Denali Highway Gravel Pit Dispersed — Paxson

Tucked just off the Denali Highway (AK 8) near the junction with the Richardson at Paxson, this large former gravel pit sits in open sub-alpine terrain at roughly 2,700 feet with Paxson Mountain rising to the southwest. The pit's depth and a bend in the interior track screen rigs from highway view entirely, and consistent quiet after dark is one of its most noted qualities. Two entrances — a gentler west grade and a steeper east entry — serve a broad flat floor that handles any size rig with ease, and a trail on the southwest side leads to a nearby lake.