BLM photo

The Delta River Zone

Delta and Gulkana National Wild and Scenic River, Bureau of Land Management

The Denali Highway, 21 miles from Paxson or 114 miles from Cantwell, provides access to both these rivers, but the Gulkana River is more easily accessed from the Richardson Highway at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) campground on the Paxson Lake.

Both rivers are designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers and are managed by the BLM, which has informational brochures for each. Both rivers have stretches of whitewater (Class III on the Delta and Class III-IV on the Gulkana) and should be attempted only by experienced canoeists.

A boat launch at the Tangle Lakes Campground provides access to Round Tangle Lake.  It is nine miles through the four lower Tangle Lakes, which gradually narrow to form the river.  The river portion is 20 miles to the takeout at MP 212.5 on the Richardson Highway.  The trip takes two to three days, and is 29 miles total.

The Tangle River Campground at Mile 22 has a boat ramp which provides access to the Upper Tangle Lakes.  By portaging and lining between the lakes, with a final 2-mile portage to Dickey Lake, one can reach the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Gulkana River.  The outlet is extremely shallow and rocky and after about three miles plunges into a steep canyon with large boulders and complex hydraulics.  It is a total of 76 miles from the put-in to the take-out at BLM's Sourdough campground on the Richardson highway.  An easier and more accessible put-in for the Gulkana River is at Paxson Lake Campground on the Richardson Highway.  It may be possible to find rentals and shuttle service for the lower portion of the Gulkana through local guide services, contact the BLM district office in Glennallen for information about river guides with the following.

• Bureau of Land Management
  Glennallen District Office
  Box 147
  Glennallen, AK 99588
  (907) 822-3217
  

Tangle Lakes contact information:

• Tangle Lakes Lodge
  P.O. Box 3006
  Paxson, AK 99737
  
  or
  
  P.O. Box 670386
  Chugiak, AK 99567