Stop 10 of 17 · Interior/Rivers
McGrath
The largest community on the trail between the Alaska Range and Norton Sound, with regular flights from Anchorage, and the gateway to the ghost town of Iditarod.
What to See
- The McGrath Museum, run by the Tochak Historical Society
- The sled dog race checkpoint in March, one-third of the way to Nome
Ways to Travel Here
- BikeThe human-powered winter races run 350 miles from Knik to McGrath.
- Mush a Dog TeamWatch teams pull into the McGrath checkpoint in March.
- Fly InTake a regular commercial flight from Anchorage.
No matter what the time of year, be prepared. Check local conditions before you venture out.
Interior/Rivers, Skwentna to Kaltag
- SkwentnaRiver crossing
The historic Alaska Road Commission shelter cabin at the Skwentna Crossing is one of the public shelter cabins between Knik and Kaltag, open in winter without a reservation.
- Rainy PassAlaska Range crossing
The trail’s way over the Alaska Range, between Puntilla Lake and the BLM’s Rohn shelter cabin.
- McGrathInterior hub
The largest community on the trail between the Alaska Range and Norton Sound, with regular flights from Anchorage, and the gateway to the ghost town of Iditarod.
- TakotnaRiver town
Founded at the farthest point a supply sternwheeler could reach on the Takotna River, and joined to the Ophir goldfields by old mining roads.
- IditarodGhost town
The boomtown that gave the trail its name: 2,000 people by August 1910 a few miles from the Christmas Day 1908 gold strike, abandoned now, on state public land.
- KaltagYukon River village
A Koyukon Athabascan village on the Yukon River at the head of the Kaltag Portage, the old trade route over the mountains to Unalakleet.
- GalenaConnecting trail · Yukon River town
A Yukon River town on the trail’s northern routes, where the community sold the Alliance’s trail products during the 2016 race to raise money for its Winter Carnival.
- Tolovana RoadhouseConnecting trail · Serum Run roadhouse
A roadhouse on the Fairbanks-to-Nome mail trail and the first transfer point of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome.