NUGGET CREEK, AK

Tebay Lake Airstrip is a remote, unregistered backcountry strip deep in the Eastern Chugach Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Nugget Creek Airstrip is a 900-foot gravel strip tucked inside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park in Alaska, sitting at roughly 3,000 feet elevation in the Kuskulana River drainage. It has no FAA identifier and does not appear on sectional charts, with coordinates at 61°37.28'N / 143°42.59'W. The strip sits about 200 yards from the Nugget Creek public-use cabin, making it one of the more convenient fly-in cabin destinations in the park.

The airstrip had fallen into rough shape in recent years — overgrown edges, ruts, and washouts caused by heavy weather and regular use. In 2024, a joint rehabilitation effort between the Recreational Aviation Foundation and the National Park Service brought the strip back into good condition, with crews grading the surface, rebuilding the runway crown for drainage, and clearing brush at both ends. The result is a firm, smooth landing surface again suited to backcountry aircraft.

The cabin itself is small, older, and deliberately rustic — four bunks, a woodstove, and a pit toilet, with water drawn from Nugget Creek nearby. Reservations are required and can be booked up to six months out. The cabin can be reached either by flying in or by hiking the 15-mile Nugget Creek Trail from the McCarthy Road trailhead, which involves multiple creek crossings that can run dangerously high in early summer snowmelt.

From the cabin, visitors can explore the old mine sites on the bench above at about 3,800 feet, hike off-trail to the terminus of the Kuskulana Glacier, or simply take in the sweeping views of Mount Blackburn and the surrounding Wrangell Mountains. It is a popular destination, and the NPS advises bringing camping gear in case the cabin is already occupied on arrival.