The project also created about 500 feet of new pedestrian trail, connecting the visitor center with the Lakeview Tinitun trail and the broader trail network.
By August 2026, visitation was already 43% higher than during the entire 2024 season, the last year the park operated fully.
The project at Port Alsworth comes as more people are discovering the remote national park, according to the latest news release by National Park Service. What was once a utilitarian patch of ground beside an Alaska visitor center is now becoming part of the landscape again. At Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, a young conservation crew has spent the summer replacing an old fuel-tank farm with trails, vegetation and safer spaces for visitors.
The restoration focused on roughly 15,000 square yards beside the Port Alsworth Visitor Center, states the news release. Over 10 weeks, a Maintenance Action Team crew from the Student Conservation Association transformed the site.
One of the biggest changes was the construction of a new parking area, helping improve the flow of vehicles around the visitor center, according to the report. The former tank farm was also revegetated, allowing the disturbed ground to begin blending back into its surroundings. The restoration was carried out by a young adult Maintenance Action Team, a program that gives participants practical experience in traditional construction and maintenance skills, states the report. Working alongside National Park Service employees, crew members gained experience that ranged from trail maintenance to site construction and landscape restoration. The program serves a dual purpose: helping national parks complete demanding projects while introducing younger workers to trades that are increasingly important to the preservation of historic and natural places. For Lake Clark, that combination was particularly valuable. The project delivered immediate improvements to a heavily used visitor area while giving a new generation hands-on experience in maintaining public lands.
The area had previously been occupied by fuel tanks, leaving a landscape that was hardly suited to the growing number of visitors arriving at the park.