We discovered East side of this park and corresponding trail (which offshoot from the Chester Creek…read moretrail) purely by chance the other day when we began our walk at Valley of the Moon Park. This little trail appears to have been established in a wetlands area back in the 70s is is mostly used by people who live in the area (it needs some updating). They did recently add a platform on the bank that artists use in the summer for painting wildlife, but frankly, the view on the west side of the park (where the notorious duck poop is in the parking lot) is much nicer if you explore. One bonus to the east side is they've recently expanded and improved the public parking area and it doesn't have the duck poop problem the west side parking lot that's on the Soenard bypass does.

Recommended for general welding plus OSHA certified safety equipment welding. As of the date of…read morethis review the business is open at the address shown. May 4, 2016

Stunning! The views are breathtaking from start to finish, and the trail itself is well-kept and…read moreeasy to follow. The scenery changes as you go, with incredible overlooks and peaceful spots to take it all in. Definitely a must-see if you're in the area!

This is a great hike! It's probably right around the longest you can go for a weekday, after-work…read morehike...and still get to bed at a normal time. (unless you trail-run, of course) If you start at the Bear Valley trailhead, the stats are: 5.4 miles round trip, 2,300 ft. elevation gain BIG SIDE RANT INCOMING: About that trailhead. It's located in an area with many McMansions. The people that live in these McMansions chose to build their McMansions within spitting distance of PUBLIC lands. And yet, they hate it when people use these public lands. Parking is tiny and STRICT. The police left these wealthy McMansion owners with a sign explaining these rules. Rampant theft in all of Anchorage and these one-percenters in the hills waste law enforcement's time because someone parked on the side of the road. Of course, their excuse for this is "safety", because of course it is. Safety, like children, is always a great excuse to get your way. WHAT?! ARE YOU SAYING YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SAFETY?! WHAT IF MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE AND THE FIRE ENGINE TAKES 2 SECONDS LONGER BECAUSE A HIKER PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD? The icing on top is that these McMansions are usually vacant. Such beautiful land with beautiful views: wasted. Anyway, be prepared to not have a parking spot if you're here on a good weather day and/or a weekend. There is an "overflow" (seems silly to use "overflow" when the "main" lot only has 3-4 spaces) place you can park, but it will add another half-mile to your hike. A half-mile with scenic views of McMansions. The hike takes you a softly-undulating ridge. It leads up and down a few false-summits until you arrive at the castle-turret-looking formation that is the true summit of McHugh Peak. There are numerous ways to the top, of varying difficulty. Plan your route accordingly. If you start to climb up and feels very difficulty, maybe back down and try a different side. There is some steep relief on some sides of the summit. A fall would be...."real bad".

This is a monument park, withb2 benches, perfect, well maintained landscaping and a number of…read moremonuments. There is no parking directly attached, but it is well connected to sidewalks and every aspect of the tiny park is perfectly and thoughtfully constructed to allow for the visibility if those memorializes. Most importantly, the individual names of those who have been the victims of violent crime are remembered here. Unfortunately the majority are Alaska Native women and children. The state of Alaska has a huge population with violence against this population. It's nice that the city and state dedicates resources to not forgetting.

This is a very small pocket pocket park, that if you blink, you will miss it. The main feature of…read morethis park is the Victims for Justice Memorial, which has been located in the park since 1994. The memorial has a lot of flowers place about and honors over 350 Alaskans that were victim of a violent crime. Their names are put on granite pillars that has a light that illuminates them at night. The park is named after Chester Hostetler, a former city manager, Agent Controller, and Councilman. There are a couple of benches in the park to sit on. There is metered street parking within a reasonable walking distance and commercial parking lots and garages available nearby. The park was renovated in 2017 to include an ADA-compliant walkway, new memorial pillars, and improved lighting landscaping. You may visit this park mainly to visit the memorial. It does have a pair of benches to sit on, and it touts itself as a peaceful park. It is not very peaceful though, due to it location right off a main drag. People that work in buildings nearby may find this place useful to get out of their building and hang out during a break or to eat lunch on a good weather day. I visited the park during early Spring, so I was not able to experience the park's beautiful landscaping since it had not bloomed yet. The pictures of it that I saw though looked pretty good.

I consider this the "locals only" version of Elderberry Park…read more(http://www.yelp.com/biz/elderberry-park-anchorage) What does that mean? It's a bit more off the beaten path. You'll likely only find residents of the Bootlegger's Cove neighborhood hanging out here. It's smaller than the Elderberry, but much, much less crowded. There are 5 parking spaces. Unlike Elderberry, it's unfortunately not connected to the Coastal Trail (http://www.yelp.com/biz/tony-knowles-coastal-trail-anchorage), Why would you go here? If you want to picnic, near downtown, AWAY FROM THE RIFF-RAFF. There are also whales for the kids to crawl all over. In the summer you can gawk at tourists coming into Anchorage on the trains, as they gawk at Alaska.

Since it was such a beautiful sunny day out, I decided to head down to the park to study in the…read moreshade and get some fresh air after my disappointing experience at Starbucks yesterday. Nulbay Park is tucked away in a residential neighborhood at the very end of the downtown area not far from Elderberry Park. This park is one of the smallest ones in Anchorage, but it is also very quiet and clean and there are none of the questionable loiterers that hang out en masse at Town Square Park a few blocks away. This is a good place to lay out a blanket on the grass and enjoy the sunshine, play Frisbee or throw a ball with your dog, or have an enjoyable picnic with friends or family away from the crowds of the larger parks. I found a cozy spot in the shade of a large tree to study while enjoying the weather at the same time. There is also a phenomenal view of Cook Inlet and the Sleeping Lady at the edge of the park. The trains of AK Railroad will come by every now and then, some filled with tourists on the way to Seward and others hauling gravel, rocks, or cargo as they're passing by. The engineer at the front of the train won't hesitate to blow the train horn if there happens to be kids playing in the park. A great place to spend the afternoon and a pleasant change of pace from heading down to a noisy coffee shop.

Stuff this place has that most other parks do not: Parking…read morelot (pretty big too) Large, reservable shelter Stuff it has that many other parks have: Open field/lawn. Cycling trail that cuts through it. Playground equipment Slightly above average, decent place to have a get-together. Although I'd personally be pretty butthurt about no views of the mountains...

I used to live about a quarter mile from this park and had no idea it was there. I became aware of…read morethe park as a result of the Fish Creek Festival. This park is not much more than an open field and a pavilion, which makes it great for gatherings but not much else. There is a horrifically bad bike trail around this park that is an absolute nightmare of frost heaves. The pathetic remnants of Fish Creek also surrounding this park are nothing more than a swamp now. If community efforts to "daylight" Fish Creek come to fruition, this one day may be a much improved community park.

Kincaid Park is my tax dollars at work! This recreational wonderland is a smash hit in both summer…read moreand winter, which makes it a great investment in all things fun and game. The Chalet is well maintained and a nice place to hang out. It's also good for weddings, work parties, family barbecues, romantic picnics, and Pluto-spotting. On trail, off trail, track meets, nordic skiing, biking, wood wandering, moose-spotting, volunteer gardening and maybe some beach walking (try avoiding the horse flies). Never been? Hit the info desk for a map and get on exploring with your bad self.

Every year we do an annual Christmas Eve carriage ride in downtown Anchorage with a group of…read morefriends. The Horse Drawn Carriage Company offers a fantastic experience as you tour the city via sleigh or carriage. Highly recommended! The horses are safe and totally bomb proof; the drivers are highly professional.

We had a great trip. We were very thankful for the provided blankets since it was in the single…read moredigits.