Half Day Root Glacier Hike
from$285
Kennecott Mill Town Tour
- 2 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- Guided in English
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Kennecott, Alaska is a ghost town frozen in time. When the Kennecott Copper Corporation abruptly abandoned the town in 1938, they left behind their equipment, buildings, and personal belongings; yet, their stories of discovery, perseverance, and ingenuity live on! St. Elias Alpine Guides holds the exclusive concession with the National Park Service, and access to the 14-story Concentration Mill is only possible through this tour. Come see what it was like to live and work in this remote wilderness as you tour the town site with one of our knowledgeable guides. Listen to tales of lucky fortunes, tenacious frontiersmen, and tragic endings. Gain exclusive access to explore inside the 14-story mill building and several other historic buildings when you join our tour! Our 2-hour historic Mill Town Tour is a must-do for anyone visiting Kennecott, Alaska!
Inclusions
What's included
- Hard Hat
Itinerary
Explore the Kennecott townsite with a knowledgeable guide! Start on the edge of town with a scenic vista as you learn about how the site developed and what it was like to live there. Along the walk your guide will explain the historic buildings that you see. Your guide's main goal is to give you access to the 14-story Kennecott Mill and Ammonia Leaching Buildings, which are only accessible on this tour. Once inside these buildings, your guide will show you the old machinery and explain how the copper oar was processed as well as what it was like to work here in the early 1900s. Please note that access to the mines is strictly prohibited by the NPS due to safety reasons. Some of the buildings that you see along the way are open to the public, so please make time to explore these buildings before or after the tour (buildings are open 9am-5pm).
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
5.0
- 539
- 42
- 30
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- 10
Ratings come from 41 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- Our office is the second building on the left as you enter the Kennecott Town Site. Please meet us there 10 minutes before the start of your tour time! If you are coming from McCarthy, please note that you will need to catch the shuttle that leaves an hour before the start of your tour.
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Group size
- Up to 15 travellers
- Operated by
- St. Elias Alpine Guides
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Infants are required to be in a hands free carrier.
- Not recommended for travelers who have difficulty walking.
- Not recommended for travelers who experience extreme knee pain.
How it compares in McCarthy
- Its from-price is 87% below the median of the 4 experiences we list in McCarthy.
- By number of reviews it ranks 1 of 4.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About McCarthy
McCarthy is a tiny end-of-the-road settlement in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains, the gateway to the old Kennecott copper mill and a vast national park.
McCarthy sits at the end of an unpaved road deep inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the largest national park in the United States, among glaciers and ice-covered peaks. The settlement began in the early 1900s as a supply town for the copper mines at Kennecott and has only a small year-round population, a handful of wooden buildings, a bar and a footbridge over the Kennicott River.