Taylor Highway

The Taylor Highway passes through some of Alaska's earliest and richest gold mining country on the way to the City of Eagle on the Yukon River. Gold was discovered by Franklin in 1886, and the old town of Forty Mile stood on the Yukon River at the mouth of the Forty Mile River. The Chicken Creek area was also a rich gold mining area at about the same time, and Wade Creek was another rich area where the remains of an old dredge still stand along the road. The old horse and wagon trail used by early miners and freighters is still visible in many places, and the present highway often parallels it. Each fall, Alaska's largest herd of caribou crosses the Taylor Highway on its annual migration, in a region known for abundant fish and game.

Tetlin, Alaska · United States