This park/ campground was amazing with epic views and there were play areas for the children or…read morepavilions for parties. Many campgrounds sites were available, but we were just there for a walk and taking some photos. Planes were flying above as it's near the Palmer airport and I got some great shots of the airplanes flying above. This airport is predominantly single engine planes. Trails were marked well, but keep track of where you are, as we were not sure on the way back, but you have cell service to look at where you are exactly to find your way back. It's next to a cemetery, which was a great spot for photography also. Overall a great choice for an easy stretch out your legs hike, with marked options for longer hikes/ mountain biking trails.

One of the nicest, most modern campgrounds in Alaska. To start, they have on site hot showers…read more Thats unprecedented in Alaska. They also have a volleyball court, playground, children's bike course, and beautifully landscaped facility. This is much more on par with what you would expect in the lower 48. They also have a nice set of short trails (not safe for children who are incapable of following directions due to shear cliffs), but other than that they are fairly easy with nice views and not terribly difficult.

Great place fir kids of all ages to learn and explore. Took grandkids here until they wire us out!read more

Beautiful escape to nature with endless flat trails just outside of Anchorage, Eagle River Nature…read moreCenter is a family staple with lots of wildlife.

This falls under the "great trail if you live nearby, A-OK trail if you don't" category of trails…read more The views it leads to are just OK. It kind of fizzles out at the foot of the mountains, but doesn't really lead to the summits of them. You can keep going and climb the mountains, but you will be very much off trail. The first few miles are in the trees, eventually it opens up into an A-OK valley. I had no idea this trail was here, and I'm glad we tried it, just not sure I'll be back. It's very close to the the outstanding Chugiak cafe: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chugiak-cafe-chugiak So you could make a morning of it :)

First off, credit to John Tyson and his book, "Best Hikes Near Anchorage" for outlining this trail…read moreand giving all the pertinent details needed! If you're from out of town and looking for a good introduction to backcountry hiking, this is a trail for you. The first two miles are at a moderate uphill pace and then it levels out. If your from in town and looking for a versatile trail with backpacking options, also for you. Excited to hike beyond the four mile point next time. Start your GPS at the trail sign (where you'll find some general trail notes and any notices you need to know). and not at the parking lot. There are some really nice views of the inlet and Sleeping Lady. At about the 1.6-1.9 mile mark you'll come across a perfectly situated log on the right of the trail which provides for a nice seat and a beautiful view. Take this in as you'll be headed inland from this point. If you're a little tired at this point, the harder climbing is almost done. Make sure to follow the sign for "Summer Trail." It is the smaller of the two paths, but the correct one. Around mile 4, you'll cross a bridge with a decent stream. It's a great stopping point for pictures and maybe your turning around spot I'd recommend going on about another half mile. At that point the trail opens up into a flatter area with some nice peaks to your left. Throw out a blanket and make yourself a cup of coffee! The trip back is much quicker as it is all downhill. John Tyson says 4-6 hours. Pretty accurate I would say. My wife and I did it in just under 4 hours with a 30 minute break. Didn't see much wildlife. Saw some moose prints and moose droppings. Maybe one ptarmigan. The views are still worth it to me.

Review with an asterisk …read more.. Nice little locals-only secret. The trailhead is ambiguous and not well-marked, but there is no fee or parking charge as it's informal as trailheads go. It's straight up and can be a little brutal at times depending on the weather - but the views once you start hitting the false peaks get very good. And the views on the summit on a clear day are spectacular and panoramic. Summit for most of 2-4 hours depending on shape, pace, and weather. Highly recommend as a short but vigorous hike for those who are healthy and ballsy. Straight instead of going up will also lead to a game trail that offers XC skiing Asterisk - I am the guy whose driveway intersects with the trailhead. Thank you to Andrew H for his plea to be nice to the locals. Please be nice. I don't like being a meany when you block the street, or play in my driveway. But I will be - I live here

This is a trail that's really grown on me…read more If you're looking to get really high afterwork, it's impossible to beat! At 5,001 ft, this is the easiest way to get above 5k in the Anchorage bowl! In the winter, the mountain is frequently used by backcountry skiers but it's also used by gumby post-holers such as myself! The trailhead is at the end of Hiland road, please be respectful of all the private property in the area. It would be horrible to ruin relations with the neighbors here who are sharing their area with us! Don't part where signs say not to park and, for fucks sake, don't litter! The trail is a little hard to find at first, you'll go east for a hundred feet or so, then quickly turn left (north) and start up the mountain proper. Harp ain't technical, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and follow the ridge up. The views on the way up are good, but not great. But the views from the summit proper, are a sight to behold. The view of frightening Yukla Peak is one of the best! The views of Anchorage, the Sleeping Lady, and the Tordrillos behind them are from an angle rarely seen. We went up on the last day of January for the sunset, and it was brutally cold. We skipped summit beers, but we did get some stunning summit photos!

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.

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.

Starting at the trailhead on Smith Road you'll head in on a relatively flat trail…read more It becomes mostly uphill at the moment that you take a slight left off the ATV trail. Don't worry, it's clearly labeled here and you'll know you're on the right trail because there will be a marker. Around 4600 you'll start to hear rushing water off to your left. Around 5400-5600 you'll hit your first view of Palmer and the Butte/Pioneer off to your left. Mostly uphill until 9800. Then it smooths out in the McRoberts Basin for about two miles. You Lazy Creek at 10800 After you cross the gulch around mile 4, it gets steep and strenuous. The top is just shy of 6 miles. The last marker I saw was 29700. In the future I might mountain bike in 4-5 miles. Or backpack in four miles, set up camp and hike to the summit with a couple water bottles. Certainly worth the views, but the books don't lie. It's a strenuous trail.

Only on Alaska Yelp can you be first to review a very popular hike!…read more Even if you don't know this peak, you know this peak. It's the "other" prominent peak (besides Pioneer) that looms over Palmer. This is the "big boy" corollary to the neighboring Lazy Mountain trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lazy-mountain-trail-head-palmer The trail starts out on a 4x4 road. It's pretty wide with hard packed gravel. Eventually it narrows and gets VERY brushy. Seriously, practice your "HEY BEAR"'s, because the vegetation really overtakes the middle part of this trail. Eventually you'll emerge from the brush and out onto alpine tundra. The trail is the obvious dirty path running through the hills of alpine prairie. Lots of grounds squirrels here. Now you're at the base of Matanuska Peak. Don't be like me. Take a trekking pole. The final 1,000 ft of gain to the summit would be WAY easier with a pole to balance on! Some rock is white and sticky, but lose. Some rock is solid, but covered in black lichen and therefore slippery. Choose your poison! (trail markers guide you up the entire trail, even up through the scree and rock, keep an eye out) The summit is pretty small, you'll definitely get to know the other people on the top. (can get crowded in the summer) Great views of the Chugach: Ice Cream Cone peak, Knik Glacier, Pioneer Peak, Twin Peaks, and the Palmer valley. I found the hike down from the summit to be much easier/faster, but my knees are feeling stronger these days. If you have bad knees...again, get yourself a pole. Stats for this trail: Miles R/T: 8 Elevation gain: 5,670 ft

This is a great trail!…read more But I don't hike it much... Why? My (your, kind reader!) State Park pass doesn't work here. You need a special pass to park here. Or, you can buy a day pass. The year membership is $25, you are effectively joining the Anchorage Ski Club. More details here: http://arcticvalley.org/anchorage-ski-club/ However... You can also access this trail by going to the South Fork Eagle River trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/south-fork-eagle-river-trail-anchorage After about a mile of hiking, you'll see a sign post pointing right (if you are hiking in) to Rendezvous Ridge. This will take you up onto the ridge where you can hike parallel to the South Fork trail with WAY better views. There is a lot of up and down on the ridge, but none of it is the type of climbing that requires a rope. It's the perfect way to spend a long day when the weather's good. There are even numerous flat spots where you could backcountry camp. (there isn't any water up here though, so plan accordingly!) Eventually the ridge connects to Triangle Peak. This is a hideously difficult-looking mountain from the South Fork trail but...it's a puppy dog when you're right up on it. It's a scramble up loose blocks of rock, similar to Flattop, although much longer. It's about 8 miles from the car to Triangle Peak from the East Fork Trail. There are tons of Dall Sheep all along the ridge. They kept sauntering ahead of me, I felt like I was herding them. This area (the area near the parking lot) is also very good for berry picking.

This is the sister trail to the South Fork Trail…read more It's very interesting because you walk under and around all the ski lifts connected to the ski lodge. I'm going to try and give a comprehensive review for this. From the Glenn, take the Arctic Valley exit like you are headed to Moose Run Golf Course. You'll pass the golf course on your left and the driving range on your right. The road will turn to dirt/gravel and head up and incline. Just keep going until the road ends at the ski lodge. There is a 5 fee per vehicle and a trail map guide at the parking lot. From here you have lots of options. We headed out to the overlook. It was about a ten minute walk. Right before the overlook there is a four way. The overlook is straight ahead and the left trail heads up toward the ridge. Once you head up to ridge. It is a clear gravel/dirt trail at least wide enough for an ATV. I would say the hike is moderate. You head up for quite a while (about 2 miles). At around the two mile mark you will be able to see down into the valley with the South Fork Trail. As best as I could gather, you're to the left of the South Fork Trail parking. From here you have several options. You could head down following the trail along the chair lift. It's muddy. It's about a 1.5 mile stretch down. Or You can continue up the next ridge or around the peak in front of you and check out all the trails you see across the valley. Lots of options. Hope this helps!

I'd done some research on short trails near Anchorage and it was a toss up between this and…read moreThunderbird Falls. Having read reviews of both, I decided on Barbara Falls based on trail reports and its relative proximity to the Eagle River Nature area, my other morning destination. Parking is on Ken Logan Circle but is limited and has some areas posted for No Parking. The property surrounding the trailhead is private so stay on trail and be respectful of the residents. We ended up being the first people on trail around 10 am and as we left around 11:15, it was filling up. There are two ways to the falls. One is to cross the bridge and head up to an upper viewing deck. Then you can double back, cross the bridge as if you're going down to the lot and to your left there are a few rock stairs that lead you along the river and fantastic views of the lower falls. It's about 1.5 miles total if you do both short trails. On the lower trails, especially (but really all through the hike) make noise and carry bear spray. The lower trail has some denser brush and is a narrow path where you could surprise wildlife if not making yourself known. All in all, a great first hike in Alaska!