Although only 10 year-round residents now live within the preserve's boundaries, it was not always so sparsely populated. During the gold rush, the Yukon—a summer waterway and winter highway—was thronged with people who briefly transformed such communities as Circle and Dawson City, Canada into the “Paris of the North.” This rough-and-tumble gold rush region was the grist of Robert Service's poetry and Jack London's stories.
Now quiet has returned, and where riverboats once departed from Eagle, river runners make the 5- to 7-day float down the river to Circle. One of the pleasures of this trip is the opportunity to see Peregrine falcons, a threatened species that makes its home in the bluffs along the river. Hikers can catch a glimpse of caribous and Dall sheep in the preserve's upland regions and moose in the lowlands.
The Taylor and Steese highways are the primary summer access routes to the national preserve, terminating respectively in Eagle and Circle just outside the preserve's boundaries. The scenic portion of the Taylor Highway from Chicken to Eagle runs through mountains, rolling tundra and river valleys. Most people, however, reach the park by boat or float on the Yukon River and its tributaries.
The preserve has no roads and no established trails or maintained public airstrips. Seven public-use cabins are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Food service, basic supplies, lodgings and charter boat and air service are available during the summer months in nearby Eagle and Circle. A list of authorized guides can be obtained from the preserve headquarters and visitor center in Eagle.
In addition, the Bureau of Land Management administers Fort Egbert and a campground in Eagle. The park visitor center is open daily 8-5, mid-May through Labor Day; Mon.-Fri. 8-5, rest of year. The center can be contacted at P.O. Box 167, Eagle, AK 99738; phone (907) 547-2233 (June-Sept.) or (907) 459-3730 (rest of year). For more information write the Superintendent, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, 4175 Geist Rd., Fairbanks, AK 99709.