Talkeetna
Area: 41.6 square miles
Population: 772 (2000 census)
County: Matanuska-Susit
Talkeetna's main street is a glance into the past. The friendly citizens of this northern community mean it when they say "Welcome to beautiful downtown Talkeetna". There is a picnic area at the end of Main Street where you will often find the locals relaxing.
Talkeetna is the base for many of the climbing expeditions that challenge Mt. McKinley in the summer, so it is not unusual to find a number of international visitors walking these quiet streets.
Things To Do
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Places to Stay
A museum in The Little Red Schoolhouse, built in 1917. Local art, old books, and historical items are on display. Near Main Street. They house a scale model of Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley).
There is good fishing in the area, and several riverboat services offer raft and riverboat trips as well as drop-off camps for fishing and hunting.
Talkeetna's inns and lodges are open year-round for the winter dog sled races, cross-country skiing on maintained trails, and the annual Talkeetna Cross Country Ski Race which draws contestants and spectators from Anchorage and other areas of the state.
On the 2nd weekend of July, the Historical Society sponsors the Annual Moose Dropping Festival, a fun time with games, food booths, parade, barbecue and a moose dropping throwing contest.
History
Talkeetna was established as a mining town and trading post before either Wasilla or Anchorage existed. Several of its old log buildings are historical landmarks. The Talkeetna and Chulitna Rivers join the Susitna River at Talkeetna and the town reportedly takes its name from an Indian word meaning "where the rivers join".
Information/Emergency
Talkeetna/Denali Visitor Center at the Parks Highway and the Spur Road.
www.talkeetnachamber.org
Information Kiosk on the overlook with brochures and maps of town and mountains.
Talkeetna Historical Society at the Little Red School House Museum one block off Main Street.
National Parks Service 907-733-2521 and Mt. McKinley Information Center, at the end of Main Street.
Emergency only 911: State Troopers 733-2556.
Propane/Water/Dump
Three Rivers Tesoro, downtown Talkeetna. Gas, propane and water. 733-2621. Laundry, convenience store, pay phone, ATM machine and Art Gallery.
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