Nenana
The Nenana River is the epitome of big, fast and cold Alaskan whitewater and the centerpiece of Denali paddling. Starting from its glacial headwaters high in the Alaska Range, the Nenana cuts north through the mountains alongside the park and creates a 40 mile corridor of amazing scenery and water ranging from class I to huge class IV with summer flows between 5000 and 30,000 cubic feet per second. Wildlife ranging from the typical moose and caribou, to the more rare wolves, lynx and grizzy bears, scour the banks of the Nenana and Dall sheep are often seen clinging to the cliff walls of the Nenana Canyon. Enjoy an overnight trip with Too-loo-uk River Guides starting on the calm, scenic, and wild upper stretches of the Nenana off of the Denali Highway with a take-out at after the Grassy Knoll section, the main section for the Denali Kayak School.
The Grassy Knoll is the most scenic section of the road accessable portions of the Nenana, the Grassy Knoll
stretch is ideal for beginner and intermediate level paddlers. Made up of mostly Class II
rapids seperated by short sections of flatwater, this section is chalk full of features
that are great for practicing eddy turns, ferrying, surfing, and simply paddling down
nice long wave trains. Highlighted by the Class III Hollywood Hills
rapid about two miles
before the take-out at McKinley Village.
The McKinley Village stretch, the scenic float for the local raft companies, is a mostly flat stretch with a
few class two rapids and Terror Corner, a class III rapid with a snake turn to the left
and some big holes in it. A beautiful section of river that winds below Mt. Fellows,
distinguishable for its chimney rock formation at the top which has the look of a dog musher
and team. The purely glacial and even colder Yanert river comes in about halfway down the
run, preceded by 
Yanert Falls, a violent set of holes and rocks easily avoided by staying
right of center. The Yanert doubles the volume, increasing the speed and pushyness of the
water. Montana Creek comes in on the right followed by Riley Creek on the left to signal the
start of Terror Corner. A long wave train below Terror Corner leads to the take-out at
Kingfisher Creek.
The Nenana Canyon starts at Kingfisher Creek and ends 12 miles later near the town of Healy. Characterized by waves up to 15 feet tall, holes that will swallow an 18 foot raft, and powerful eddy lines that can pull a kayaker right out of her boat, the Nenana Canyon is for advanced boaters only. That said, a kayaker with the requisite skills will have an absolutely amazing day of surfing some of the biggest waves anywhere, and enjoying beautiful canyon scenery.
The Nenana
The Talkeetna
The Chickaloon
The Charley
The Happy
The Kongakut
The Tana
Kayak Alaska
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