Chitina Parks & Trails

Want to feel like you’ve stum­bled into an old Indi­ana Jones movie? A rugged cliff-top trail reach­es south from Chiti­na along the Cop­per Riv­er into the gorge of Wood Canyon — offer­ing access to three creeks, the ruins of an old tres­tle, a his­toric train tun­nel and, final­ly, a sandy beach suit­able for camping.

The rock cut you’re about to dri­ve through was blast­ed out in 1909 as a rail­way to sup­ply and sup­port the Ken­necott Cop­per Mines when they were being built. The rail­road began in Cor­do­va and fol­lowed the Cop­per Riv­er to cur­rent day Chiti­na before turn­ing through the rock cut and head­ing east towards the Wrangell Mountains.