Traveling through the heart of the picturesque Clearwater Mountains, the Valdez Creek Trail is a stunning hiking destination that has become increasingly popular with packrafters. The area is also within the Clearwater Creek Controlled Use Area, which is closed to the use of any motorized vehicle for hunting, so the trail is frequented in the fall by hunters seeking caribou and moose by non-motorized means.

Just East of the Susitna River on the Denali Highway (around mile 85), the unmarked Valdez Creek Mine Road extends north. With high clearance and 4-wheel drive, one can drive the Mine Road around 10 miles to the start of the Valdez Creek Trail, but oftentimes the road itself becomes part of the hiking trail.