Talkeetna Chase Bike Trail
July 27, 2026 - Talkeetna
It rained throughout the night and continued well into the day. Around 8:00 a.m., Ann, one of the people from the group camped nearby the previous evening, stopped by to say goodbye. We exchanged phone numbers, and I told her I'd reach out if they were still in Denali when I arrived the following week.
The rain came and went all day, but I didn't mind. I had more than 1,000 photos from the flightseeing trip to sort through and process. Every time I promise myself I'll take fewer photographs so I have less work afterward, I end up doing exactly the opposite. Still, going through the images let me relive the flight over the Alaska Range, and that wasn't a bad way to spend a rainy day.
July 28, 2026 - Talkeetna
There was standing water around the campsite when I woke up, but the skies were clearing quickly. Around 10:00 a.m., I drove into Talkeetna and parked at the Denali Education Center's Talkeetna Campus. A sign directed visitors to pay using a QR code. The process couldn't have been easier. I selected a half-day pass for $6, paid with Apple Pay, double-clicked the side button on my phone, and I was done. There was no request for a license plate or any other information.
Later, I asked one of the staff members how they knew who had paid. She smiled and said, "It's all on the honor system." It was another reminder that Alaska still operates a little differently than much of the rest of the country.
Before heading out, I had a few things to take care of on the bike. I adjusted my cycling shoes, updated my Garmin Edge 840, and downloaded the route I planned to ride. It was only a simple 30-mile out-and-back ride, but I wanted the route loaded in case I wandered off on one of the side trails. Everything eventually worked, although it took nearly an hour to get everything synchronized. Garmin makes outstanding cycling computers, but sometimes the software and user interface can test your patience.
With the bike ready, I left Talkeetna and headed out on the Chase Trail. Depending on which app you believe, it's either a 5-, 8-, or 14-mile trail. I rode the full 14-mile length as it parallels the Talkeetna Spur Road before reaching Route 3, the Parks Highway that continues north toward Denali and Fairbanks.
Near the highway, the trail passes the local junior and senior high schools, and there's an IGA grocery store nearby that's probably the closest full grocery store to Talkeetna. I rode around the area for another couple of miles before turning around for the return trip.
At the halfway point, I thought I'd reward myself with a stop at Brown Bear Espresso, but they had closed an hour earlier. I pulled over anyway, ate a Nature's Bakery Fig Bar, drank some water, and headed back toward town.
Only a couple of miles later, I came across the Alaska Birch Syrup & Wild Harvest Shop. I'd heard of birch syrup before but had never tasted it, so curiosity got the better of me.
Unlike maple syrup, birch syrup isn't especially sweet. It has a rich, earthy flavor with hints of caramel, molasses, and a slight tang that almost reminds me of balsamic vinegar. It's much more complex than maple syrup and definitely something you either appreciate immediately or need a little time to get used to.
Inside the shop, I sampled both varieties of birch syrup before wandering through the displays. They had locally made candies, books on Alaska wildlife and plants, and one titled Mushrooms of Alaska that I almost bought. I managed to show a little restraint...right up until I noticed they served ice cream.
They offered birch ice cream, and with that my self-control disappeared. Their "small" consisted of two generous scoops. Standing at the window with the payment card in hand, I noticed they offered other flavors as well. Just to be safe, I ordered one scoop of birch and one scoop of Oreo, figuring that if the birch flavor wasn't for me, I'd still have something familiar.
It turned out I had it backward. The birch ice cream was excellent, with a subtle flavor that reminded me of the syrup but much milder. The Oreo, on the other hand, was disappointing. It tasted more like coconut with imitation chocolate cookies than actual cookies-and-cream.
The whole place had a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. People drifted in and out while sitting at the picnic tables enjoying the afternoon. One woman couldn't stop talking about the birch ice cream. It was her third day in a row stopping for some, and she admitted she might even come back again later that evening.
Of course, I knew better than to eat two scoops of ice cream in the middle of a bike ride. Dairy and exercise aren't exactly an ideal combination when your body is sending most of its blood to your legs instead of your stomach. Fortunately, the consequences weren't nearly as bad as I had feared.
About four miles into the ride back, a younger rider flew past me in the opposite direction. A little later he passed me again, having apparently turned around somewhere ahead. He was moving at an impressive pace, occasionally leaving the trail to catch a few small jumps before rejoining it. It looked like he was having as much fun as I was.
A few miles from the end, I caught and passed another cyclist climbing a hill. As I went by he laughed and said, "I wondered when you were going to pass me." "Ice cream slowed me down," I replied. He grinned. "It'll do that."
Back at the van, I packed everything away, cleaned up, and walked into Talkeetna for dinner at the Denali Brewpub. I was pleasantly surprised to find both a nitro stout and a porter on tap. I ordered the nitro stout along with a burger and salad. The beer was brewed on-site and was much better than I expected—smooth, creamy, and one of the better stouts I've had on the trip.
After dinner I wandered through town for a little while before driving back to the same boondocking site. As I walk through Talkeetna, I continue to be surprised at finding things I hadn’t seen before.
Two other campers had already settled in for the night. I didn't have much energy left after the ride, so I watched a little YouTube, let the day's activities catch up with me, and was asleep by around 10:00 p.m.