Sight · Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Abandoned gold mine under cleanup; best admired from afar
Overview
Nabesna Mine is the ghost of a gold and silver operation tucked into the mountains above the Nabesna Road. It’s historically fascinating—and currently hazardous. The National Park Service warns against visiting due to contamination from acidic tailings and heavy metals in nearby surface waters. If you’re looking for a casual stop along the road, this isn’t it.
Historically rich, but not a place to poke around. Treat it as context for your Nabesna Road trip rather than a destination.
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Local know-how
Skip entering the site and do not walk on mine tailings.
Do not drink or filter surface water anywhere around the mine.
Check in at the Slana Ranger Station for current advisories and road conditions.
Bring your own water; there are no services and cell coverage is sparse.
High‑clearance 4WD and a full‑size spare are recommended; there’s no fuel in Slana.
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Wrangell-St. Elias Tour Guide
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
Nabesna Mine: A Hazardous Historical Site“The area ahead contains the old Nabesna Mine, which was a significant gold operation from about 1925 to 1940. While it's a major historical site, this is one you'll want to view from a distance.”
Plays as you drive up to Nabesna Mine in the Parkwolf Wrangell-St. Elias Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
You’ll find abandoned mining structures and tailings, but this is an active environmental investigation and cleanup area under federal authority. It’s not managed as an attraction, and the combination of structural instability and contamination makes lingering a bad idea. If you’re exploring the Nabesna side, enjoy the scenery and trails away from the mine and treat this one as a look‑but‑don’t‑touch chapter of park history.
The deposit was worked extensively between 1925 and 1940, spearheaded by developer Carl F. Whitham. Early crews cut local spruce for the mill, hauled in equipment over long, rugged routes, and steadily expanded operations through the early 1930s. A key upgrade in 1934—pumps and a 2,600‑foot pipeline from a spring—boosted water supply and allowed winter milling, with crews of roughly 40 at peak. Colorful lore surrounds the discovery, including the “Bear Vein” tale and the role of an Upper Tanana local known as Nabesna John.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
Parkwolf’s Wrangell-St. Elias ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
