Located 2.5 hours north of Anchorage and approximately 30 miles south of Denali, Talkeetna is known as a “Quant little drinking town with a climbing problem”, or as others have said “Where the road ends and life begins”.

History

Talkeetna - originally the site of a Tanaina Indian village - rests where where the Talkeetna and Chulitna Rivers join the Susitna River. Miners began trading at this site and established the first trading post in 1896. A gold rush to the Susitna River brought prospectors to the area, and by 1910 Talkeetna became a riverboat steamer station. In 1915, the town was designated as the home base for the Alaska Engineering Commission, the group who would build the Alaska Railroad. The community population rose to 1,000.

World War I and the completion of the railroad in 1919 dramatically decreased the population, which plummeted to around 150. In the last 10 years, Talkeetna has experienced new growth and the population now hosts about 600 residents. Fifteen of Talkeetna's twenty-four buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Local Industry

Talkeetna is also the take-off point for those attempting to climb the largest peak on North America, Mt. McKinley. The town itself is closer to the actual mountain than the entrance to Denali National Park. This allows many opportunities for flight seeing tours by bush plane around the mountain and general area.

Positioned ideally near the crux of three rivers (the Matanuska, Susitna and Talkeetna) the town of Talkeetna is also home to a bustling fishing industry during the various fishing seasons throughout the year.

With bustling summers and quiet winters, Talkeetna is a magical place to find inspiration and discover what is hidden deep beneath your beating heart. Many who leave refer to it as Never-Never Land because you never want to leave and you never have to grow up.