Best time to visit
Anytime you’re driving McCarthy Road, this makes a quick stop. It’s rarely crowded; mid‑morning or late afternoon pairs good light with low traffic. Plan 15–45 minutes unless you linger on the riverside path.
Overview
About Gilahina Trestle
If you’re driving McCarthy Road, the Gilahina Trestle is a worthy leg‑stretch with big history. This skeletal wooden giant once carried copper ore trains and now looms over the Gilahina River—easy to admire right from the roadside pullout.
Why stop
- Impressive 1911 wooden railway trestle visible right from McCarthy Road
- Handy stop with interpretive signs, vault toilet, and a short riverside trail
Heads up
- Small dirt pullout can feel tight when a few cars stop at once
- Do not climb the trestle; it’s in disrepair and off-limits
Map
Where it is
Loading the Wrangell-St. Elias map
Full mapLocal know-how
Tips for visiting Gilahina Trestle
Look for the pullout around mile 28–29 on McCarthy Road.
Enjoy the view from the wayside but don’t climb the trestle—it's unsafe.
The riverside path is informal; expect limited trail information on site.
Carry bear spray and make noise on the short walk to the river.
Photographers: aim for morning or late‑day light to bring out the wood grain.
Plan your stop
Before you go
Best time to visit
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Wrangell-St. Elias Tour Guide
Your drive to Gilahina Trestle, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Wrangell-St. Elias audio tourRecorded for this place
The Gilahina Trestle: An 8-Day Engineering WonderListen
“The massive wooden structure you're about to see is the Gilahina Trestle, a really impressive sight along the McCarthy Road. It was part of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway that serviced the Kennecott Mines.”
Plays as you drive up to Gilahina Trestle in the Parkwolf Wrangell-St. Elias Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Reading River Colors
- 98 audio storiesacross Wrangell-St. Elias’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Grizzly Bear, Moose, Humpback Whale, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 13 trails, 28 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Gilahina Trestle
What You’ll SeeA towering timber trestle roughly 80–90 feet high and about 880–890 feet long.
- A towering timber trestle roughly 80–90 feet high and about 880–890 feet long.
- Interpretive panels with archival photos and context.
- A short, informal trail (about 0.5 mile) downriver for fresh angles of the bridge and the river corridor.
Quick HistoryBuilt for the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, the trestle famously went up in about eight…
Built for the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, the trestle famously went up in about eight days in 1911 using roughly half a million board‑feet of lumber. The 196‑mile line required over 85 miles of bridges and trestles—an audacious feat that moved Kennecott copper to the coast. The railroad cost around $25 million to build and supported copper production worth roughly $200 million (at least half of that profit) before operations ceased in 1938.
Visiting TodayYou’ll pull into a small dirt wayside around mile 28–29 of McCarthy Road.
You’ll pull into a small dirt wayside around mile 28–29 of McCarthy Road. Expect an NPS‑managed vault toilet, parking, and signage. The short riverside path offers quieter viewpoints and a place to shake out the drive. The Gilahina’s spring‑fed water is icy—often upper‑30s °F—so it’s refreshing to dip a hand, not a place to wade. Treat any water before drinking.
Safety NotesThe trestle is unstable—don’t climb or cross it.
The trestle is unstable—don’t climb or cross it. You’re in bear country even at roadside pullouts: make noise on the path, keep food secured, and carry spray where legal. McCarthy Road is remote with variable gravel conditions and little to no cell service; travel prepared.
PhotographyThe pullout frames a classic broadside view; the short trail gives lower, downstream angles.
The pullout frames a classic broadside view; the short trail gives lower, downstream angles. Morning and late‑day light brings out the trestle’s texture and the river valley’s contours.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Wrangell-St. Elias
112 sightingsGrizzly BearMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
63 sightingsMooseMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
21 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 1 PMSighting map
46 sightingsSteller Sea LionMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
48 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Wrangell-St. Elias. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
