Byers Lake is a small lake in

Denali State Park Denali State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough adjacent to the east side of Denali National Park and Preserve, along the Parks Highway. The park is undeveloped wilderness except f ...

, within the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 census ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, United States, north of

Talkeetna Talkeetna ( Dena'ina: ''K'dalkitnu'') is an unincorporated small village, incorporated by the United States Census Bureau within a larger same-named census-designated place (CDP), in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 ...

. The lake is named for a fisherman who was brought there many times by bush pilot Don Sheldon in the 1950s. It is accessible from the

George Parks Highway The George Parks Highway (numbered Interstate A-4 and signed Alaska Route 3), usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles (520 km) from the Glenn Highway 35 miles (56 km) north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska In ...

and has a developed campground, several public-use cabins and a small boat dock. The

Alaska Veterans Memorial The Alaska Veterans Memorial is an outdoor memorial grove in Denali State Park in Interior Alaska. The memorial honors Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Alaska National Guard, and Merchant Marine veterans from Alaska,Alaska Vet ...

is on a hilltop adjacent to the lake. Gasoline-powered motors and

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

landings are not permitted on the lake. The lake used to contain a sizable population of

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

but due to overfishing in the time since the highway was built in 1972 the population has dwindled, and landings of lake trout are now rare, although there are still

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

in the lake as well. Migrating

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

also come into the lake but salmon fishing is not permitted. Campers are advised to keep a clean camp as the campground is frequently visited by bears. The lake is also home in summer months to

trumpeter swan The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 304.8 cm (6 ft 2 in ...

s and

common loon The common loon or great northern diver (''Gavia immer'') is a large member of the loon, or diver, family (biology), family of birds. Reproduction, Breeding adults have a plumage that includes a broad black head and neck with a greenish, purpli ...

Notes

References

External links

Lakes of Alaska Lakes of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska {{MatanuskaSusitnaAK-geo-stub