Tanana River Bluffs

Quick Facts:

• Drive time: ~1 hour from Fairbanks

• Mileage: ~18 miles

• Difficulty: Class II-

• Activities: Packrafting/rock climbing

• Estimated time: 6-8 hours

This is a unique Alaska experience where you can float to climb. We blew up our packrafts and put in along the Richardson Highway here. It took a little over 2 hours (9 miles) to float down to the bluffs to climb. The river is braided, swift, and cold, but there are no major rapids that you need to be aware of. Watch out for wood and try to choose the braids with the most water in them. Mileage can vary depending on which braids you take.

The bluffs/takeout are on river right around 64.27549, -146.68854, and you should be able to find a few different eddies that you can pull out in. Most of the climbs were trad, but there are a couple sport routes. I’m never the best resource for climbing beta, so make sure to look into the routes here. This also gives information on hiking in to the bluffs if floating isn’t an option for you.

The float out to the highway was very similar to the first half, taking just under 2 hours. We used this takeout here, and we just made sure to stick to the far right braid towards the end and paddled through some stagnant water at the very end. This section of the Richardson Highway has enough traffic to make hitchhiking possible.