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

Wow!!!! How in the world has nobody, nobody, in all of the Unites States of America not written a…read morereview about this West Butte Trail??? That absolutely blows my mind!!! Okay! Well, West Butte Trail is without a doubt one of my new favorite hikes of all time! I visited Palmer, Alaska in June of this summer 2021. Palmer was actually just a town I was passing through along my 2 week voyage throughout Alaska. But...the reason I discovered this West Butte Trail was from a friendly girl I had met on the airplane flying to Fairbanks. This girl, who was obviously from Alaska...highly recommended this hike. Well...here I am now fully grateful to this random stranger for giving me info about this hidden gem of a hike! I am humbled by my journey and for the sights and surroundings when finally arriving at the peak of this West Butte Trail. Now...let me just back up a few moments. When arriving in Palmer...all you have to do (which I did) is plug "West Butte Trail" into Google Maps and it'll perfectly guide you to the trailhead. I came here in mid afternoon during the week back in late June. Although the parking lot was decently sized...I could envision on busy days the place being packed with hikers! It was $5 for the parking fee. That's all it costs. Basically, just like you do when you arrive spontaneously at a campsite, you grab a little envelope, fill it out and put $5 in the drop box. It's that easy. This West Butte Trail is specific and straight to the point. It's a 1.5 mile hike each way gaining roughly 800 feet in elevation. I was thinking 1.5 miles? No problem! But...towards the end of the trail it was sort of straight up the stairs with a few switchbacks. I definitely had to stop a few times just to catch my breathe. I wouldn't underestimate the hike, but overall it's casual for the entire family. Before I started the hike, I did read the trailhead sign and according to what it mentioned, the pathway to the top sounded inspiring. I'd like to relay to you what it said...."West Butte Trail begins in the forest and leads to the unique granite summit of the Bodenburg Butte. Look forward to breathtaking 360-degree views of Knik Glacier, Pioneer Peak, the Chugach Range and Talkeetna Mountains, and local Mat-Su Valley farmland. It is worth the climb!" I couldn't have said it better myself! Finally making it to the summit of Bodenburg Butte...the views (imo) were indescribable! I had chills! Just like the sign said...breathtaking! I was in awe of the 360 degree scenery and surroundings. Lol, alright I may be taking this explanation too far, but I felt like I was ready to cry. I had discovered salvation! Okay, okay....after about 15 minutes I believe my legs had settled down and I had my head on straight, hehehe. But...it was just beautiful...that's all I can say. The terrific aspect about arriving in early afternoon was that the sun was perfectly positioned for picture taking. The sun was at my back for 3/4's of the views. So...I had 3 incredible perspectives for which to snap pictures, take videos and breathe in the fresh Alaskan air. Another amazing detail was that from this granite butte, the weather was perfect. There wasn't any wind. It was like being in still air from high above. I was so impressed with how calm the setting was. Usually when you hike to the top cliff or overlook, it can be very very windy. This was the furthest from what you'd expect. No wind whatsoever. I believe the best part about being at the overlook was gazing out into the distance of Knik Glacier. It was the perfect backdrop. Another angle that was stunning was Pioneer Peak. There was 1 lazy cloud sitting next to it but that actually added a terrific element to the entire photogenic moment. Finally, the Talkeetna Mountains were also pretty special. I was just so happy to be here at the summit. It wasn't even crowded up top. I had tons of space to walk around and without having anyone "photobomb" my pictures. There were a few kids flying some drones but I didn't mind. I spent about 90 minutes up at the summit. After capturing plenty of photos and videos, I just had to sit down on a rock, bow my head and appreciate how far I had come being from South Florida to here in Palmer, Alaska. One last thing...for those who aren't familiar with the city of Palmer, it's located about 44 miles northeast of Anchorage. So...it's not out of the way for anyone to come and hike this trail. Lastly, just again, during my 2 week Alaskan vacation, this West Butte Trail was absolutely one of my highlighted and favorite memories...and all coming from a friendly stranger who recommended it while sitting next to me on my flight here. I am grateful. You never know. Kindness goes a long way. It pays to be nice to people, lol.

We got engaged here! Loved it. Challenging vertical at times but overall a manageable hike for…read moreanyone relatively active.

Let's get something out of the way, right away. There is no "s" in Hatcher Pass, between the…read more"Hatcher" and the "Pass". Correct: Hatcher Pass Hatcher NO!: Hatcher's Pass Hatcher's Anyway, this is one of the shortest "real" trails in the large area above/between Wassilla/Palmer/Willow known as "Hatcher Pass". In case you're not confused yet, this trail is located right at the actual pass of Hatcher Pass. That's right. It starts from Hatcher Pass, located in "Hatcher Pass (East Management Area)" Anyway, this trail is about 2.2 miles roundtrip and has 800 ft of elevation gain. It tops out on the summit of Hatch Peak. It's a great hike to take people that are a little bit adventurous, but maybe don't consider themselves "hikers". You'll pass a couple beautiful alpine lakes that are perfect rest stops. The trail eventually gains a rock ridge that leads right up to the summit. On a rare day with good weather, the views are stunning. You can see a large chunk of the greater Hatcher Pass area, Denali, and look back towards the Chugach Mountains near Palmer. (Pioneer Peak is particularly prominent) It's a favorite jumping off point for paragliders. It's a gravel road to get to the trailhead, but it's pretty well maintained. Any car will do.

Love this vast area past Wasilla. The drive-in has some of the most beautiful scenery…read more Hatcher's Pass I believe, will be a left hand turn after you've passed the lodge. The road is pretty narrow and as you elevate, it gets tricky with oncoming traffic, especially if you're in a larger vehicle. We recently visited on a sunny day with lots of traffic. We saw multiple paragliders' take off and land. Many hikers and bikers. The weather was perfect. The lake was unsurprisingly still pretty frozen.

Most beautiful experience, good was comforting. Scenery, exemplary! Sitting by a warm fire,…read more eating a very tasty sandwich and hot cocoa what a beautiful memory.

Joy G's review is bang-on!…read more There is so little info (beta, as we say in climbing) about this hike, that I'm shocked it is actually marked on google maps. (the previous map-marker was off, I put in a fix, you should be able to navigate to this spot from Yelp now) Not only is the trailhead marked, so is the trail! (on google maps, NOT in real life) I did this on a frigid winter day. The (very short) road to the trailhead is not plowed, so use good judgement if you don't have good: tires, clearance, etc. (but it's so short, you can park on a pullout and walk in) There is no sign marking this trail either. Most of the falls was under snow when I was here. The falls were at least partially frozen underneath. Still, this is a nice place to go. It's shockingly short and feels shockingly remote. I'll be back in the summer, I wonder how far up you can wade?

I have no idea why, but Pioneer Falls is one of the best kept secrets in the valley. People who've…read morelived here their whole lives have never heard of it, it's not in any guidebooks, it doesn't have an address, and the sign is so inconspicuous it's like they WANT you to miss it. The falls is absolutely lovely and is very very close to the road, but not visible from the road. From the little parking lot, it is a Very short walk to the base of the falls. The walk to the base is an easy walk less than a city block's distance the should be accessible to anyone on foot. The falls is (guessing here) is probably about 800 feet, but cannot be viewed in its entirety from any one vantage point. The trail isn't maintained, but if you have good footwear and a walking stick if you like, you can leapfrog over rocks and fallen logs up a few hundred feet (less than a half mile) to the widest part of the falls. At this point you can go no further because the canyon walls close in. I would LOVE to see these falls from above. We did find ourselves in need of bandaids after this little jaunt due to bare legs and leaping over fallen logs. I've got crappy knees and the was also one little spot I had to scooch down on my but because if I had tried to step down I probably would have blown out my knee (hence why I use a walking stick ) I think most people wouldn't have this issue though. These falls are exceptionally beautiful in my opinion, second in the Anchorage area, only to Thunderbird Falls. However, I wouldn't make the trip to the Valley solely for the falls, since it's such a short little hike. I suggest if you drive out that way, visit other nearby sites such as Knik River Public Use Area, Eklutna Tail race, the reindeer farm, Pyrah's U-pick, or Austin Helmers Pioneer Ridge Trail. Enjoy.

Steep at the start but easy after that. It took us about an hour round trip at a relaxed pace,…read moreincluding time at the falls. Good payoff for a short hike.

Thunderbird falls is a nice little trail. Parking lot is fairly small. $5 for parking per day…read more Credit card only. Bathrooms and info signs as well at the trailhead. We went may 2023 and the trail was not very maintained yet as there were several Rees we had to climb over/go around that had fallen. Not sure if/when somebody cleans them up. No trash around which was nice. Pretty small viewing areas for the amount of people that are trying to see the overlook or the falls. I recommend going down to the bottom where the bad of the falls are, you don't exactly get to the base of the waterfall but pretty close. I recommend this trail, some steep hills but took us an hour to go to/down to the bottom, and get two geocaches and we were back in the car.

Informative and rich in unique history in a stunning place. The placards are full of great…read moreinformation. Love the cross country skiing, hiking, plus blue berries.

This beautiful tourist attraction is located right outside of Hatchers Pass…read more There is ample parking available very close to the mine. We saw many folks park too far away (nearest the lodge, with the popular dry cabins) and then had to trek unnecessarily. Lots of bathrooms, a few snack and drink areas. We recently visited on a sunny day with tons of traffic. We were able to enter and explore a few of the buildings and artifacts. Lots of reading material available throughout the "tour." I would return and bring visitors.

I live nearby and wanted to rent a kayak last minute towards the end of the day. I called and they…read morewere very accommodating and said I could pick up before 6 and keep all night and bring back the next evening or just leave when I finished that night. They had everything I needed, including several kayak choices to pick from. I paid $40 to use from about 5pm-8:30. Rates on door say $10 an hour or $50 per day. I stayed out on the lake about 4 hours and it was a great solo trip! They were doing a class about the time I was going out and the ladies looked like they were enjoying their time. For being so close to town, the lake and location are still tucked away and make you feel like your getting out in Alaska's beautiful scenery. The store is off the Palmer-Wasilla Hwy in a red and yellow building. There's a small port-o-potty behind the building for facilities, otherwise, use Fred Meyer or go before you come. If you have your own kayak, you can put in at his dock for $5 (says a sign). Great experience and plan to come back until I get my own.

Took the 2 hour basic kayaking class with my adult son (22) and two younger kids (12 & 13). Randy…read morewas a great instructor and explained everything clearly and answered any questions we had. Once in the boats he explained each stroke and then demonstrated before letting us try each paddling stroke. Everybody had a good time and we all learned something. The only minor improvement I can think of is to have each student get into and out of a kayak on dry land to make sure everything is adjusted and fitted to them before getting in at the dock. If we had done this I think my kayak might have been better fitted to me. I am a bigger guy at 265-270, 5'10", and not in the greatest shape (unless round is a shape). The kayak I used is what I would call a hybrid kayak with a very large square shaped cockpit. Anyway, the seat was all the way back (I didn't know this when I got into the kayak), and I couldn't reach the foot braces at all - even adjusting them all the way to the shortest position. By the time I realized this, everybody was in their boats and we were moving on with the course. I was able to learn and complete all the different paddling strokes despite not really fitting the kayak very well - I was positioned too far in the stern of the kayak. Definitely plan on renting kayaks from them again in the future - I'll just make sure that I fit the kayak better than during the class. We will probably try out the Cottonwood Lake Family trip sometime this summer.