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.
