Willow Creek

Put-In

The standard put-in for Willow Creek, known as Guardrail, is reached by turning off the Parks Highway onto the Hatcher Pass Road (also known as Willow Creek Road) at Milepost 71.2 and heading east for 8.4 miles. Just after going up a large hill, a steep pullout on the right will be seen with a guardrail on the other side of the road. Hop over the rail, and head down into the woods on a good trail. This put-in is class III+ when dry, hard class IV in rainy conditions. There are plenty of devils club sections, steep muddy slopes, and bears wandering around, all packed into a 20 minute approach.

To skip the upper canyon and enjoy a class II-III run, drive approximately 6.6 miles up Hatcher Pass Road, and look for a steep driveway to the left with a red gate and chain wrapped around it. This is known as Redgate. The chain does have a lock on it, but is normally just wrapped around the gate. Continue down the road (closing the gate behind you) and pass the cabin using the road on the left. At the bottom of the hill, turn up canyon and head through the brush gauntlet to a clearing. Park here and carry your boat another 100 yards up canyon to a steep slope with a lowering rope leading to the river.

Take-Out

The standard take-out for Willow Creek is reached by turning east off the Parks Highway onto the Hatcher Pass Road (also known as Willow Creek Road) at Milepost 71.2. Head east for 4.1 miles, and turn left at the gravel road sometimes signed 'Shirleytown.' Note that Shirleytown is also the put-in for fisherman floating 5.6 miles to the Parks Highway Bridge. Check out the Willow Creek Lodge near the bridge--they have a stuffed giraffe.

Description

Willow Creek, along with Six-Mile Creek and the Nenana, is a classic Alaska day run. From the Guardrail put-in, a walk through the woods reveals a stunning creek, with clear, relatively warm water coursing over rounded granite bould

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