Alaska's Yukon River Wilderness Arc is formed by the bend in the Yukon River at Fort Yukon. It has a quasi baseline running from Healy with the Denali National Park and Preserve on the southwest end, up the George Parks Highway through Nenana and Ester, with nearby Gold Hill, to Fairbanks. The baseline continues up the Steese Highway through Fox and past the Chatanika Lodge to Central and Circle City with the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve on the northeast end.
From Central you can continue further northeast to Circle City on the Yukon River, or east to Nugget Gulch and the Circle Hot Springs.
Out of Fairbanks there are branches to North Pole and Chena Hot Springs, and, from Fox, north to Livengood and the Yukon River. From Livengood you can head west to Manley Hot Springs.
Our "center" or base point is Gold Hill between Fairbanks and Ester on the George Parks Highway.
Gold Hill, named after the Gold Hill Mine, is not the geometrical center of the arc. But with Gold Hill Alaska--a one-stop-shop for specialty Alaskan wines, beers, meads and unique gifts--on one side of the highway and the Blue Loon--a theatre club--on the other, it
We will focus on two aspects of the arc: (1.) the vast area the arc covers with its sparse population; and (2.) the people who live here. We won't cover everything or everybody. We can't. We will concentrate on examples we come across of people who survive and thrive in the north country. In this way we hope to interest you in taking the time to learn more about Interior Alaska in person, and to keep learning and experiencing it's way of life throughout the rest of yours. Like fine wine or loving marriage, only the commitment of time can create the otherwise unattainable.
