Nancy Lake State Recreation Area
Nancy
Lake State Recreational Area Management Planning
Nancy Lake State Recreation Area is different from most Alaskan park areas.
It is one of the few flat, lake-studded landscapes in Alaska preserved for
recreation purposes. The recreation area's clear waters are ringed with
unspoiled forests, and provide tranquil settings for canoeing, fishing,
hiking and camping. In winter, the rolling topography is ideal for cross-country
skiing, dog mushing and snowmachining.
Nancy Lake State Recreation Area is a ninety-minute drive north of Anchorage
along the Parks Highway. To enter the recreation area, turn west onto Nancy
Lake Parkway at Mile 67.3 of the Parks Highway. From there, the Nancy Lake
Parkway travels 6.5 miles southwest to South Rolly Lake Campground; in winter
the parkway is not plowed beyond the Winter Trailhead at mile 2.2. The community
of Willow lies two miles north of this junction, and has a full range of
services for the traveler.
Nancy Lake State Park Brochure
History
The broad Susitna river Valley, including what is now the recreation area,
was scoured by massive glaciers, which once covered it. When the ice retreated
some 9,000 years ago, it left a rolling landscape of elongated glacial deposits,
called drumlins, dotted with hundreds of lakes and ponds.
State archaeologists believe that people lived in the region soon after
the glaciers receded. It is believed that this region was heavily used by
the Tanaina Indians, and possibly Pacific Eskimos and earlier man before
that. Two prehistoric village sites have been identified just outside the
recreation area. The inhabitants of these villages lived from subsistence
fishing, hunting and trapping.
The Alaska Railroad was built along the east side of the lower Susitna
Valley in 1917. Fires caused by sparks from passing trains occasionally
burned in this area. The nearby towns of Wasilla, Houston and Willow grew
as more homesteaders settled on the lands opened up by rail access.
Through the years, most of the Nancy Lake area has remained wild and natural.
The area is too wet for ideal cultivation and is not mineral-rich, so it
has escaped large-scale settlement by humans. Today, those assets make it
a prime place for recreation and enjoyment of nature.
Climate
The weather in the park is tempered by the relatively warm ocean waters
to the south and the Alaska Range to the north, which protects it from the
very cold temperatures common to interior Alaska.
Summer temperatures rise into the 70s, with occasional highs in the 80s.
Nighttime readings, even in July, may dip into the 40s. Winter temperatures
may fall to 40 degrees below zero and seldom rise above freezing until mid-March.
The first snow usually arrives by late October, about the same time the
lakes freeze over. Snow depth in late winter averages three to four feet.
Lakes are usually free of ice by late May.
Public Use Cabins
There are 13 rustic cabins that are available for
rent on a nightly basis throughout the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area.
Cabins are located on Red Shirt, Lynx, Nancy, James, and Bald lakes. The
cabins are insulated and equipped with wooden bunks, counters, and wood-burning
stoves. Each cabin has an outhouse and an outdoor fire ring.
Occupants need to bring all personal items including drinking water and
leave the site neat and clean when they leave. It is best to bring firewood,
as finding firewood may be difficult. Only wood that is down and dead may
be gathered. Use of the cabins is by reservation only.
Plant Life
Vegetation within the recreation area is dominated
on drier sites by white spruce and paper birch, with some aspen interspersed.
Wetter forests support stands of the smaller black spruce. Wetter still
are the low brush bogs and muskeg swamps, sometimes highlighted by cotton
grass plumes.
Large parts of the area have been burned by fore st fires in the past
100 years, resulting in thick stands of birch, which precede the older
forests of white spruce. Wildflowers abound, from the earliest violets
and bluebells, through the last flower on the tip of the tall fireweed.
Water-loving plants, such as bog rosemary and wild iris, are found in
wet areas throughout the park. Water lilies decorate many of the lake
surfaces.
Beginning in late July, the first wild berries begin to ripen. Currants,
highbush and lowbush cranberries, and blueberries frequently provide a
bountiful harvest. Varieties of raspberry, crowberry and other berries
can also be found. Pickers should learn to identify baneberry, which looks
edible, but is very poisonous.
In recent years, spruce bark beetles have moved into the recreation area
and the effects of the beetle larvae feeding under the bark can be seen.
The dying white spruce can be identified by the bore holes on the tree
trunk. After a few years, the infested trees will die. Dead trees will
stand until wind, snow load, or decomposition topples them to the forest
floor.
Wildlife
The recreation area's combination of lakes, wetlands,
and forests create an ideal habitat for many mammals and birds. Perhaps
most noticeable to the summer visitor are water dwellers, especially beaver
and waterfowl. Beavers are active in lakes and ponds throughout the park
and visitors can see evidence of their work. These animals are vital to
maintaining crucial water levels in the ecosystem; their dams and lodges
must not be disturbed.
One of the real delights of canoeing in the recreation area is to be closely
approached by a curious common loon. These black-headed master divers with
their eerie laughing call are one of the trademarks of the area. Their smaller,
grey-headed relative, the Pacific loon, is sometimes seen. Loons sitting
on the shore should always be given a wide berth. They come ashore only
to nest and will often desert their nests when disturbed.
Arctic terns are summer residents, returning to nest in the wetlands after
wintering some 12,000 miles away in the Antarctic. Unlike the loons, these
birds are graceful fliers as well as tenacious nest defenders. The canoer
or hiker unlucky enough to stumble into a nest site is likely to be repeatedly
dive-bombed by screeching terns.
Moose are the most common large mammal in the park although their numbers
are dependent on an adequate food supply. They prefer brushy areas or shallow
ponds with tender aquatic plants, as browse in mature forests is beyond
even their reach.
Black bears are common throughout the park but Grizzly/brown bears are occasionally
sighted. Adverse encounters with bears are unlikely if proper precautions
are taken. Sighting
a bear in its natural environment is one of the thrills of the back
country. Please report any sightings to the park rangers.
Nancy Lake SRA summer activities information
Nancy Lake SRA winter activities information
Help Protect the Park
All
litter should be removed or placed in litter containers provided.
Please pack out what you pack in and leave your campsite as you found it.
Practice "low impact" camping.
Protection
of natural features and park facilities is everyone's responsibility.
Don't pick wildflowers or strip bark from trees. All park areas are closed
to the cutting of live trees. To protect ground cover, open fires are permitted
only in fireplaces provided.
Discharge
of firearms and explosives is prohibited in the entire recreation
area. The use and discharge of a bow and arrow or trap for the purpose of
lawfully hunting or trapping is allowed in the Nancy Lake State Recreation
Area, except within one-quarter mile of a cabin or developed facility.
Pets
must be on leashes at developed facilities, such as campgrounds and picnic
areas, and under control in other areas at all times.
Motorized
vehicles cause lasting damage to vegetation and trails; they are
restricted to maintained roads and parking areas.
Use
of motorized snow vehicles is permitted throughout the recreation
area, except for the closed area north of the Parkway, when there is sufficient
snow cover to protect vegetation. Snow machine registration is required
to operate on public land.
Campfires
are permitted only in the developed fireplaces provided
Outboard
motors are allowed on Nancy, Lynx, Butterfly, and Red Shirt lakes.
Only electric trolling motors are allowed on South Rolly Lake. All other
lakes within the recreation area are closed to motorized use.
Aircraft
landings are restricted to Nancy, Butterfly, Lynx, and Red Shirt lakes.
Please
respect private property as noted on the map.
In Case of emergency
Alaska State Troopers
911 or (907) 745-2131
State Park Rangers
(907) 745-3975 or (907) 495-6273
Nearest
24-hour emergency telephone is located at the Willow Fire Station, Mile 70.0, Parks Hwy.
Parks and Recreation Information
Nancy Lake Ranger Station
Mile 1.3 Nancy Lake Pkwy.
P.O. Box 10
Willow, AK 99688
(907) 495-6273
DNR Public Information Center
550 W 7th Ave., Suite 1260
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-3557
(907)269-8400
Mat-Su Area Park Office
7278 E. Bogard Road
Wasilla, AK 99654
(907)745-3975
For a copy of the winter and summer brochures on
Nancy Lake SRA, contact the DNR Public Information Center at dnr.pic@alaska.gov
