Tanana River Drainage Fishing Spots

Cast your line for some rain­bow trout, or maybe a sil­ver salmon. Here you’ll find pub­lic fish­ing access. A short walk on the .3 mile trail north to Strel­na Lake puts you in the right sport for some angling.

Large road­side pull­out beside the Alas­ka High­way at mile 1391.8 is the Don­na Lakes Trail­head. Fol­low the trail 3.6 miles to Big Don­na Lake Cab­in, and con­tin­ue anoth­er 1.3 miles to Lit­tle Don­na Lake Cab­in. Both cab­ins are man­aged by ADF&G.

Fish for Arc­tic Grayling and Dol­ly Varden.

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. Lake stocked with arc­tic char, rain­bow trout, and lake trout. From the road, fol­low the ¹⁄₂ mile trail to the lake.

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. ​“J” lake is acces­si­ble from the Richard­son High­way. Exit onto the Old Richard­son High­way at MP 256, then turn onto Windy Ridge Road. There is a small clus­ter of lakes, and 2 addi­tion­al lakes are acces­si­ble via short trails (Ghost Lake and Nick­el Lake).

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. Fish for Rain­bow trout and lake trout.

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. South Twin Lake is stocked with Rain­bow trout.

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. Lake stocked with rain­bow trout and Arc­tic grayling. Take Mead­ows Road from the Richard­son High­way, and fol­low the turn for Bolio Lake.

Stocked lake with­in the Don­nel­ly Train­ing Area. you must obtain a Recre­ation Access Per­mit (RAP) before fish­ing these stocked lakes, because they are on Army land. Mark Lake is stocked with Arc­tic char, Rain­bow trout, and land­locked salmon. Access this lake by depart­ing the Richard­son High­way onto Mead­ows Road. At mile 5.3 there’s a short trail to the lake.

From Fair­banks you will want to dri­ve the Richard­son High­way, 3 hours south along the Alcan towards Delta, Alas­ka. At mile 141.5 of the Alas­ka High­way turn left onto Jack War­ren Road and on to Rem­ing­ton Road for 8.5 miles till you reach the Clear­wa­ter State Recre­ation Area, where there is a quaint 17-site camp­ing area and a boat launch. Fish­ing is known to be great for grayling.

This trail goes north to the north­ern end of Swede Lake. It then con­tin­ues on to the Mid­dle Fork Gulka­na Branch Trail and anoth­er half mile to Alpha­bet Hills Trail. It is usu­al­ly a very wet trail so rub­ber boots are usu­al­ly rec­om­mend­ed. Both Big Swede and Lit­tle Swede Lakes offer good oppor­tu­ni­ties for fish­ing. Lake Trout are found in Lit­tle Swede. Lake trout, grayling, bur­bot, and white­fish are found in Big Swede.

Large road­side pull­out beside the Alas­ka High­way at mile 1391.8 is the Don­na Lakes Trail­head. Fol­low the trail 3.6 miles to Big Don­na Lake Cab­in, man­aged by ADF&G.

Just north of Fair­banks, Alas­ka, flow­ing out of the low moun­tains and rolling hills west of Chena Dome and south of Mastodon Dome, is the Birch Creek Nation­al Wild and Scenic Riv­er, one of only a few rivers of this sta­tus that is acces­si­ble by road and requires no fly­ing in or out to do the 126-mile sec­tion of Class I to III+ riv­er. A swift, shal­low stream, Birch Creek begins above its con­flu­ence with Twelvemile Creek and for the first 10…  ...more

Rain­bow trout fish­ing spot off of the Alas­ka High­way. A dirt road at MP 1348 leads to the trail­head for the ¹⁄₂ mile hike to Robert­son #2 lake.

Good spot to fish for rain­bow trout in Healy, Alas­ka just north of Denali Nation­al Park entrance.

The Chatani­ka Riv­er, a Class II stream in the Yukon Riv­er drainage, flows from the Alas­ka Range through val­leys before reach­ing Minto Flats. Ide­al for canoes and kayaks, it includes the 28-mile Chatani­ka Riv­er Canoe Trail, a BLM-reg­is­tered route. The longest float­able sec­tion is 45 miles, tak­ing 3 to 4 days. The riv­er fea­tures clear or light­ly tan­nic waters and offers a scenic wilder­ness experience.

Tan­gle Lakes Camp­ground, at Mile 21.5 of the Denali High­way, offers 41 camp­sites plus 4 walk-in sites in Alaska’s Inte­ri­or. Man­aged by the BLM, it pro­vides access to Tan­gle Lakes and the Delta Nation­al Wild and Scenic Riv­er. Sur­round­ed by tun­dra and spruce, it fea­tures vault toi­lets, potable water, and a boat launch. Campers enjoy trout fish­ing, riv­er floats, and spot­ting moose or caribou.

Hard­ing Lake State Rec Area, 44 miles from Fair­banks, offers 90 camp­sites and 5 group walk-in sites along Hard­ing Lake in Alaska’s Inte­ri­or. Man­aged by Alas­ka State Parks, it fea­tures spruce for­est, lake access, a boat launch, vault toi­lets, and a play­ground. It’s a pop­u­lar spot for trout fish­ing, boat­ing, swim­ming, and enjoy­ing fam­i­ly-friend­ly recre­ation, with Fair­banks and Delta Junc­tion nearby.

Quartz Lake State Rec Area, near Mile 278.8 of the Richard­son Hwy by Delta Junc­tion, offers 103 camp­sites along Quartz Lake in Alaska’s Inte­ri­or. Man­aged by Alas­ka State Parks, it fea­tures spruce sur­round­ings, lake access, a fish­ing dock, vault toi­lets, and a pavil­ion. It’s a fam­i­ly-friend­ly base for fish­ing trout and salmon, swim­ming, or win­ter ice fish­ing, with near­by Delta Junc­tion services.

Pop­u­lar camp­ing, fish­ing, and out­door recre­ation spot just an hour south of Fair­banks along the Richard­son High­way. There are 19 camp­sites and 5 walk-in sites. In sum­mer, the area is pop­u­lar with boaters, fish­er­men, and jet-skiers / water skiers. The lake is stocked with Rain­bow trout, grayling, and Arc­tic char, as well as salmon. It’s also a pop­u­lar ice fish­ing spot in win­ter. You can even reserve an ice fish­ing hut!

Small fish­ing pond eas­i­ly acces­si­ble from the Steese High­way that is stocked with Arc­tic grayling and Rain­bow trout. There’s a sign vis­i­ble from the high­way and a grav­el park­ing area. This area is about a 45-minute dri­ve from down­town Fairbanks.

Small fish­ing pond eas­i­ly acces­si­ble from the Steese High­way that is stocked with Arc­tic grayling, bur­bot, and Rain­bow trout by fish & game. There’s a sign vis­i­ble from the high­way and a large grav­el park­ing area sur­round­ed by trees. This area is about a 45-minute dri­ve from down­town Fairbanks.

Sign vis­i­ble from Chena Hot Springs Road. Grav­el road leads to grav­el park­ing area with a fee sta­tion and out­house. Lake stocked with Arc­tic grayling, Rain­bow trout, and burbot.

Stocked with Arc­tic grayling and Rain­bow trout by ADF&G. Eas­i­ly acces­si­ble from Chena Hot Springs Road.

Pop­u­lar in the sum­mer with locals for a swim. Fish­ing is catch and release only.

Salcha Riv­er State Recre­ation Site lies 40 miles from Fair­banks along the Richard­son High­way, offer­ing 6 wood­ed camp­sites beside the Salcha Riv­er. Man­aged by Alas­ka State Parks, it fea­tures riv­er access, vault toi­lets, and fire rings for a peace­ful stay. It’s a pop­u­lar spot for fish­ing grayling and salmon, relax­ing by the riv­er, or enjoy­ing the qui­et wilder­ness, with Fair­banks just an hour away.

Pond acces­si­ble from the Richard­son High­way with a grav­el park­ing area. Stocked by ADF&G with arc­tic char and rain­bow trout.

Small pond stocked by ADF&G with Arc­tic grayling and Rain­bow trout. Sign vis­i­ble from Richard­son high­way leads to a small grav­el park­ing area. Approx­i­mate­ly 15 mins north of Delta Junction.