbits and a few ratty looking squirrels.

At the far end of the Denali Highway is the community of Paxson just North of Paxson Lake. We found a great campsite in the Paxson Lake Campground with 3 bars LTE cellular service for $6 a night. We paid in advance for two well deserved nights of rest.

the Alaska Range from the Denali Hioghway (8)

VanGo on the Denali Highway

ducks and ducklings

Alaska Range from the Denali Highway

Now children please stay together

Alaska Range from the Denali Highway

green-winged teals ?

muskrat lodge

Crazy Notch, a glacial moraine

red-breasted merganser

greater scaup & young

upper Crazy Notch, a glacial moraine

one ratty looking squirrel

Maclaren Summit sign, elevation 4086 feet msl

VanGo, and DR at the Paxson Lake Campground

And just for fun, here we are crossing the Susitna River.