Alaska/Yukon Trails provides service to and from Nenana year round. The 53 mile stretch of road between Fairbanks & Nenana is some of the most picturesque on the Parks Highway. Offering incredible views from high up in the Tanana Hills, you experience the immense proportions of interior Alaska. This is the only section of the Parks Highway from Anchorage to Fairbanks that offers a completely different view from that you would see on the Alaska Railroad. For more information on getting to & from Nenana, see our Routes.

Nenana was originally known as "Tortella" a white man's interpretation of an Athabascan word. Nenana means "a place to camp between two rivers", as the town lies at the confluence of the Nenana and Tanana Rivers. The town's center is the waterfront along the Tanana; Alaska's second largest river. From here you may observe fish wheels, the 389' span of the Alaska Railroad Trestle or the Indian Cemetery high on the hill across the river. With a large Athabascan population, Nenana rapidly grew into a base for the construction of the Alaska Railroad in the 1920's. It was here in 1923 that President Warren G. Harding, after leaving Fairbanks, drove the golden spike that completed the construction of the Alaska Railroad. Visit the Railroad museum in the train depot downtown for a history of the construction of the Alaska Railroad. (open 8am - 6pm daily).

Today the town is extremely important for the river barges that supply goods and freight to dozens of villages along the river system, including Alaska's two largest rivers, the Yukon & Tanana. Tons of supplies, fuel, food & other freight are transported from the docks at Nenana during the endless summer days between May and September.

Nenana is also well known for hosting the Nenana Ice Classic, an annual spring event that celebrates "breakup" and distributes a cash prize to the lucky individual(s) that (for $2 a guess) can accurately predict the exact month, day, and minute that the ice will begin to flow down the Tanana River; a tradition since 1917. Want to try your luck? Give them a call at (907)832-5446, or Email: tripod@ptialaska.net. Tickets must be turned in by the first week in April.

Nenana Visitors Information Center is located in a sod roofed log cabin at the junction of the Parks Highway and "A" Street.
907 832-9953. 

Open 8am to 6pm daily in summer.
Ice Classic Tickets are also available here.

Nenana Chamber of Commerce - (Winter) 907-832-5541 (Summer) 907-832-9953
PO Box 70, Nenana, AK. 99760.