Dragonfly Creek

Dragonfly Creek is a very short hike to a great waterfall. The waterfall is located down a steep path and you can choose to continue on down to the Nenana River if you want. This is a seldom visited waterfall that is a great place to ice climb in the winter! There is a nicely sized pull-out area just off the Parks Highway and you will need to go over the guard-rail at the north side to see the trail. The dirt path to the actual creek is very short and you could easily see the waterfall in less than 10 minutes round trip. The creek flows west and the trail follows the creek until the first waterfall. Be careful around this area as it may be slippery and it is steep. The waterfall is about 50+ feet and is more like a waterslide. You can also get a great view of the railroad across the Nenana River and if you come at the right time you could spot trains going up and down the line. You will probably notice a few climbing anchors. I have rappelled to the bottom of Dragonfly Waterfall and it is quite fun. I have also spoken with a few local climbers and they say it is a poor area to climb as most of the rock is brittle and shale-like. On the other hand, if you are an ice climber then this may be a great spot for you to try out. The winter provides tons of ice to climb up. I put some webbing around a good sized spruce tree nearby. It was a fun rappel but it only goes down about 50 feet or so. The trail to the bottom follows by this same spruce tree. From here the trail cuts north and then winds down to the base of the waterfall. Just below the main waterfall there are smaller falls which are pretty neat to see also. This is a fun area to camp and have fires and otherwise enjoy the scenery. If you follow the creek all the way down you will come to the Nenana River. This river is a glacier fed river and is very silty. I have found bear and moose tracks down here so please keep an eye out for these large animals. I had the opportunity to visit Dragonfly Creek in March. There was tons of snow and ice of course. The waterfall had frozen over beautifully. Dragonfly Creek and Waterfall are a great place to visit if you have the extra time.