Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska What is Tok Alaska like?

I recently met two people from there, one hated it, one loved it. I heard there are tons of wolves.

5 acre plots for sale at about $6800.

Would you live there? Is it a swamp hell like one guy described it?

Hi Dixie,
I have only been through there traveling, someone from Interior will jump on and reply when we get woked up here I am sure.

Personally, I don't think I would want to adjust to the cold winters there but I would ahve said that about anything in AK many years ago.

I have family of some sort in Tok. Haven't ever spoke to them and only seen pics on occasion. Pics I saw when I was younger looked nice.

Dixie,

I live up the road a hundred miles at Delta but I hunt out of Tok quite often. Northway from this site lives in Tok.

Tok is in a flat area just off the Tanana and Tok Rivers....surrounded by mountains.....there have been loads of wolves and I suspect there still are plenty after the recent helicopter eradication process. Grizzly bears are numerous and keep he game populations low although there are moose, caribou and sheep close by. Waterfowl hunting is good in teh Northway area in fall.....fishing is so-so as you are out of the productive salmon areas....grayling and pike are numerous.

Most of that land will look low and flat but gravel is close to the surface.....

Not much for shopping....a grocery store that will suffice for most needs.....Fast Eddie's Restaurant.

Cold sumbitch in January....check their lows for this last January....

Vern

I worked in Tok for two weeks in July, 1976. That doesn't sound as bad as 33 years ago!

It was my first job in AK and part of what hooked me on this land. Of course that was high summer. I lived in Fairbanks which is no slouch in the low-temp department however.

When I was there The 5 seniors were having their Prom dinner at Fast Eddie's. Two of them boy's were taking the same girl to the dance.

The $6,800 for 5 acres is either a smoking deal or the land is swamp! Most 5 acre plots range between $10,000-$15,000. In most of the area the soil is well drained as we sit on a gravel pit but there are exceptions.

As said the place can be very chilly in the winter like colder then 70 below with averages in the negative 30's. It is always pleasent to have your propane & heating oil freeze as it does when it gets much below -60. If you can last two years between the cold & the darkness then you usually like it otherwise that first winter was adventure enough and you are outta here.

The main reason for Tok's exsistence is to service the Alaska hwy traffic/tourist and be a jump off/supply point for the miners in the area and hunters during the fall.

And yes we have a healthy wolf population as well as large tracts of private land beings that there are several native villages around. So hunting access & animal populations does have its problems

john pretty well nailed it ime


my wife was raised in Tok


certainly it's not for everyone or it would be as crowded as LA I guess.


still all in all, I like the place, don't get there as often as I'd like but her mom's little cabin that the kids were raised in, I don't know what it is about the place, it just feels homey and I sleep a deep and restful sleep there when we visit.


they just got an inch of snow the other day per grandma, is that true John?

she lives over off Moosehorn.

1akhunter - Yep it did snow but melted fast.

I love Tok. If I could find a decent job I would move there in a heartbeat. I still have a few good friends (hunting partners) that live there.

I've been hunting out of there for the last 9 years or so and go for a visit whenever I can.

Something about fast eddies pizza that makes the trip worth it. Usually before we leave the cabin, I call it in so when we hit town, its all ready for me.

Wolves are definitly increasing, or atleast getting more brave. Last spring they took down a cow about 200 yards from the cabin. that was a hell of a ruckus. rarely seen a wolf before but lately we have been seeing them alot. dmn dogs

Gee's Fast Eddies, ate there a few times, did some flying in the Area years ago.

There Is second growth around Tok that nothing can penetrate except a hydro axe. Five acres to clear would cost more than the land, in places like that. The real bucks will come putting a living flushing with water place to live in. Some folks like to have heat in the winter and then you have that small add on cost.

Then if you want to be able to drive to your property, you might have to plan for a road or away to get to a road. But hay, the lure of cheap?

Several years ago my teenage son and I made the trip to Alaska and stopped in Tok on a Sunday morning looking for a church. We found that a very small community church met at 10:00 AM so we waited for them to open. Turned out that they did not have an official pastor but they had a group leader. There were about 20 folks there, 15 from the area and the rest of us were travelers. We sand some hymns and a video was played with a message, and then we sat around sharing our thoughts and feelings about the message. There was some coffee and cookies. It was a great experience with a great bunch of people.

We also stopped at the restaurant on our return trip and the food was good. We also visited the Chamber.

I look forward to my next trip. But it won't be in the winter.

John, are you saying it is hard to find public access land to hunt in the near vicinity?

Got any pictures of the area???????

Dixie,

heres some pics from just outside of Tok.

first couple of pics are of the tanana river when the ice went out. in 1 pic you can barely see a house through the trees.
last pic is in an area where they are doing logging (ruined our bear camp )

Thanks neighbor! Looks nice to me, trees, river, solitude.

How long in realistic hours does it take to drive from Anchorage?

3.5 to 4 hours if you're traveling but the Glenn Hiway and Tok cutoff are awful pretty country to just drive thru imo.


2 days is mo betta

Two service stations, a market, a couple of eateries (Fast Eddies is a good little restaurant), a state trooper office, and a couple of motels. The Snowshoe Inn is the one I'd recommend to anyone. Nothing fancy, but very quaint and reasonably priced.

I nearly plowed thru 3 different groups of caribou two years ago when I was going thru there the last time. Never saw any wolves, but apparently they are around in rather significant numbers.

Like one the last guys said, if there was a good job in the area, I'd go there. Just enough people to keep you company, but far enough away from the city to keep all the yuppies outta your hair. It is about 350 miles north of Anchorage, and I believe it is around 200 from Fairbanks.

It usually takes me about 6 hours to get to Tok from anchorage.

I take my time, I'm in no hurry, hell, I'm not in anchorage so its all good.

Tok does have its downsides. it is expensive to live there and the winters (like previously mentioned) do tend to get chilly, but nothing in life is free.

Some more pics of the area. I'm sure john and northway and others have alot also.

This family ate alot of our bait.



The usual view outside the cabin



This a view off the deck



The drive up.





most of these pics were from last spring.