Coastal Trail Highlights

Kin­caid Park offers the eas­i­est way to get deep in the woods right in town. It’s a mec­ca for out­door sports of all kinds in a wilder­ness-like set­ting on the site of a for­mer Cold War mis­sile base. This 1,500-acre park sprawls over an ancient and rugged moraine at the south­west tip of the Anchor­age Bowl at the west end of Rasp­ber­ry Road. From its panoram­ic views of Denali and the vast Cook Inlet to its inti­mate deep woods enclaves, the park is  ...more

This 191.7‑acre Anchor­age park, which was cre­at­ed in 1994 as Munic­i­pal ded­i­cat­ed park­land, is high­ly val­ued for its wildlife habi­tat, coastal tide­lands and recre­ation­al val­ue. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs through it and the area has spec­tac­u­lar views of the inlet and sur­round­ing moun­tain ranges. You can spot whales in the inlet and watch the jets land and take off from the Ted Stevens Inter­na­tion­al Air­port. Point Woron­zof got its name…  ...more

This 134-acre park is set in the woods where, in 1964, an entire neigh­bor­hood slid into the ocean dur­ing last cen­tu­ry’s most pow­er­ful earth­quake. The earth­quake was mea­sured at a 9.2 on the Richter scale and last­ed 4 min­utes. Today, this trag­ic event is com­mem­o­rat­ed in Anchorage’s Earth­quake Park, where you’ll find signs explain­ing the cir­cum­stances of the quake and its effect on the area.

Park­ing lot with 44 spaces, 2 ten­nis courts, 2 lit­tle league base­ball fields, pic­nic tables, large grill, tod­dler equip­ment suit­able for 2 – 5 year olds, play equip­ment suit­able for 5 – 12 year olds, trails and access to the Coastal Trail.

Jump off the trail and comb the beach­es of Anchor­age. At low tide you can touch the dense glacial silt of the mud­flats (but do not walk on them). Unlike sandy beach­es of the south, peb­bles and grav­el left by glac­i­ers coat the shore­line. The lux­u­ri­ous spa qual­i­ty of glacial mud is well known by Alaskans who grow up bathing in its but­tery tex­ture. This silt has been pack­aged and sold as a beau­ty prod­uct around the world.

This short wood­en bridge cross­es a pop­u­lar salmon fish­ing creek. Down­riv­er you’ll see deep chan­nels that the creek has carved into the mud flats. In late sum­mer, salmon migrate up to the estu­ary to spawn.

If you’re look­ing for a wild oasis that’s just a 15-minute walk from down­town Anchor­age, look no fur­ther than Westch­ester Lagoon (also known as Mar­garet Eagan Sul­li­van Park). One of the city’s most pop­u­lar places, this is where locals come to play, as it has some­thing for every­one. You’ll find access to great trails and wildlife, as well as year-round activ­i­ties and events for the entire family.