Off Murphy Creek Road
The six- or ten-mile Cache Creek Trail/Dunbar Martin Trail loop (the red trail in the map below) starts at the beginning of Cache Creek Road (shown in blue) at the entrance to the Tanana Valley State Forest. The left turn for Cache Creek Road is located approximately at 8.5 Mile Murphy Dome Road, just past the bridge across Spinach Creek. People usually park (Park1 in the map) in the upper part of the “Y” intersection. Please be sure to leave room around mushers’ trucks so the mushers can unload and load their teams.
Starting at the trailhead, the trail slopes into a gradual down hill, a bit narrow, depending on snow conditions and with overhanging branches at times. The trail turns sharply to the right, and continues straight for another ¾-mile or more, until you see the railroad tracks. Here the trail runs parallel to the tracks for about one mile before a 90° right turn at the railroad’s Saulich wayside takes you back up into the hills to the “upper” trail. When you intersect the upper trail, turn right and you will eventually cross your initial trail that will lead you back to your car. If you want a longer ski, continue southwest along the railroad tracks for about 1.2 miles past Saulich and the trail makes a wide climbing 180° turn. You can loop back to your starting point, or turn left and go about 0.3 miles southeast to visit a neat old cabin.
Alternatively, you may set up a car shuttle for an eight- to ten-mile one-way trip (depending on how far the road is plowed from Murphy Dome Rd. to parking (Park2) on Cache Creek Road about 1.5 miles after the road crosses Fortune Creek.
Location and start of trail:
Multiple possible loops, up to some 10 miles:
