The Kennecott & McCarthy Area
This historic copper area is the only part of the park most visitors see, as it's the most accessible and has the most services, interesting sites, and paths to explore. It's still not easy to get to, however -- that's why it's still so appealing -- and there's little point in going without adequate time. You can hit the highlights at Kennecott and McCarthy in 1 full day, but just getting there takes time. My family and I spent 3 nights and could have stayed longer.
The main event is the ghost town at Kennecott, whose red buildings gaze from a mountainside across the Kennicott Glacier in the valley below. Now owned by the park service, the buildings made up an isolated company town until 1938, when it abruptly shut down. Tourists coming here as late as the 1960s saw it as if frozen in time, with breakfast dishes still on the tables from the day the last train left. Most of that was looted and destroyed in the 1970s, but when I toured the company store a few years ago, old documents still remained, and the powerhouse and 14-story mill buildings still had their heavy iron and wood equipment. Besides the buildings, there are excellent hiking trails, including one that traverses the glacier. The town now has only a few year-round residents, but in summer is busy with a lodge, a couple of bed-and-breakfasts, guide services, and park rangers.
Five miles down the road, Kennecott's twin town of McCarthy served the miners as a place to drink, gamble, and hire prostitutes on rare days off -- the company didn't allow any frivolity in Kennecott or in the bunkhouses high up on the mountain. McCarthy retains the relaxed atmosphere of its past, with businesses and residents living in false-front buildings not much changed from Wild West days. More of a year-round community, McCarthy has a restaurant, lodging, flight services, and other businesses.
Yet even this most populous part of the park is isolated and sparsely inhabited, with few services. Only about 65 people live in the greater area year-round. You will find no banking services, general stores, gas stations, clinics, police, or anything else you're used to relying on. Phones came to McCarthy and Kennecott only in the late 1990s and still are few. Bring what you need.
