Photo by Mark Emery
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VILLAGE OF PORT ALSWORTH
Population 113. Port Alsworth is located on the southeast shore of Lake Clark at Hardenburg Bay in the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, 22 miles northeast of Nondalton and 170 miles southwest of Anchorage. There are two privately-owned and operated airstrips in Port Alsworth: a 3,000' long by 100' wide dirt/gravel airstrip operated by Glen Alsworth / The Farm Lodge, and a 4,200' gravel airstrip operated by David and Jackie Wilder. Scheduled and charter air services are available from Iliamna and Anchorage.
Tanalian Point, the forerunner of Port Alsworth and Lake Clark’s first Euro-American settlement, was settled by prospectors in the late 1880s. The site offered ready access to nearby copper prospects and the best wood fuel and timber for cabins. Dena’ina Athabaskan Indians lived at Tanalian Point after prospectors established it as a community. It developed into a staging area for the Telaquana Trail and mining activities on Kontrashibuna Lake and Portage Creek. Big game hunters arrived in 1921 seeking local guides. Pioneer bush pilot Leon “Babe” Alsworth and his wife Mary, the settlement’s first postmistress, were among the first settlers in the 1940s. Port Alsworth now has numerous fishing lodges, some open year-round, and is the local headquarters for the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
Local attractions include the 40-mile-long Lake Clark, one of the spawning grounds for the world-famous Bristol Bay sockeye salmon run; the ruins of historic Kijik village listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and picturesque Tanalian Falls.
Lodges, Inn's, B&B and Hotels located in the Village of Port Alsworth:
Alaska Back Country Inn
Alaska's Fishing Unlimited, Inc.
Chulitna Lodge Wilderness Retreat
The Farm Lodge, Inc. & Lake Clark Air, Inc.
Tulchina Adventures , LLC
Windsong Wilderness Retreat
The Wilder House Bed and Breakfast, LLC