The Tana

Another of our more advanced trips, the Tana is the classic Alaskan river: big, fast, powerful and cold. The Tana flows from glacial origins on the northern slopes of the Chugach Mountain Range towards the towering peaks of Mt's. Wrangell and Blackburn. A trip on the Tana will lead you into the heart of Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park, the largest and one of the least visited national parks in America. Vistas of unimaginable scale await you in this wild and primitive country.

We'll start near the base of the Tana Glacier, where we'll layover for a day or two to hike and enjoy the pristine surroundings. The 36 mile long Tana is of pool drop nature, with 8 to 10 major rapids spread out over quite a distance with calm sections in between. After we pass through the dramatic vertical walled Tana Canyon we'll enter the massive Chitina River for another 77 miles of calm floating through breathtaking scenery.

We recommend a couple of warm-up days on the Nenana River with the Denali Kayak School as a way to get accustomed to a big volume, glacial river.