Text of the map (April 2025). About 15 miles of new trail would complete a 27-mile backcountry mountain bike traverse, with nearly 5,000 feet of elevation loss riding north to south. It is part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail route.
Project status:
- Muktuk Marston Trail: completed, awaiting a DNR regulation change to open for bicycle use.
- Indian Valley Trail: about 10 miles. Construction began 2024 and will continue summer 2025.
- Ship Creek Trail: about 15 miles, identified for future development in the Chugach State Park trails plan. The concept route needs more field checking. A change from a class 2 to a class 3 trail has been requested. Funding and timeline to be determined.
- Powerline Pass Connector: about 2,000 feet. Funding and timeline to be determined.
100-mile loop unlocked: link up all of Anchorage’s iconic trails in one ride; part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail route; a critical part of the Alaska Long Trail; connects to trail networks north and south of Anchorage; fly to Anchorage and ride from the airport; bikepacking from your front door.
PRESS RELEASE: for immediate release.
April 2, 2025
Chugach Mountain Bike Riders (CMBR) and Singletrack Advocates (STA) request a modification to the Chugach State Park (CSP) trails plan to include bicycles as a design use on the Arctic to Indian Traverse.
This trail will connect to the Powerline Trail (design use: bicycle) and create a through trail for bicycles from Arctic Valley to the Anchorage Hillside, linking existing Anchorage trails and pathways and providing a world-class loop for backcountry cyclists.
The Arctic to Indian Traverse includes the Muktuk Marston Trails 300-301, Ship Creek Trails 304a-304b, and Indian Valley Trails 509a-509b. Bicycles are already recommended as managed use on the Marston Trails 300-301.
Chapter 5 of the Chugach State Park Plan, Regulation Changes, states that a periodic review is triggered by written public request and/or changes in use. We believe that both triggers have been met.
CMBR and STA ask that the Chugach State Park Citizen’s Advisory Board (CAB) support this public request and write a letter requesting a CSP plan review specifically targeting the Arctic to Indian Traverse.
Additionally, we recommend that the planned Ship Creek Trail be changed from a class 2 to a class 3 trail, consistent with the Muktuk Marston and Indian Valley Trails. We believe a class 3 trail would require less maintenance and would better handle the anticipated popularity of this trail. More significantly, it would mean that the entire Arctic to Indian Traverse would be the same class of trail.
Of note, Ship Creek Valley is currently managed as a wilderness. According to the CSP Management Plan, trail construction in managed wilderness is allowed if included in the CSP Trails Plan. The recently built Muktuk Marston Trail is a class 3 trail built in the Ship Creek wilderness area. Furthermore, while CSP wilderness prohibits motorized use, bicycles are allowed if included as a managed use in the CSP trails plan and opened by regulation change. This means that bicycles are managed by CSP the same way in all three land use designations: recreation, natural, and wilderness.
CMBR and STA believe that this request can be implemented without modifying the wilderness management designation. However, designating a natural-zone buffer on either side of the trail, similar to the scenic corridor along the Crow Pass Trail, may allow the construction of a more sustainable trail with less need for maintenance.
This request is consistent with the latest Alaska SCORP, which mentions biking as one of the top increases of recreational use on Alaska’s public lands. Specifically, the 2023-2027 SCORP Goal 2, Objective 6. “Expand opportunities for biking, hiking, public use cabins, and hut-to-hut trail systems” should be considered with this request.
