Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Road Cultural Landscape Report

On June 6, 1912, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century—the Novarupta—blasted through the Ukek Valley in southwestern Alaska, filling the Valley with ash. Observers soon after noted that there were “tens of thousands” curls of smoke rising from the fissured valley floor. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is now part of the Katmai National Park—with one road that passes through 22.3 miles of the Alaskan wilderness into the heart of the park. Then, and now, use of the Mission 66-era dirt and gravel road is limited to one concessioner-operated bus tour each day for visitors originating from Brooks Camp, along with NPS staff and contractors.

(Side note: The Valley was used to train Apollo astronauts before their moon missions!)

The road’s unique character, reflected in its rustic materials, intimate scale, immediate relationship to the surrounding landscape and its access to wildlife, make it incredibly vulnerable to any changes needed to support anticipated increases in park visitation.

The cultural landscape report addresses contemporary challenges such as improving historic views compromised by maturing vegetation, removing incompatible features from the cultural landscape, adding more accessible options for visitors with limited mobility, and collaboration with Federal Highways Administration design staff to ensure that the concurrent road rehabilitation plans meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards to preserve the rustic character of the road.

Recommendations strike a balance between preservation of the road and flexibility afforded to other features along it that have more capacity for compatible change or alteration. It provides a site history, analysis and evaluation of landscape characteristics and features, historic significance summary, and design guidelines and treatment recommendations that will help NPS protect and manage the distinctive blend of history and landscape—a unique example of Mission 66 era circulation.