Harding Lake is a lake in the
Fairbanks North Star Borough
The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,655, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks. The borough's land area is slightly smaller than tha ...
in
Interior Alaska
Interior Alaska is the central region of Alaska's territory, roughly bounded by the Alaska Range to the south and the Brooks Range to the north. It is largely wilderness. Mountains include Denali in the Alaska Range, the Wrangell Mountains, and ...
. It is named for
President Warren G. Harding, who visited Alaska just before he died. Prior to that it was known as Salchaket Lake
Access to the lake is via the
Richardson Highway
The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks. It is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbank ...
[
]
Fish species
The lake contains a wide variety of native and stocked[ fish, including ]Arctic char
The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes, as well as Arctic and subarctic coastal waters in the Holarctic realm, Holarctic.
Distribution and habitat
It Spaw ...
, 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 ...
, Arctic grayling
The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Missou ...
, and northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
, as well as several 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 ...
and trout
Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
species.The Milepost
''The Milepost'' is an extensive guide book covering Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia. It was first published in 1949 as a guide about traveling along the Alaska Highway, often locally referred to as "The ALCAN" ...
, 2018 edition page 446 Alaska Department of Fish and Game
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is a department within the government of Alaska. ADF&G's mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development i ...
before fishing.[Harding Lake State recreation Area]
Alaska Department of Natural Resources
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska in the United States. The department has the mission of responsibly developing Alaska's resources by making them available for maximum use and benefit c ...
Recreation Area
The lake is home to the Harding Lake State Recreation Area a park[ which features a large campground, boat launch, and facilities for sports and outdoor games.][ This is one of the oldest units in the Alaska State Park system, having been founded in 1967,][ before the formal state park network was even in place.][DeVaugh, Melissa]
History of Alaska State Parks
pages 1&2
References
{{authority control
Lakes of Alaska