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Independence MinesIndependence Mines · Photo: Switchbladesista · CC BY-SA 3.0
A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Fishhook

More than half of Fishhook’s land is conserved: 55%

55% of Fishhook’s land is conserved, about 22,979 acres. 8,896 acres are parks and preserves, 1,529 per 1,000 residents. The biggest trail networks: Hatcher Pass Public Use Area (1.4 mi).

Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns · #9 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it

Conserved land
55%
22,979 acres · of 65.2 sq mi of land
Trails
39 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
8,896 ac
1,529 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
4%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.9 mi paths
Highest peak
5,512 ft
Murphy Ridge
Lakes & rivers
9
1 boat launch

What kind of outdoors town is Fishhook?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild55% of the land is conserved; a typical Alaska town, 15%.Room to roam1,529 acres of park per 1,000 residents; the typical U.S. town has 13.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Fishhook have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Fishhook is ahead of 79% of U.S. towns, #9 of 41 in Alaska. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.

A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Fishhook’s overall grade.
Conserved land55% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A+Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (39 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land1,529 acres of park per 1,000 residents (8,896 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home4% of residents within a half mile of a park · AK 36% · U.S. 72%D
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 79%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 80%

Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Fishhook’s 55% is ahead of 82% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 60% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.

PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →

The map

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.

12
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk

Pick a walk

The longest trail network is Hatcher Pass Public Use Area, with 1.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Hatcher Pass Public Use Area

Managed by Alaska Department of Natural Resources
2,758 acres1.4 mi of trail
Winter Snowmachine TrailGold Mint Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailhead

Matanuska Valley State Moose Range

Managed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game
5,034 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto Wendt Trailhead
Who protects it

22,979 conserved acres

55% of Fishhook’s land. Who manages Fishhook’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

State natural resources21,828 ac
Other state land8,169 ac
Bureau of Land Management399 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits313 ac
State Other or Unknown · 15,910 acState Conservation Area · 7,971 acState Resource Management Area · 4,398 acState Recreation Area · 1,520 acNational Public Lands · 399 ac
Good to know

Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 313 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 4 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.

The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
State Patented
State Other or Unknown
State natural resources8,579Unknown
Government Peak Unit Northern Sub-Unit
State Conservation Area
Other state land7,971Open
State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes
State Other or Unknown
State natural resources5,286Unknown
Matanuska Valley Moose Range
State Resource Management Area
State natural resources4,398Open
State Tentatively Approved (tad)
State Other or Unknown
State natural resources1,736Unknown
Hatcher Pass Public Use Area
State Recreation Area
State natural resources1,520Open
Glennallen Field Office
National Public Lands
Bureau of Land Management399Open
State Land Disposals - Other Than Municipal
State Other or Unknown
State natural resources308Unknown
Independence Mine State Historical Park
State Historic or Cultural Area
Other state land198Open
Things to do

17 places to go in Fishhook

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Peaks in Fishhook
Murphy Ridge5,512 ft elevation
Directions
The Pinnacle5,486 ft elevation
Directions
Fairangel Peak5,413 ft elevation
Directions
Microdot4,888 ft elevation
Directions
Government Peak4,783 ft elevation
Directions
Marmot Ridge4,770 ft elevation
Directions
Rae-Wallace Peak4,741 ft elevation
Directions
Marmot Peak4,524 ft elevation
Directions
3 more peaks
Blueberry Knoll
Directions
Gold Cord Peak
Directions
Skyscraper Peak
Directions
Trails & water

25 named trails and 9 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 4.8 miUnpaved · 21.9 mi
Fireweed3.1 mi
Government Peak Trail2.4 mi
Denali Loop2.1 mi
Hatch-GPRA2.0 mi
East Ridge Trail1.8 mi
Arch Prospect Trail1.5 mi
Blueberry Knoll Trail1.4 mi
Marmot Mountain Trail1.3 mi
Flattop Loop1.3 mi
Susitna Loop1.2 mi
15 more trails
Fiddlehead
1.2 mi
Rae-Wallace Mine Trail
1.2 mi
Monk's Hood
1.1 mi
Matanuska Loop
1.0 mi
Pioneer Loop
0.9 mi
Gold Cord Lake Trail
0.9 mi
Lower Loop
0.6 mi
Fairangel Lakes Trail
0.6 mi
Field of Dreams
0.6 mi
Winter Snowmachine Trail
0.6 mi
Moose Lick Trail
0.6 mi
MEA Easement
0.5 mi
April Bowl Trail
0.4 mi
Flattop Access
0.4 mi
Gnarski n' Hucks
0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Dandy LakeGold Cord LakelakeKennedy LakelakeLower Fairangel LakeReed LakeWolf LakelakeFishhook CreekLittle Susitna RiverWasilla Creek
Biking & sports

1.9 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
1Basketball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 7 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Independence MinesSite · listed 1974
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Fishhook: June and July

NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)6.28.811.514.617.619.518.715.912.89.87.05.3
High (°F)242934475864676455423025
Rain (in)0.70.90.60.41.11.82.63.42.91.81.21.5

April is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 67 °F). 3.4 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Fishhook →

Next door

Fishhook and its neighbors

Fishhook has the second most mapped trails of the 6 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Willow102 miFishhook39 miBuffalo Soapstone5.7 miTanaina3.9 miNorth Lakes2.5 miFarm Loop1.8 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Fishhook55%0.61,5294%A−
Tanaina37%0.13118%B
Buffalo Soapstone— not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
North Lakes7%0.21352%B−
Willow83%0.111,23715%B+
Farm Loop4%0.2165%C+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Fishhook

Where can I hike in Fishhook?

The longest trail networks: Hatcher Pass Public Use Area, 1.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Fishhook is conserved land?

55% of its land, against a typical 15% for an Alaska town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.

Are dogs allowed on Fishhook’s trails?

Hatcher Pass Public Use Area and Matanuska Valley State Moose Range don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Fishhook?

1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of off-road paths.

Is there public land near Fishhook?

51,305 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Fishhook or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 13,737 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Fishhook have?

Ahead of 79% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #9 of 41 in Alaska. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Trail talk

Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Fishhook neighbors.

Town Square →
Share a tip
Sources

Where this page comes from

Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →