Too many people. Too many loose dogs. Fish hooks everywhere. The area is clean due to people…read morecleaning up the poop from dogs. The nature is ok.

Best thing about this lake: it has a beaver in it! (and the worst thing about it, for all you tree…read morefans out there) It's also connected to the Campbell Creek trail system. Great for a when you want to hike after work but...the weather looks iffy. You can still move your legs back and forth, but bail pretty easily. King Street Brewing is also right next door, jussayin'.

Great park with plenty of amenities. It has a lot of walking and biking trails as well as sports…read morefield and hockey rinks. Also has beach access. Plenty of parking. If you want to see a moose, come here. I saw around 8!

Beautiful park with access to the costal trail! Saw a moose not too far from the parking lot. Nice…read morepaved paths and large parking lot. Public restrooms and maps available.

Potter Marsh was my last activity in Alaska. Having arrived back in Anchorage, following an epic…read moreroad trip back from Seward, I was staying my last night near the airport before an early flight the next day. Wanting to stretch my legs, I had decided to make an after dinner stop at Potter Marsh. Having passed it earlier in the day, I had seen a large bull moose from the road, as he enjoyed grazing in the tall grasses. Later on, when I actually had time to stop, no moose sightings. However, the walk along the well maintained boardwalk offered epic views and a peaceful, quiet evening walk. Lots of locals out enjoying the first sunny day, all week. Nicely done placards with info and complimentary spotting scopes to see any visiting bird life. It's a quick but worthy stop in Anchorage if you are looking for a simple outdoor activity.

Beautiful park with great views of the mountains and the water! Nice viewing of different wildlife…read moreas well. Nice boardwalk with information signs. Easy and free parking!

If you like quirky parks with loud jets flying over, this is the perfect place! I stumbled upon it…read morewhile exploring around Anchorage, and it was such a fun spot to spend some time on a beautiful sunny day. There's a large parking lot, complete with a couple of outhouses and (at least on the day I visited) a hot dog vendor, too. The parking lot sits well above the beach area, where I walked around and did plenty of people-watching before heading out to the point and the very colorfully painted structure that (maybe?) I think has something to do either with airplane or sea navigation. Surrounding the point were zillions of painted rocks. It was local art gone wild and I loved it! At regular intervals, giant jets flew over upon takeoff from the airport (which is mere yards away). If you don't like loud jets, I would not recommend this beach. But if you do, well, you've come to the right place!

A dead moose carcass…read more Graffiti, mostly colorful. Didn't close enough to see if it was also tasteful. Slippery clay and mud - lots of moments where I thought I might slip and fall to the ground. Definitely something to watch for. Small granulated particles sliding down the sandy hill. Crazy to see erosion in action. Just a few of the many exciting things along this walking area. Beautiful breeze off the inlet. Lots of great views of downtown Anchorage. Lots of parking available and a wonderful place to get to see a brilliant sunset. Bring a chair and a cooler!

The trail Joy G describes, is also known as "Ship Creek Trail" but it is very much an…read moreunderdeveloped wilderness trail near the Arctic Valley ski area (much higher up), you can read more about it here: https://alaskahikesearch.com/hikes/ship-creek-trail The trail I'm going to be describing starts north of downtown, at very low elevation, near the Ship Creek "urban" mucky fishing area. From there, it goes east for a couple miles. It's beautifully thought-out and well-maintained, but it soon peters out. It's a shame. It would be wonderful to have this trail cross-cut the entire town from West-to-East. My favorite feature is a pedestrian/bike only bridge that goes over the railroad tracks. If you want to extend your walk/ride, you can easily link this into a walk/ride of the Coastal Trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tony-knowles-coastal-trail-anchorage

This trail is something of a secret. Ask most Anchorage-ites about this trail and they'll look at…read moreyou quizzically and think you mean Ship Creek outlet down by the Port of Anchorage, which is famous for summer time combat salmon fishing. No, this trail is at the other end of Ship Creek, high in the mountains closer to where it starts. Well, I say high, but it's actually below the tree line, but potentially below the low clouds that stick to the mountains in Arctic Valley like thistles in a dog's fur. This makes for a very moist and potentially magical hiking experience. There were times I felt like I was in some mystical realm when the clouds would come and kiss the mountains. It's very surreal and dreamy at times. I say that, but it also isn't my favorite trail by a long shot. I hike here for one purpose, watermelon berry picking in late summer and early fall. I've never seen them as abundant anywhere else as here. I hear that somewhere in the Arctic Valley there is also the mother lode of blueberries, but I couldn't find a single one. Anyway, about the trail. It's not highly used and not maintained. But enough locals use it to keep the first few miles of weeds squished down so that the trail is easy to follow. It does fork off into 2 trails about 1.5 miles in. I take the left fork that follows Ship Creek because we like to play in the water. Someday I will scope out the right fork.... I understand that this trail is favored as a cross country skiing trail. It's gently sloped downward for the first few miles. I turn around and hike back after the trail gets harder to follow. I hear you can actually hike it 22 miles to Indian if you like bushwacking and mud. We just go as far as this cool old abandoned bridge that had trees growing out of it and turn around. At one time this must have been an unpaved auto road because there are several abandoned cars along the trail. Nice little trail. I wouldn't make a special trip for it, but if you live in the area and want to experience new, check this neglected trail out.

The Campbell Tract is tract of (park) land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management adjacent to…read morethe Far North Bicentennial Park. Most people visit Campbell Tract to see the "technically" active 1 mile airstrip (kept operational for emergencies). As you weave in and out of the 12 miles of trails controlled by BLM, it's virtually impossible to distinguish where one park ends and the next begins unless you're really good at reading maps. It's a spaghetti of trails back there! In August and September this stretch of birch forest is especially beautiful with fall colors. High bush cranberries and mini dogwoods changing color, and lots of wild berries, mushrooms and other fungi provide a rainbow colors in all shapes and sizes. Be aware that black and brown bears frequent this area. One of my pet peeves in this area are rude hikers. Lots of off leash dogs and people who don't clean up after them. Also, hikers using the sled dog trails that explicitly designated as for them alone. There are gazillions of trails back here, but people always want what they can't have.... (For more details about the BLM Campbell Tract, go here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/cultural-heritage-and-paleontology/archaeology/what-we-manage/alaska/campbell-tract-WWII

If you do not get lost, you are doing it wrong. Or maybe it's just me…read more The trails located around the Campbell Airstrip and Airport offer miles of intertwining trails. Walk em, run em, cross country ski on em, and if you really wanted to, you could get your sled dogs ready on these trails. This is another one of those areas where you need to be wildlife aware. There aren't too many "wow" or "super cool" spots to check out here. But if you are looking for a 'walk in the park' to get away, this could be your spot.

I just wanted to add a few more things to my list below ( please reference my previous review.)…read moreThis is a very long park strip and there are elements of this park that are seasonal. We just discovered a baseball field and TWO ice rinks on the East end of the park down by the train engine. SUPER COOL! One of the ice rinks is first come first served and the other appears to require a reservation but I believe is free. It looks to be intended for ice hockey games. Cool beans

A long strip of open grass located between downtown and mid-town Anchorage. I only really come here…read morefor the Alaska Club's yoga in the park, which runs from June to August. I see a lot of sports clubs out here. It's also a good spot to catch some rays in the summer and there are a few tennis courts as well.

This trailhead will get you to: Powerline Pass trail: which…read moreheads over to the Flattop area and eventually all the way down to the Turnagain Arm. Wolverine Peak: peak with astounding views. It's a hike with a lot of gain that never gets technical (you won't have to use your hands) nor exposed (there aren't big drops to be mindful of). Beta: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wolverine-peak-anchorage Near Point: a smaller peak in front of Wolverine. Think of it as the "Flattop of this trailhead". Beta: https://www.yelp.com/biz/near-point-hike-anchorage It's a great place to get good views of the metropolis we call "Anchorage". It's accessible in the winter as well as the summer. Word of warning about doing it in the summer: the first mile of this trail is in pretty thick brush. BE BEAR AWARE. Make LOUD NOISES. Once you get out of the brush you're probably fine, but the brush is mighty sketchy. There are also a decent amount of bears in the area. I've seen grizzlies from the summit of Wolverine.

I always hesitate to write reviews of my favorite trails and hikes because I fear increased foot…read moretraffic. But, really, this is one of my favorite trails systems. You can hike mountains, multiple trails, hooks onto power line pass for biking, carve your name on a bridge, etc... I live 10 minutes from here and try to come here at least once a week. Views are incredible and the trails can go from easy to moderate. It's a great park.