Beautiful park! Perfect grass area, playground, and even rest rooms. There was hardly a crowd, and…read morethe waterfront location is absolutely prime. This is a much better option than the almost always crowded Wasilla lake park. There was even a worker that showed up to clean and wipe down the playground area. Very well kept and clean park!

Great low trafficked park that borders a lake. My kids loved the ducks and playground. We had a…read morepicnic and utilized one of the many picnic tables. We loved it, and will definitely be back.

So I'm struggling to assign a star value to the Knik Public Use Areas because there's so many…read morevariables. So for starters, it's free... so in my mind that's 5 stars off the top just for being gratis. There really aren't very many places that you can camp these days where it's legal and free. So that's dope. And the view, looking to the east is fantabulous. Not so much the Knik River, which is a wide, muddy mess, but the view of the mountains here is priceless. Turn around and look to the west though, and it's nothing but dust and sad, scrubby trees. And when I say dust, I mean DUST. And there's a lack of public facilities. No shower, no bathroom, no BBQ grills and not enough trees to afford privacy while relieving ones self. RV'ers favor this place because with a house on wheels you can be comfortable. But in a tent, you might be dissatisfied. If you are into dirt bikes, ATVS or mudding, you'll love Knik Public Use. This is probably the most popular location to do those things in the valley. It's legal and you won't bother anyone. I've also seem people launch small watercraft from here, but I think the ability depends on the tides and what kind of equipment you have. The old abandoned Knik River Bridge is also found here, which is safe to walk on and get a good view of the goings on. In summary, it's a cool place to visit, but without an ATV or RV there isn't enough to keep my attention here for more than a few hours.

I live nearby and wanted to rent a kayak last minute towards the end of the day. I called and they…read morewere very accommodating and said I could pick up before 6 and keep all night and bring back the next evening or just leave when I finished that night. They had everything I needed, including several kayak choices to pick from. I paid $40 to use from about 5pm-8:30. Rates on door say $10 an hour or $50 per day. I stayed out on the lake about 4 hours and it was a great solo trip! They were doing a class about the time I was going out and the ladies looked like they were enjoying their time. For being so close to town, the lake and location are still tucked away and make you feel like your getting out in Alaska's beautiful scenery. The store is off the Palmer-Wasilla Hwy in a red and yellow building. There's a small port-o-potty behind the building for facilities, otherwise, use Fred Meyer or go before you come. If you have your own kayak, you can put in at his dock for $5 (says a sign). Great experience and plan to come back until I get my own.

Took the 2 hour basic kayaking class with my adult son (22) and two younger kids (12 & 13). Randy…read morewas a great instructor and explained everything clearly and answered any questions we had. Once in the boats he explained each stroke and then demonstrated before letting us try each paddling stroke. Everybody had a good time and we all learned something. The only minor improvement I can think of is to have each student get into and out of a kayak on dry land to make sure everything is adjusted and fitted to them before getting in at the dock. If we had done this I think my kayak might have been better fitted to me. I am a bigger guy at 265-270, 5'10", and not in the greatest shape (unless round is a shape). The kayak I used is what I would call a hybrid kayak with a very large square shaped cockpit. Anyway, the seat was all the way back (I didn't know this when I got into the kayak), and I couldn't reach the foot braces at all - even adjusting them all the way to the shortest position. By the time I realized this, everybody was in their boats and we were moving on with the course. I was able to learn and complete all the different paddling strokes despite not really fitting the kayak very well - I was positioned too far in the stern of the kayak. Definitely plan on renting kayaks from them again in the future - I'll just make sure that I fit the kayak better than during the class. We will probably try out the Cottonwood Lake Family trip sometime this summer.

Nice clean campground, sites are in the open and near to each other but pull thru site easy in/out…read moreand long enough for tow vehicle, lots of class A RVs here when we stayed, location was convenient for our trip and so we will stay here again, will hold packages for you, they have other services like laundry, propane sale, etc, overall a good place to spend the night.

Lulu's tents and events is a MUST stop! The accommodations are beautifully placed right along the…read moreknik river. It's a perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle. If you happen to book during one of her concert nights, you won't regret it. The artists are real and have hearts for music. The community gathers and it gives you the true Alaskan experience. Anyone can stay in a hotel, but few can say that they have stayed in a place like this. Give the people back home something to be jealous about when you share about your trip.

Great Hospitality, Food, Bed - Cabin, Location, & Cleanliness…read more My stay was the Perfect Vacation! It was everything I wanted to do while literally getting away from everything. I didn't have to worry about a thing. The only complaint I have, is that I wish I had two more nights. In fact, I'm looking into booking for 2021. If you want to get away and do nothing or hike and see animals or explore untouched lands, then this is the place. I had to fly to get to the property. There is no cars or noise pollution. Hikes are so much fun. I was able to see Black bears and Grizzly bears. The food was great & plenty, plus they took our dietary needs into consideration with each meal. Thanks again and can't wait for next year! Until then... FREEZE!!

We were a group of 8- husbands and wives- on this day trip. Captain David Carson put us right on…read morethe fish and worked tirelessly all day! Capt David knew where to go- was fun, courteous and very helpful to everyone- novices and experienced fishermen/women! Our First Mate was Ashlyn- who is from Hawaii! This girl ya'll... this girl worked extremely hard and smart all day. Ashlyn helped one of us (not me) pull in a HUGE Lingcod! He's pictured above! What a fun day we all had- all thanks to David and Ashlyn for such a successful day of fishing! Thanks to them we are taking lots of fish back to Georgia!

I live in Alaska and try to do yearly charters, but this was the worst fishing charter I have ever…read morebeen on! Captain Dave was not personable at all and the only time he talked to us he accused my boyfriend of marking his spots which he was only looking for the clam fishery place to show me as he went there as a kid. The only deck hand was a 16-year-old girl who was sweet but for the number of people that were fishing that day on such rough waters (it was awful weather), we really needed another person to help or a more experienced one. I had to do most of the rebating of my hooks, which again I can do but this scared me as I was not comfortable catching a swinging hook close to the size of my hand in the air as it bangs against the boat. Even the young girl kept commenting how on days like this they need more than one deckhand job as captain dave put her in charge of 5 people at the front of the boat and he took charge of a single-family in the back of the boat. We had stopped at 3 different locations with no one catching anything except the occasional flounder. As the trip was coming closer to the end (7th hour on the boat) Captain Dave approached me and my boyfriend and said, "you need to decide whether we move to another location or keep trying to fish here", he was clearly agitated and added in as I told him that I didn't know, "if I make the decision to move again (this would be move #4) and we don't catch anything people will be mad at him for always moving" I told him again that I didn't know again and he walked back inside and said that he will wait for a decision, the other family that was fishing helped me decide to move as that sounded like what captain dave wanted to do. As I went inside to get ready to move the other family that attended was a grandfather, father, and son trio who had hooked a fish as we were loading to go but they had to try and gavel it, he ended up losing the fish. Captain and deckhand were inside and I heard captain dave snicker and say "oh he should have waited for us" that family was left out there alone and had no way to call for help and later on the grandfather stated that he tried getting anyone's attention by waving his hands but no one noticed him. I am ok if I get a charter and don't catch anything but to have this kind of treatment and behavior was awful. the deckhand did state that fishing that day was bad but as we got off had to step over the large catch from another charter "crazy rays" which I do HIGHLY recommend. I also got more communication from that captain in just a few mins worth than I did from captain dave the whole trip and I got to see the HUGE amount of fish that he hauled in, it was impressive. I DO NOT recommend Alaska Good Time Charters but definitely book early to get into Crazy Rays charters, they cost a little more and fill up quickly but for a better experience and a higher chance of catching fish, I wouldn't do it any other way again. Don't waste your money with Alaska Good Time Charter!

This is a hidden gem of the valley. An indoor track above the skating rink at Menard Center. Open…read morefrom early morning to early evening year round, Menard Center is one of my favorite places to walk. The indoor temperature is just cool enough to keep you moving and there is hardly ever anyone on the track. Perfect for snowstormy and rainy days. On sunny days there is an outdoor trail that's well maintained and peaceful.

What a great sports complex for the Valley!!!…read more We were there specifically for the Sportsman's Show on Friday and pleasantly surprised with the facility. Ample parking three sides of the building with entrances on both sides if needed for heavier traffic. They had the Sportsman's show set up in what may have been a courted area, but I'm not certain. We also say a turf field where a group of young ladies were practicing softball. It was really great to see such a nice sports complex for the kids and adults to utilize in Wasilla!!!