crow creek mine vs independence mine?

If you only had time for one gold mining tour would you choose crow creek in Girdwood over Independence Mine?

It will be interesting to see what kind of comments you get. For just the mine experience, Independence is the one for me. Crow Creek is very good if you want to pan for gold, however. Crow Creek seems a bit commercial and they get a lot of folks visiting due to the proximity to Girdwood/Alyeska.

Independence Mine is a state historical site and it has been maintained that way. You could spend several hours there. You need to also consider what else is around each of them. Crow Creek is a short drive from Alyeska and the tram which is a good visit.

If you only had time for one gold mining tour would you choose crow creek in Girdwood over Independence Mine?

They are totally different experiences. Crow Creek is a commercial operation where you get to pan for gold. Independence Mine is a state park that preserves a whole town where gold mining was done. While there are a few tours per day done at Independence Mine, you basically just wander around the place on your own. Also, the drive to Independence Mine is really cool.

BTW - why would you take a tour to Independence Mine? You can easily drive there.

DON

Like Glaciers I will be also interested in the answers to the OP's question. While I love the Independence Mine State Historical Park I have to admit I've never bothered with Crow Creek. As an Alaskan the commercial touristy gold mining operations don't appeal to me, but I realize that they have appeal to others.

Plus, they give you "salted dirt" so you will get gold at Crow Creek.....but it sure is an outstanding venue for a wedding. the grounds are rustic and quite pretty. Independence Mine is one of the best drives in Alaska....and you can pan for gold in the creeks there, but you have to have your own pans, which you can buy in Freddie Myer's in the summer. Two totally different venues...

We drove to Crow Creek and when we got out of the car, other people were leaving and said it was way over priced for what you get, so I just took a few pictures because it was really pretty even at the entrance, and then we left.

Another day we drove thru Hatcher Pass to Independence Mine. Hatcher Pass was beautiful!! We walked around Independence Mine on our own and really enjoyed "the ruins" and the view from the top. We really enjoyed our time there and I would definitely go back.

That said, the 2 places are 2 totally different things. It really depends on what you are looking for in your mine experience.

If you want to pan for gold then Crow Creek is where you want to go. If you want to look at historic mine building then go to Independence. I personally like Crow Creek and take everyone that comes up to visit us over there. Beautiful area and there is gold in that creek.

http://www.crowcreekmine.com/Crow_Creek_Mine/Gold_Panning___Activities.html

Thanks everyone for your input! We are staying overnight in Girdwood with the next day travelling to Talkeetna. Making sure we max the day. Is it possible to fit in Crow Creek, Thunderbird Falls, Eklutna spirit houses/church & Independence mine area and make it to Talkeetna for dinner? We are staying at a B & B in Talkneetna for a McKinley flight the next day. Would appreciate an estimate of time needed at each place. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for your input! We are staying overnight in Girdwood with the next day travelling to Talkeetna. Making sure we max the day. Is it possible to fit in Crow Creek, Thunderbird Falls, Eklutna spirit houses/church & Independence mine area and make it to Talkeetna for dinner? We are staying at a B & B in Talkneetna for a McKinley flight the next day. Would appreciate an estimate of time needed at each place. Thanks!

I think you might be trying to cram too much into one day, especially if you must be in Talkeetna by dinner, 6pm? You don't want to put yourself into a tight schedule and have to pass up other points of interest.

It's hard to know how much time you will want to spend at each site, esp Independence Mine which could be a 3 hr trip or all day depending on your interest in the history and/or desire to hike.

- Girdwood is about 45 minutes south of Anchorage. Crow Creek Mine is an hr tops

- Thunderbird Falls is about 20 miles north of Anc. It's a one mile walk each way to the Falls. This is an activity that could be easily dropped IMO. It's nice but falls aren't unique to Alaska.

- Eklutna is closeby, maybe the next exit, and only about 5 minutes off the hwy. You can easily walk thru the grounds and church in 20 minutes. For that matter you can see the spirit houses from the parking lot if you want to rush!

- From Eklutna you're about 1 1/2 hrs from Independence Mine. If its a nice day you can easily spend 2 hrs here. Maybe pick up sandwiches as in Palmer to have a picnic at the Mine.

- from palmer to Talkeetna is about 2 - 2 1/2 hrs.

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/indmine.htm

It might look like this. Really rough estimate:

9-10 Crow Creek

10-11 drive to T Falls.

11-12 walk to falls

12 - 12:30 Eklutna Spirit Houses and Orthodox Church

by 1pm you'll be in Palmer. Stop for sandwiches or have lunch somewhere

2:30-4:30 Independence Mine

drive to Talkeetna. Arrive around 7pm

Thanks everyone for your input! We are staying overnight in Girdwood with the next day travelling to Talkeetna. Making sure we max the day. Is it possible to fit in Crow Creek, Thunderbird Falls, Eklutna spirit houses/church & Independence mine area and make it to Talkeetna for dinner? We are staying at a B & B in Talkneetna for a McKinley flight the next day. Would appreciate an estimate of time needed at each place. Thanks!

You need to learn to use Google Maps when you plan out routes. According to Google Maps, the driving time for your route is 4 hours 29 minutes if you drive over Hatcher Pass to Willow and 4 hours 41 minutes if you go via Wasilla.

The Hatcher Pass road involves gravel and is not good so you not make good time that way -

"In summer months, usually around July 4th, the road opens over the pass, so travelers with high-clearance vehicles can travel all the way to Willow. The road is gravel for 22 miles and can be rough with ruts—especially after big rains."

What time do you plan to have dinner - 7:00. Assuming that you leave Girdwood at say 8:00, this means that you will have a total time available of 11 hours minus your 5 hours traveling time plus maybe 1/2 hour to have lunch or 5 1/2 hours of total sightseeing time. Also, summer is when the Alaskan road crews do their road construction. What if you have a few construction delays.

We spent 4+ hours at Independence Mine when we visited and the only reason that we did not spend more time is that it was windy and raining when we were there.

You are trying to do way way too much in a day. Looking at it another way, you will be spending as much time driving as you will be spending seeing. The idea of a vacation is to enjoy yourself and not to run from place to place. Pick a few good places and enjoy yourself.

DON

That is a pretty busy schedule but doable. You could plan on that with some contingencies in case you start running out of time. There could be Dall sheep on the cliffs while you will be driving along Turnagain Arm. Certainly worth a stop. They were very active this summer.

Turnagain Arm is a good place to take your time and stop along the way and may be the most beautiful drive you experience in Alaska. I agree with mapleleaves, I’d skip Thunderbird Falls. Winner Creek Trail from the Crow Creek side to the hand tram would be a better option. Too many things, not enough time.

While I agree that the schedule is doable, I also would drop the falls. But this sounds like a marathon with no time to "stop and smell the roses."

With all due respect, please do NOT use Google Maps for driving times (this also applies to Mapquest). They are great for mileage, but they almost always woefully underestimate the driving times.

With all due respect, please do NOT use Google Maps for driving times (this also applies to Mapquest). They are great for mileage, but they almost always woefully underestimate the driving times.

I agree which makes the OPs plan even worse.

DON

Thank you all so much for your time checking this site for us "advice seekers" and most of all taking the time to respond! You've given me some great insight! We will likely skip Crow Creek and the Falls now.

and I might add, most of the roads are two lanes with speed limits of 40-45 MPH.....and if you go to Independence Mine/Hatchers Pass, there is no way you are driving fast on the switchbacks....From Ekluntna, I figure 2/3 of the day just there and back to the Ekluntna area...Skip Thunderbird Falls.....nice but just a hike....there are much more beautiful hikes to do....I am not demeaning it, but if you are into hiking at all, take a short hike in the Independence Mine area...or Talketna.....