Whether you are an experienced hiker or looking for a gentle walk, our trails offer something for everyone. From tranquil wetlands to panoramic mountain ridges, discover the best of Alaska’s scenery. Lace up your boots and start your next adventure today.
Trail Activity Legend
Hatcher Pass
Reed Lakes Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 9.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Features: Alpine lakes, granite boulder fields, rushing mountain waterfalls.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Gold Mint Trail 🥾⛷️🐾
Distance: 16.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Follows Little Susitna River valley, glacier moraine views, berry picking.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
April Bowl Trail 🥾🐾
Distance: 2.2 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: High alpine tarns, rapid ridge elevation, early summer wildflowers.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Craigie Creek Trail 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 5.4 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Old historic mining road grade, broad valley vistas, dog friendly.
Parking Fee: No
Government Peak Recreation Summer Loop 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 8.0 miles (Network)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Flowing dirt bicycle tracks, mountain singletrack, subalpine entry point.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Archangel Valley Trail 🥾⛷️🐾
Distance: 4.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Massive roadside granite boulders, tundra walking, winter ski touring.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Independence Mine Loop 🥾♿👶
Distance: 1.0 mile (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Restored historic mining camp structures, paved paths, interpretive panels.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Government Peak Moose Creek Trail🥾⛷️🐾
Distance: 1.0 miles
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Relentless vertical climb, exposed ridge walking, panoramic valley views.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Palmer & Knik River
Lazy Mountain Trail / Morgan Horse Trailhead🥾🐾
Distance: 5.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Features: Famous direct vertical ascent, rugged footpaths, peak summit bench.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Lazy Moose Trail 🥾🐾
Distance: 4.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Forested switchback alternative to Lazy Mountain, shaded canopy.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Matanuska River Park 🥾 👶🐾
Distance: 1.6 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Glacial river beach access, cottonwood forest floor paths, urban bike park.
Parking Fee: No
Matanuska Peak Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 12.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Features: Extreme 5,670-foot climb, scree fields, true mountaineering challenge.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Pioneer Ridge Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 9.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Features: Alpine ridgeline traverse, Knik River vistas, high probability goat sightings.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Bodenberg Butte Trail🥾🐾
Distance: 2.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Structural wooden staircases, panoramic view of Knik Glacier, family favorite.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Plumley-Maud Trail 🥾🚲🏍️🐾
Distance: 8.5 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Multi-use muddy track, heavy ATV and mountain bike use, forest scenery.
Parking Fee: No
Matanuska River Park 🥾 👶🐾
Distance: 1.6 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Glacial river beach access, cottonwood forest floor paths, urban bike park.
Parking Fee: No
Matanuska Greenbelt & Lakes
Crevasse-Moraine Trail 🥾🚲⛷️🐾
Distance: 6.7 miles (Network)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Glacial depressions and ridges, dense singletrack networks, winter ski loops.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Matanuska Lake Trail 🥾🚲👶🐾
Distance: 3.0 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Wide gravel loops, stocked fishing docks, connects to local college campus.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Bearberry Bluff Trail 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 1.1 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Rollercoaster dirt singletrack, popular bike trail, bright autumn leaves.
Parking Fee: No
Kepler Park 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 2.8 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Wetland viewing platforms, bird watching, flat and rolling dirt paths.
Parking Fee: No
Mooseberry Mesa Loop 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 1.4 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Fast trail running track, birch stands, connects directly to dynamic loop hubs.
Parking Fee: No
Cottonwood Creek Trail 🥾🐾
Distance: 4.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Salmon spawning viewing areas, marshy wetlands, flat dirt pathways.
Parking Fee: No
Wasilla
Settlers Bay Coastal Park 🥾🚲 👶🐾
Distance: 9.0 miles (Network)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Ocean overlook structures, coastal mudflat edges, newer community park trails.
Parking Fee: No
Menard Trail 🥾🚲⛷️♿ 👶🐾
Distance: 1.1 Mile
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: A paved, easy-to-walk, 1-mile path that winds around the wooded perimeter of the Menard Center.
Parking Fee: No
Lake Lucille Park Trail 🥾⛷️ 👶🐾
Distance: 2.5 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Quiet lakeside loops, thick spruce woods, connects to group campsites.
Parking Fee: No
Wasilla Creek Wetlands Trail 🥾♿👶
Distance: 1.0 mile (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Fully boardwalked wetlands system, interpretive signs, excellent birding.
Parking Fee: No
Scout Ridge Trail 🥾🐾
Distance: 2.0 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Located at the Sports Complex, ridge view of Wasilla, short hills.
Parking Fee: No
Jim Creek Recreation Trail 🥾⛺🏍️
Distance: 5.0 miles (Point-to-Point)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Open glacial silt riverbeds, heavily motorized ATV area, mountain views.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Carter Lake Trail (Mat-Su) 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 3.5 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Rolling wooded singletrack, multi-use paths, bridges over creeks.
Parking Fee: No
Bumpus Recreation Area Trails 🥾🚲🐾👶
Distance: 2.2 miles (Network)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Flat walking paths circumscribing local sports fields and forest edges.
Parking Fee: No
Sutton & Glacier View
Eska Falls Trail 🥾⛺🏍️🐾
Distance: 8.2 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Features: Historic coal country terrain, roaring waterfalls, high alpine valley bowl.
Parking Fee: No
Matanuska Glacier Rec Site 🥾♿ 👶
Distance: 1.0 mile (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Elevated wooden overlook decks, views of active glacier ice, paved paths.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Caribou Creek Trail 🥾⛺🏍️🐾
Distance: 24.9 miles (Point-to-Point)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Features: Deep canyon drop-ins, fossil hunting beds, extended multi-day track.
Parking Fee: No
Lionshead Trail 🥾🐾
Distance: 2.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Features: Short but intensely steep rocky bluff, overlooks the glacier and highway.
Parking Fee: No (Cell tower access road)
Purinton Creek Trail 🥾⛺🏍️
Distance: 14.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Mining access trail, muddy wallows, climbs up into Talkeetna Mountains foothills.
Parking Fee: No
Talkeetna
Talkeetna Lakes Trails 🥾🚲⛷️🐾
Distance: 3.5 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Old-growth canopy forest, resident river otters, views of Denali.
Parking Fee: Yes ($6 Borough Pass)
Byers Lake Loop 🥾⛺🚲🐾
Distance: 5.0 miles (Loop)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Large river suspension bridge, wild salmon viewing creeks, heavy bear area.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Kesugi Ridge Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 30.0 miles (Point-to-Point)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Features: Renowned multi-day tundra ridge traverse, unparalleled views of Denali.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
X-Y-Z Lakes Trail 🥾🚲🐾
Distance: 4.5 miles (Network)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐★★★★
Features: Interlinked bog and lake boardwalk loops near Talkeetna spur road.
Parking Fee: No
Ermine Hill Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 7.2 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Direct access connector up to the spine of Kesugi Ridge, subalpine brush.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Little Coal Creek Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 6.4 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐★★
Features: Easiest and quickest route to climb above the treeline in northern region.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Curry Ridge Trail 🥾👶🐾
Distance: 6.5 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐★★★
Features: Gently graded modern switchbacks, alpine lake at top, expansive horizon views.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)
Troublesome Creek Trail 🥾⛺🐾
Distance: 2.0 miles (Round Trip)
Difficulty Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★
Features: Flood-damaged backcountry access route, steep river silt cut banks.
Parking Fee: Yes ($5 State Park Pass)