This is a beautiful park in Willow with a lot of new features. It's really intended for locals,…read morebut if yoy happen to be in the area (for example at Nancy Lake camping) this is a nice little park. The pond has some interesting bird activity so I recommend binoculars if you have them. There's also several trails and disc golf.

Welcome. Welcome to…read morethe best rock climbing (on the road system) in Alaska! The good news: - Rock quality is good, great for Alaska. - Views are stunning: this area looks like medieval Scottish highlands. You'll keep expecting a bunch of kilted warriors to run out from behind some granite rock band, chasing a wounded Grendel. The bad news: - It's pretty much mandatory to have a high clearance vehicle to reach the good climbing (which is at absolute end of Archangel Rd, past the gate). All trucks can make it, and most SUV's and Subaru's should be able to make the journey as well. Anything else WILL get heavily scrapped. This road is very rough and very rocky. You know how the warnings about most roads in Alaska (Haul Rd, McCarthy Rd, Denali Hwy, etc) are just ghost stories designed to scare tourists? THIS IS NOT LIKE THAT. There are deep ruts and there are large embedded rocks. You don't need 4WD or AWD, the road is flat. But your vehicle better have its belly at least 7 inches off the ground. - The weather. Generally not good. It's wet and rainy here almost all the time. It can be birdies and sunshine and lawn mowin' and crisp Coors Light in Palmer but...be a land of dreary granite buttresses up here. So, what if I don't about climbing? What's in this valley for me? I'm glad you asked. About 2.9 miles down the trail (you can do this in just about any car, if you drive carefully) you'll find a trailhead and parking lot. This is the Reed Lakes Trailhead. It's a moderate hike to some beautiful lakes. It also has pretty good berry-pickin' in the fall, but don't tell anyone! If you drive to the end of the trail you can poke around the Fern Mine: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fern-mine-at-archangel-valley-palmer If you wander at least 0.5 miles away from the road, there are many spots where you are allowed to backcountry camp here. Highly recommended, it's picturesque and it's free! This road gets shut down as soon as the snow sticks, so don't even try it! It is open for winter recreation activities, though.

This is a really strange park. I would have given it 4 stars had it been not for the very strange…read moreand invasive list of rules they have posted at this STATE park that is run by a private company. Ive posted them in the pictures section- you can read them for yourself. One of the rules is consumption of alcohol while at this park is illegal. I'm sorry WHAT?!?! As a person who works in Healthcare in a state with a problem with alcoholism, I can appreciate the need for regulation. But there is a line that should not be crossed. Its not the 1920's kids. And if someone isn't being a public problem, then what they do while they are on vacation is none of your damn business. Hard stop. Its also $2 more for day parking here than at other Alaska State Parks. Psh

Archangel Valley is incredible…read more Fern Mine? Just alright. It's classic Alaska: Step 1: mine leaves rusty equipment and questionable shafts. Step 2: instead of cleaning up/restoring area, make it a "historic" mining area. Step 3: Profit? The "other" mine in the area is much more interesting. If you've made it down to this mine, feel free to hike the trails through lush foliage or set up a tent at the perfect spot. Don't waste too much time at the mine though. NOTE: a high-clearance vehicle is REQUIRED to get here. If you don't know if you have a high-clearance vehicle or not: you don't. Stay away or your car will get TRASHED.

At the terminus of Archangel Road in Hatcher Pass country lies a very cool abandoned mining route…read morethat leads to Fern Mine. Fern Mine was actively mined from 1922 to 1951 and produced about 44,000 ounces of gold. Mining relics are scattered all over the property, including a Caterpillar generator and cooking utensils. It really is a cool site and if you keep going, there are winding paths that line Archangel Creek. About a mile past the mine there is a free-use cabin with bunks, even a (yucky) working outhouse. I actually intended to do the Reed Lakes Trail, as its trailhead is on Archangel Road. However we passed the trailhead to see what was at the end, and low and behold, you get to Fern Mine. A website that provides more info: http://www.alaskahikesearch.com/hikes/Archangel.htm

We had an unbelievable time and experience with Dallas. We saw bears, goats and amazing…read morelandscapes...glaciers, rivers, reflection ponds etc...we learned a lot about the wildlife, the valley and Alaska. When we arrived in Whittier, we realized we had 3-4 hours before we were scheduled to leave town and Dallas helped us plan an experience we will remember for a long time. Will definitely book another tour with he and his team the next time we are in Alaska.

I can't imagine living in the valley without this gem of a place for nordic skiing. The trails are…read moreclearly marked and full of fun. I have many photos on www.ellaembree.blogspot.com Hiking, mountain biking, skiing

What an amazing place!! I can only imagine how fun all the ski trails are in the winter when there…read moreis snow around. First, upon arrival in the parking lot, you will find ample parking spaces and a beautiful view (weather pending) of the entire Matsu Valley including Pikneer and Matanuska Peaks. Second, there are several boards with information to check out. One of the boards includes a small pamphlet with all the trails. I HIGHLY recommend grabbing one. The hiking trail intersects with the ski trails at several points and the map is very helpful. (But still a little confusing) Third, the trail itself is wonderful. I took off on the "Race Trail." It's is very easy (but a little wet in October) for the first .95 miles. After that it starts to head uphill at a pretty decent angle. About a mile and half in, you intersect with the Blueberry Knoll Loop. It's not a far climb, but the views on a clear day become spectacular very quickly. At the 1 mike marker, there is an offshoot trail that heads to a picnic table and two Adirondack chairs. Very relaxing spot.

This trail shoots off from the Eklutna Lakeside Trail:…read more https://www.yelp.com/biz/eklutna-lakeside-trail-eklutna To access it, park at the Eklutna Lake parking lot. Get on the Eklutna Lakesde trail, but instead of heading towards the lake, go the opposite direction. In about 500 ft, you should see the trial marker for Twin Peaks. The official trail is about 5 miles round trip. If you're not an avid hiker (or are feeling lazy, or are short on time) a good benchmark is, well, "the first bench". It's about 1.6 miles one-way and offers one of the best places in the Chugach to sit on a bench and take in views. (the "second bench" is another mile up trail, and where the official trail ends) If you are an avid hiker, you have a ton of options: East Twin Peak: this is more of a scramble that a hike, if you're not sure what that means, it's best to attempt it when you do! https://www.yelp.com/biz/east-twin-peak-palmer West Twin Peak: a much easier climb than East Tiwn, but the approach is pretty long and obnoxious. https://www.yelp.com/biz/west-twin-peak-anchorage Pepper Peak: if you leave the second bench and keep going uphill (or, take a "secret trail" that starts at the first bench and goes straight up, with no switch backs), You'll eventually summit this peak. It's only a hike, nothing technical about it. Eklutna High Traverse: This starts at Twin Peaks trail and ends at Bold Ridge trail, hitting a half-dozen peaks along the way. It's over 27 miles long! Protip: This trail is an outstanding place to catch fall colors!

Nice easy to moderate hike. The view was nice on the top. It wasn't the best one out of all the…read morehikes that we did but it was pretty nice. Alaska is beautiful no mater where you hike in general. And of course, it wouldn't be called Bear Point without a bear. We were a bit disappointed that we didn't spot any bear on our hike. As we were heading back about 5 to 10 minute walk to our car, we heard a loud noise and a huge black shadow about 15 feet in front of us on the trail. Our dog reacted and started barking. The bear saw us and climbed on the tree near by. We had a staring contest for a good 5-10 minutes before we decided that it was safe to walk under him to be on our way. It was quite an experience to have a bear on the tree right above your head staring at you at you walked by. Pretty awesome! That bear was more afraid of us than we are at him. However, bring your bear spray and gun just in case on any hike in AK because you never know who/what you might run into.

This is a solid trail that no one apparently knows about…read more If you're tired of crowds on Chugach trails, look no further than here! There are stunning views of Denali from atop Bear Mountain/Peak/whatever its called. It's also really flat on top, great for pitching a tent and watching the northern lights. The trail goes on forever, but I hear the quality deteriorates around mile 12 or so.