Strelna

The McCarthy Road is a nearly 60-mile dirt road that picks up where the Edgerton Highway ends in Chitina.

We’d heard many-a horror story about driving the road. We’d also heard from others who regretted not driving the road to get from Chitina to McCarthy. So, we did our research.

Several locals said the road had undergone maintenance work in 2020 and was in decent shape. The Wrangell-St Elias National Park rangers didn’t blink an eye when we said we planned to drive the road in our 28-foot motorhome and asked them about recent road conditions. Alrighty then ... let’s do this. Leaving the toad behind at the Chitina Airstrip, we got on the road.

Sure, there were bumps and washboards and frost heaves along the way. But indeed the road wasn’t too bad. Especially the first 18 miles or so after cresting the hill outside of Chitina. Certainly Nabesna road was worse as were sections of the Steese Highway and Denali Highway.

We took five hours to do the 60-mile drive. Not just because slow and easy is the name of the game on a road like the McCarthy, but also because we made stops along the way and did two short walks as well. And we did have to trail behind a lynx for a little while because it was walking along the side of the road like it owned it. Well, of course it did.

So, we’re definitely of the opinion that the road is doable ... the scenery along the way well worth the time and effort to drive the McCarthy Road. But, road conditions change fast and anyone who plains to drive the McCarthy need to do their research first.Read more