This is such a beautiful state park. I had the pleasure to go here during my stay in Alaska. I would highly recommend going and just taking it the beautiful site. read more

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I still stand by my original statement that Chugach State Patk is the best park about living in Anchorage. However, many of the lane expansion and safety measures that are ongoing on Seward Highway do and will a have lasting impact on much of the easily accessible entry points of the park. Some of my favorite points, such as Windy Corner, are going to be completely eliminated in one of the lane expansion projects for the highway, with no plans for remediation or replacement. For Tourists, I would also like to point out another very impoont I failed to mention in my previous review. Make VERY CAREFUL REVIEW OF STATE AND FEDERAL website maps to be sure you understand where the boundaries between Chugach STATE forest and Chugach NATIONAL forest are. This will ensure you understand fees and the location of campsites, cabins, and accessibility. read more

We went to the Chugach State Park and Redemption creek to do some gold panning last week and it was gorgeous. The weather can vary from 50 and sunny to 30 and snowing in a short time so be prepared with layers and warm gear. Turnagain arm is beautiful and the water levels vary significantly throughout the day with the tide. We saw tons of wildlife including: Canadian geese, several varieties of ducks, a moose, and much more. It's a gorgeous drive and I recommend it. read more

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Ah, Chugach State Park! Joy G says it's the best part about living in Anchorage, and I tend to agree. It's the 3rd largest state park in the US! (for those keeping score, only Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California and Wood-Tikchik State Park in western Alaska are larger) At 495,204 acres, it's also larger than many NATIONAL parks! For comparison: Yosemite NP: 761,236 acres (most widely-known NP, for reference) Grand Teton NP: 309,995 acres Rocky Mountain NP: 265,727 acres Mt Rainier NP: 235,612 acres Crater Lake NP: 183,224 acres Redwood NP: 110,232 acres The State Park is vast (and difficult to review without crafting a novel), but the two major areas I'll be touching on: 1) "The Front Range": the mountains visible to the east of Anchorage. 2) "The Turnagain Arm": the mountains visible to the North as you're driving from South Anchorage to Girdwood. Front Range Trails (from North-to-South): Wolverine Peak: less crowded hike that takes you up high. https://www.yelp.com/biz/wolverine-peak-anchorage Flattop Mountain: most popular hike in Alaska! https://www.yelp.com/biz/flattop-mountain-trail-anchorage-2 Rabbit Lake: gorgeous views of the Suicide Peaks. https://www.yelp.com/biz/rabbit-lake-trail-anchorage Turnagain Arm Trails and points of interest (from West-to-East): Potter Creek Trailhead: this trailhead is mainly used to access the creatively-named "Turnagain Arm Trail", a long, but easy-going, trail. It's usually the first trail to be snow-free. https://www.yelp.com/biz/turnagain-arm-trail-anchorage McHugh Creek Trailhead: a much steeper way to access Rabbit Lake, you can even stage a car up at Rabbit Lake trailhead and do this one with no back-tracking! It also intersects the Turnagain Arm trail. https://www.yelp.com/biz/mchugh-creek-chugach-state-park-anchorage Beluga Point: touristy place to get out and take a picture that will make all your friends in the lower 48 super-duper-passive-aggressively "jelly" of you and your adventurous life. https://www.yelp.com/biz/beluga-point-anchorage Seward Highway Mountain Spring: if you see people standing next to a cliff, they are probably getting some of this mythic local water. Quality of the water depends on who you ask, drink at your own discretion. https://www.yelp.com/biz/seward-highway-mountain-spring-anchorage Rainbow Trailhead: links to Turnagain Arm Trail and goes straight up Rainbow Peak: short by STEEP! https://www.yelp.com/biz/rainbow-trailhead-anchorage Falls Creek Trailhead: Takes you to the saddle between South Suicide Peak (https://www.yelp.com/biz/suicide-peaks-anchorage) and Indianhouse Mountain (https://www.yelp.com/biz/indianhouse-mountain-no-title). https://www.yelp.com/biz/falls-creek-trail-anchorage Indian Valley Trailhead: Takes you to Powerline Pass Trail (south side) or to the Indian Valley Trailhead, which eventually connects to Ship Creek Trail. https://www.yelp.com/biz/indian-valley-trail-anchorage Indian to Girdwood Bike Path ("Bird to Gird"): A great bike ride on a paved trail. Starts in Indian, AK and ends in Girdwood, Alaska. Often called "Bird to Gird" by those in the know. 13 miles, one-way. https://www.yelp.com/biz/indian-to-girdwood-bike-path-bird-to-gird-anchorage Bird Ridge Trailhead: 3,400 ft of gain in only 2.5 miles, a real calf-burner! https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-ridge-trail-anchorage Bird Creek Trailhead: Campground is located here, it's also the approach to summit Penguin Peak. https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-creek-campground-anchorage read more

Chugach State Park - Trails of the Turnagain Arm area of the park - Parks Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Chugach State Park is to Alaska what the derrière is to J. Lo: big & beautiful. It's also iconic, memorable, and amazing. With almost 500,000 acres, Chugach (pronounced CHEW-gatch) State Park is one of the four largest state parks in the United States. It dominates South-Central Alaska and includes diverse topography ranging from the mountains of the Alaska Range to Prince William Sound including glaciers, ice fields, lakes, and ocean shoreline. Parts of it are just 7 miles from Anchorage making it also very easy to visit. Highlights include: * Eagle River Nature Center * Thunder Bird Falls * Turnagain Arm Trail * Bird Point * Eklutna Lake * and more. Fees for entrance varied, but annual passes ($50) are available (including online) which would of simplified things. We visited several areas within Chugach State Park including Eagle River, Bird Point, Girdwood, and others for which I don't know their names. All of it was beautiful whether it was the mudflats of the Turnagain, the blue ice of Portage Glacier, or wildlife along Eagle River. We mostly visited Chugach to meet Mother Nature in Alaska. The results were memorable and amazing (check out the pics); however, for locals and tourists alike Chugach State Park provides an excellent opportunity close to Anchorage for hiking, climbing, viewing wildlife, biking, camping, skiing, climbing, and much more because Chugach State Park is truly big & beautiful. read more

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This place is beautiful and it is very well taken care of. There is so much stunning nature to enjoy! Bring a picnic lunch!

One of the first things I did after picking up my rental car at Ted Stevens Anchorage international airport was to drive south and experience #RealAlaska. I came across Chugach state park while driving south on Alaska Highway 1 on a brisk Saturday afternoon. I also stopped by on the way back to Anchorage on Sunday from Kenai. This state park is a nice relaxation area where you can walk around and view the magnificent snow capped mountains and the surrounding lake on Seward Highway. It was definitely a breathtaking experience, especially when that was the first time that I've actually experienced anything outside of Anchorage before on a previous trip in 2011. With that said, Chugatch state park is a small enough area, where there is good amount of parking available and you can sit around having a picnic with friends. I had seen some people when I initially stopped here on my way south towards Kenai. The area is away from Anchorage enough, so you can enjoy the beauty of the area and not be too close to the city. Chugatch state park is probably a good 30-45 minutes outside of Anchorage on the Alaska Highway 1 heading south. You will enjoy the views driving south and expect nothing else but perfection. I was reminded of this scenic drive of driving on Maui heading to Lahaina or towards Hana. Scenic but different, yet they feature a highway with many opportunities for eye candy for the soul. The overall experience here at the Chugatch state park was amazing, very spiritual, and soul engaging. I think this state park is attached to the city of Anchorage, although I could be wrong about that. I totally enjoyed stopping here and getting that breathtaking glimpse of those snow capped mountains, a rare treat for those of us who don't live in the area. I realize that Hawaii has snow, where I am from, but it's not feasible for many, since it's only available on the Big Island of Hawaii during winter months. I must have let out a smile when I initially saw the view and quickly pulled into the state park when I saw the sign for Chugatch state park. Only then, I realized that #RealAlaska was found here and I got 10 days to explore before heading home. Chugatch state park is located on the Alaska Highway 1, aka Seward Highway. It's near the place where you can pan for gold. Not sure how legit that is, but I'm sure it attracts the tourists. Like many parks and recreational areas around the country and in Alaska, you can visit for free. No admission charged. That would be a win for me and I'm forever grateful for this opportunity to come to Alaska to witness this elegant display of nature at its finest. For the most part though, stopping by Chugatch state park was a nice respite from the city life of Anchorage. The park itself was maintained by the cool folks of the county or the city of Anchorage, I'm assuming. But we should all do our part and keep it clean for everyone, locals and tourist folk like me who come to the area for #RealAlaska. If there is a next time for me, I would love to return here and have a picnic with friends. Enjoy the beauty and serenity of the snow capped mountains, while enjoying how Alaska is such an amazing place - when you get outside of the city. Chugatch state park should be on your places to visit, if you haven't done so. Pack a lunch and come here to chill out, especially when everything is a drive to get to anyway out here in Alaska. I would recommend coming here, if you have not yet been here. Yes, it's a state park, but it's a free place to be when you don't want to be roaming out and about. Scenic and away from the city to where you just can relax and be one with nature's beauty. Majesty at its finest, check it out on your way to Seward and the Kenai Peninsula. It's amazing! You won't regret it! 5.0 stars for the awesome experience. Support local! A read more

Just a little drive out of Anchorage and I got to go on top of those majestic mountains that I keep seeing wherever I'm at in town. We parked in the lot and it wasn't until we got to an area where we noticed to pay the $5 fee in order to park and enjoy the area. With paying out of the way, we made it onto the trail that looked over Anchorage. You get a fantastic view of the city along with the more mountains in the background. You can even see Mt. McKinley on a clear day. After the overlook, we made our way down to another trail. There was still a lot of snow so we just hiked around for the next couple hours. My group and I were not exactly experienced hikers, but we had no trouble at all getting around as long as you have the right shoes and dress accordingly. Be ready for some one of a kind views and enjoy! read more

Chugach State Park - Parks Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Alaska has some of the best outdoor adventure opportunities in the United States. This one is no exception. The State of Alaska does an amazing job maintaining the parks, trails, and camping areas. Most of these services are free or very cheap. Please don't abuse our beautiful state! Clean up your area! Also, watch for wildlife! Remember, Alaska is still wild as can be. read more

Chugach State Park - Chugach National Forest - Parks Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Great views, lots of goats, awesome shots of the glaciers. Traffic gets backed up very easily. read more

Chugach State Park - Parks Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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I work with a guy from Haines Alaska. I told him my in laws were from Anchorage and he said "Anchorage is nice, you can see Alaska from there" True, a lot of Anchorage is pretty much like any other American City, but Chugach is something unique and incredible. I am working on highlightling all the trails I can on my topo map of the park on my yearly trips to Anchorage. Hopefully on one of my next ones I will make the trip from Girdwood to Eagle river, or perhaps Power Line Pass from Indian to Upper Huffman. You can hike along a trail for days and traverse Glaciers while never leaving the city of Anchorage! Just as importantly, there are countless day hikes here for people of all abilities from something like 15 trail heads. Power Line Pass is apparently world renowned for Moose sightings, which is both a good and a bad thing depending on how close you get to them, and everyone keeps telling me that there are a ton of Dall Sheep in the area, but for some reason I am always "just missing them" Anyway, this place is a must do on any trip to Anchorage, and reason 123,674 why I would love to move near my in-laws. read more

When I used to live/work here, I'd hike the trails through here all the time. Now, back after several years, I am happy to see that the trails, environs and sights are still as pristine as ever. Great views everywhere. Trails are in good shape, clean & never any trash left by hikers. Always plenty of Devil's Club, but it's generally beat back by the consistent hiking activity on the paths. read more

You can't really go wrong with any hike in the vast Chugach State Park, except if you are unprepared. Make a plan and share it with someone. Wear bear bells or talk loudly. Be prepared for rain even if the forecast is good. Have a map. There is a great detailed map of the Chugach State Park available at the Anchorage REI store. The Powerline Trail is cool. So is the Falls Trail, but give yourself a whole day. read more

We love Chugach. It's a nice drive and once you are in the park there are tons of fun hikes to take. Everything is absolutely beautiful and breathtaking. We love it here. We got a ton of photo ops. read more

Beautiful place to stop on the drive from Anchorage to Girdwood!! Has public bathrooms. Parking lot may be closed during the winter ( Nov- April) but you can walk in to the park. There is a bar/restruant across the street too.. read more

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Chugach is a nice state park near Anchorage. It's huge and pretty spread out. As a result, we only saw a small part of it. You have to pick which area you want to see and stick to it, unless you have a lot of time. We visited the Eagle River Nature Center area, and did the Albert Loop trail, a flat, 3 mile loop with nice mountain views. It ends near a platform with a small marsh-y area, which makes for nice photos with reflections of the mountains. We would have liked to hike some more but there wasn't really anything that different in that area and we didn't feel like driving to a whole new area. If I had it to do over again, I would have picked an area with more trail variety. We heard that bear and moose are seen here frequently, but we didn't see any. $5 parking fee. read more