State Parks and National Parks

At 495,000 acres, Chugach State Park is one of the largest state parks in the nation and is literally the backyard for the city of Anchorage.

The park covers about 70 percent of the city's land area and offers a wide range of recreational activities.

Eklutna Lake features developed campgrounds, wilderness camp sites and a 12-mile lakeside trail.

The Hillside Trail System offers daylong or shorter hiking trails and cross-country skiing within a half-hour drive from downtown.

The historic Turnagain Arm Trail has both ocean-moderated winter temperatures and a vantage point for viewing bore tides- walls of water up to six feet high that roll in with the tide.

Bird Point Scenic Overlook at Mile 96 of the Seward Highway includes a wheelchair-accessible trailway that provides spectacular views of Turnagain Arm and the Kenai Peninsula.

Beluga Point at Mile 110 of the Seward Highway also provides wheelchair-accessible parking, spoting scopes and interpretive panels. Beluga whales are sometimes seen feeding near the point, as well as an occasional orca whale and harbor seal.

Bird Point is also the trailhead for the Bird Point to Girdwood Bike Path, a 13-mile paved trail that follows the old Seward Highway. It starts at Mile 102.9 of the Seward Highway and stretches all the way to Girdwood.

This trail provides numerous overlooks of Turnagain Arm, and interpretive displays describe the area's plants, wildlife, history and geology.

The paved path is closed during winter and early spring due to avalanches.

Photo credits in order: Courtesy of Chugach State Park. Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Courtesy of Chugach State Park.