Mat-Su Valley Points of Interest

People love to pull off here and shoot a photo beside this classic sign. A local theory on the creek name is that the crusty, old sourdough who lived down near the creek used mules for guiding hunts. These mules purportedly escaped a lot, so the asses were always by the creek. Who knows? But it’s a classic photo for the friends back home.

Prospecting in early Alaska meant colorful characters and remote living. Mountain passes were often the best routes for men hiking hundreds of miles to reach gold. Most miners owned at least one gun. And they shot to kill.

Just south of the Caribou Creek bridge near mile marker 104 on the Glenn Highway in the shadow of the Lion’s Head rock formation, look for the turnoff for the Caribou Creek Recreational Mining Area.  You are not going to get fabulously rich here and be the next star of the TV reality show Gold Rush, but you do have the opportunity to carry a gold pan and shovel, hike the steep half-mile-long trail down to the creek, and pan for gold.

Gee is a dog mushing term for turn right. Iditarod musher Zack Steer owns Sheep Mountain Lodge and trains his team in this area. Spectacular colors on Sheep Mountain itself are from iron stains on ancient volcanic soils.

Hatcher Pass is known for its mining history and scenic beauty. Most traffic reaches the pass from the Palmer side. But the route from the "Willow side" is just as pretty. It's a little rougher around the edges, but easily drivable in summer by most vehicle types. Numerous potholes and hairpin turns near the top of the pass require careful navigation.

A good dirt road, with plenty of pull-outs, leaves the main highway on the south side of the road. The “Alascom Road” runs four miles across the valley floor. There are several lakes, stocked with trout and grayling, for fishermen, and plenty of camping spots. It’s quiet, and there’s great canoeing and bird watching on the lakes. It’s a popular weekend  More...

After following along the Little Susitna River on the Palmer Fishhook Road, you will see a pullout on the side of the road.

This is the Glacier View School, where roughly 40 students are enrolled in K-12. These students have an awesome view of the glacier and their  playground makes for a great spot for the family to get out and run around. What’s it like to be a student here? There are five teachers, so there’s one teacher for every 8 students! But sports are limited—a co-ed  More...

Mushers and their dogs lead off from Willow on the official start of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race during the second week in March. The grueling 1,049 mile journey to Nome promises below-zero temps, sleep deprivation and soul-searching over a 9-15 day period. 

This is one of Alaska's premier recreation meccas. You'll see lots of big-boy toys around Eureka Summit: RVs or big trucks pulling trailers with ATVs or brand new snow machines. This summit receives several feet of snow each winter, and rugged trails open access to the terrain during summer. Eureka Summit is the highest point along the Glenn Highway.

The Matanuska State Park is the best place for a free view of the Matanuska Glacier. You won’t be able to walk up to the glacier (that’s at Mile 102 and is $30 per person), but this well-developed site (wihch is also connected to the nearby RV Park) offers plenty of parking, public restrooms, and excellent glacier views and photo opportunities. You'll also find:

Lift off from the tiny village of Talkeetna and look down on the three great rivers which converge here: the Talkeetna, Chulitna, and Susitna. These mighty rivers drain the entire south side of the Alaska Range. It’s hard to believe the rushing waters are nothing more than meltoff from the glaciers you’re about to see 50 miles distant. The plane banks over the Susitna  More...

In the 1950s, an Anchorage family worked tirelessly at their dream of building a ski resort here at the base of Gunsight Mountain. They built a small chalet and erected a rope tow. But financing was always a problem. Business did not boom. Today, the chalet is all that's left of their efforts.

Stand on the beach at Talkeetna Riverfront Park and you may notice folks fishing on the point across the river. You can get there too. Start by walking up the Talkeetna river and crossing over the massive railroad bridge. Imagine yourself back in the 1920s; Talkeetna was the most populous city in Alaska, and the Railroad commission chose it to be the headquarters for building the rail  More...

At Mile 11 on the Old Glenn Highway, turn onto Bodenburg Loop Road. Pyrahs Pioneer Peak U-Pick Farm sits at mile three of Bodenburg Loop. With up to 35 different kinds of produce to pick (weather dependent) this is a great way to get some fresh veggies for home. Prices are by the pound, and hours of operation vary by season. 

The first farm in this area was homesteaded by  More...

Often called “The Sleeping Lady,” if you look to the west, you will see the woman at rest across the inlet. Native stories say that the lady was engaged to a man who was off to protect their village before they wed. On the day her fiancé left, she promised to wait in the exact spot where he bade farewell.

After many nights, she fell into a deep sleep waiting  More...

Geographic features are often named on a whim. This mountain was called Mt. McKinley for many years, named after a US President. In 2015 the mountain was renamed Denali, the Athabaskan word meaning “the high one.”

Keep your eyes open for rocks on the road above Long Lake. Alaska Department of Transportation clears boulders off the highway in this slide area every day of the year, but you could still collide with one if you come around a corner too fast. On the other hand, don't linger under this crumbling bank!

Be careful, it’s easy to miss this turn-off as you drop down the hill, but look out for the sign “Caribou Creek Recreational Area.” This seldom-used campground is a quiet place to camp, away from highway noise. It has fire rings and picnic tables, and there’s a trail to the creek. It’s a one-mile walk to the water. It’s a nice stream and it’s  More...

Set near the Princess Mt. McKinley Lodge, this bridge crosses one of the longest straight sections of the Chulitna River—and one of the most scenic. With heavily forested sides, the river here looks like an old-time painting of the Hudson River. But it’s also tremendously powerful—just hike down to the bottom of the bridge to get a sense of its force as the water  More...

It’s only a small pull-out on the side of the highway, but this is the closest viewpoint of the Matanuska Glacier. If you don’t have a powerful zoom on your camera, or just want to get a great look at the ice, this is the spot. There’s only room for about six cars and the feel is a bit more rustic than the official state rec site a mile to the west, but you’ll  More...

One of the best Denali (McKinley) viewpoints on a clear day. Also picnic sites, bathroom, and 9 campsites. 

What was it like to be an Alaskan scientist back in the 1940s? This site, on the south side of Palmer’s downtown, near Gulkana and E. Fireweed streets, will give you a pretty good idea. Back then, this two-story cement building, the eight simple cottages, and the arboretum were built by the University of Fairbanks and used by researchers studying how to increase productivity in cold-weather crops.

Curry represents the halfway mark on the rail line between Seward and Fairbanks.  The Alaska Engineering Commission built a hotel resort in this location to accommodate visitors and crew members for their over-night stay because it took 2 days to reach the City of Fairbanks from Seward. Today Curry is a ghost town but there are some fun ways that you can still explore this remote  More...

The best option is to check it out from the air. So if you do a flightseeing trip out of Talkeetna, ask your pilot to do a flyover of the famous Dr. Seuss house!

It's Milepost 98.9. Why should you care?

Because if you make the turnoff—right where the wooden grizzly stands on its hind legs—you'll be on your way to one of Alaska's funkiest little towns: Talkeetna.

In fact, driving this 14-mile path—the Talkeetna Spur Road—is kind of like following the white bunny down the rabbit hole of  More...