The Tok River runs out of the Mentasta Mountains and joins the Tanana just west of town. The Tok River State Recreation Site, about ten miles east on the Alaska Highway, gives easy public access to a quiet stretch of the river with a campground, a boat launch, and a short trail along the bank.
In summer you can fish for grayling and the occasional Arctic char, watch for moose, and pitch a tent under a sky that never quite gets dark. It is a low-key alternative to spending another night in a roadside motel.