A Visit to Chicken, Alaska

About 75 miles north of Tok, Alaska, sits a small settlement known as Chicken. Wondering how it got its name? The village does not have a plethora of fowl. People don’t seem to be afraid (aka, “chicken”) to go there. So, why is it called Chicken? 

Truth be told, the settlers wanted to name the village for the abundance of what later became Alaska’s state bird but didn’t know how to spell ptarmigan. Someone suggested the name Chicken, and it stuck. Although known for chicken pot pie and chicken soup today, the village’s gold-mining history and legend lives on.


Chasing a Dream

In 1886, someone struck gold in the area and created a buzz. At one time, more than 700 miners panned the community’s streams, according to Travel Alaska. Nowadays, the year-round population hovers around 15 but can increase to about 50 in the summertime. 

Visitors can tour the Pedro Dredge (for a fee) and even take a stab at gold panning — for only $10 for two hours. Or, they can purchase gold-panning supplies and try their luck at the streams, just like in the old days. Since we had panned for gold in Fairbanks, we decided not to do so in Chicken. 

Getting There

We hadn’t heard a lot about the small town of Chicken but were looking for something to do near Tok before heading back to the Lower 48, so we embarked on a day trip to the village. The drive on the Taylor Highway took about an hour and 45 minutes and didn’t offer much in the way of scenery. 

The narrow road is littered with potholes and frost heaves. Its sole purpose is to connect Chicken and Tok. The highway actually continues beyond Chicken, taking travelers into Canada and Dawson City (not to be confused with Dawson Creek). Many tourists enter Alaska through the Dawson City route. After driving the Taylor Highway in Gulliver, sans Tagalong, we’re glad we took the Alaska Highway instead.


Exploring the Area

Arriving in town to no cell service, we navigated to the first building we came to off the highway: the gift shop at the Goldpanner/Chicken Creek RV Park. We saw a cafe on-site but found it closed. The gift shop offered free flush toilets (most in the village were outhouses) and myriad T-shirts and souvenirs for sale. 

After perusing the inventory, we went outside to snap a picture of the two large chickens on display and wandered across the suspension Chicken Creek Bridge that spans the site of an old gold dredge. 

Finding Food

With our tummies rumbling, we returned across the bridge to the truck and got back on the highway to find the rest of the town of Chicken. Airport Road, which we had passed en route to the gift shop, led us directly “downtown.” It consisted of three rickety, connected places of business: Chicken Mercantile Emporium, Chicken Creek Saloon, and Chicken Creek Cafe.

We parked and headed into the cafe for costly counter service of good-quality food. Cinnamon rolls, brownies, and pies sat on the counter, tempting us to partake. We gave in to sharing a brownie after indulging in reindeer bratwurst and a cheeseburger, served on plastic gold pans.

Our bellies full, we departed down the slanted floor to check out the rest of downtown. We found the uneven floor in the mercantile even more pronounced but enjoyed browsing the store’s eclectic assortment of Alaska- and chicken-themed souvenirs nonetheless. We couldn’t leave without making a deposit at the Chicken Poop, a collection of outhouses on the property.

​Hunting for a Statue

Having seen a large display chicken when researching the small village before our arrival, we set out to find it. A quarter-mile drive from downtown led us right to it. This particular chicken had been made out of high school lockers, leaving it rusty. 

Across a dirt road from the chicken stood Pedro Dredge, which operated in Chicken from 1959 to 1967 and mined 55,000 ounces of gold, according to the Chicken Gold Camp & Outpost. The outpost gift shop (this one with a level floor) featured a coffee shop and a wider variety of chicken- and Alaska-related offerings. It also exhibited old artifacts from the town’s mining days. 

Always up for an adventure, we found the trip to Chicken worthwhile. If you decide to go, don’t be surprised when you find no cell service, outhouses, and high prices for a bite to eat. Just think of it as part of the experience.

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