Population: 553

Located at the confluence of the Tanana and Nenana rivers, 57 miles south of Fairbanks at Milepost 304.5 Parks Highway.

Visitor Information:
Log cabin visitor center at the junction of the Parks Highway and A Street open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day; phone (907) 347-9720.

Stop by the Alaskan Gallery and Nenana Visitor Center to see local photography and gifts. A replica of the Ice Classic tripod is located behind the gallery. (Photo by Serine Reeves)

Nenana is an Athabascan word meaning “a good place to camp between rivers” and is currently the hub for tug boat/barge shipping in the Interior.  May to September is peak delivery time for numerous villages on the river system to receive their supplies by barge rather than the more expensive air transport. Originally known as Tortella (a mangling of the Athabascan “Toghottele”), Nenana boomed in the early 1920s due to railroad construction, and this is where President Warren G. Harding drove the golden spike signaling the completion of the railroad.

Nenana has a couple of dining options, gas at the Nenana A-Frame Service with convenience store, ATM, restrooms phone (907) 832-5832, lodging and cafe at the Rough Woods Inn & Cafe phone (907) 832-5299 or email. Camp at the Nenana RV Park & Campground. Call Parks Highway Towing for auto repair and recovery, phone (907) 832-5583.

Attractions:

  • The Nenana Ice Classic, an annual event that awards cash prizes to the lucky winners who guess the exact minute of the ice breakup on the Tanana River. Ice Classic festivities begin the last weekend in February with the Tripod Raising
  • The Alaska Railroad Depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • The Nenana Cultural Center and Gift Shop sells and displays local Athabascan arts and crafts and has historical display.