Activities in Steese Highway
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Eagle Summit Trail
Eagle Summit, 3624ft in elevation, has a parking area for the second trailhead of the Pinnell Mountain Trail. A climb of less than a mile leads to the mountaintop, the highest point along the Steese Hwy and a place where the midnight sun can be observed skimming the horizon around the summer solstice. On a clear day, summiting here can feel like ascending to heaven. The peak is also near a caribou migration route.
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Gold Dredge No 8 tours
Off the old Steese Hwy at Mile 10 Goldstream Rd, this five-deck, 250ft dredge was built in 1928, operated until 1959, and was named a national historic site in 1984. Today perhaps Alaska's most visited dredge, No 8 is still making money. There are on-the-hour one-hour tours from 09:30 to 15:30 daily; for an additional fee you can also indulge in gold panning and the all-you-can-eat Miner's Lunch.
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Birch Creek canoe route
The Birch Creek canoe route begins at Mile 94 of the Steese Hwy, where a short road leads down to a canoe launch on the creek. The wilderness trip is a 140-mile paddle to the exit point, at Mile 147 of the highway. The overall rating of the river is Class II, but there are some Class III and Class IV parts that require lining your canoe.
reviewed
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Pinnell Mountain Trail
Access points for the Pinnell Mountain Trail are at Mile 85.6 and Mile 107 of the Steese Hwy. The first trailhead is Twelvemile Summit, which offers remarkable alpine views and is often snowy well into June. Even if you have no desire to undertake the three-day trek, the first 2 miles is an easy climb past unusual rock formations.
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