Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area
Park
485 acres4.1 mi of trail
Long Lake LoopKepler ConnectorVictor Lake LoopIrene Lake Singletrack+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Malcolm Manners · CC BY 2.0A−Outdoors
Outdoors in Gateway
Gateway has 45 miles of mapped trails, 2.4 for every square mile of land
556 acres are parks and preserves, 81 per 1,000 residents. 11% of Gateway’s land is conserved, about 1,244 acres. The biggest trail networks: Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area (4.1 mi).
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns · #6 of 41 in Alaska. What drives it
Conserved land
11%
1,244 acres · of 18.4 sq mi of land
Trails
45 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
556 ac
81 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
34%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
14 mi
1.0 mi lanes · 13 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
17
What kind of outdoors town is Gateway?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gateway have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gateway is ahead of 84% of U.S. towns, #6 of 41 in Alaska. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gateway’s overall grade.
Conserved land11% of the land · typical AK town 15% · U.S. 4%A−Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (45 mi) · AK 0.5 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land81 acres of park per 1,000 residents (556 acres) · AK 15 · U.S. 13AParks close to home34% of residents within a half mile of a park · AK 36% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 84%
LessMore
Alaska towns of 2,500+ (41)Ahead of 88%
Alaska towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 15%; the U.S., 4%), so Gateway’s 11% is ahead of 38% of Alaska towns, while its trails per square mile lead 98% 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.
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 Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area, with 4.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge
Managed by Alaska Department of Fish and Game
1,598 acres0.3 mi of trail
Wasilla Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Central Park
Managed by Midtown Estates
1 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
1,244 conserved acres
11% of Gateway’s land. Who manages Gateway’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State natural resources869 ac
Other state land355 ac
Bureau of Land Management14 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits9 ac
State Other or Unknown · 658 acState Recreation Area · 355 acState Conservation Area · 212 acNational Public Lands · 14 acConservation Easement · 9 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 9 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 7 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Patented State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 636 | Unknown |
| Kepler-Bradley Lakes State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | Other state land | 282 | Open |
| Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 212 | Restricted |
| Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area State Recreation Area | Other state land | 72 | Open |
| State Land Disposals - Municipal Purposes State Other or Unknown | State natural resources | 22 | Unknown |
| Anchorage Field Office National Public Lands | Bureau of Land Management | 14 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Gateway
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gateway
5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Scenic views in Gateway
1 scenic view without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Picnic areas in Gateway
Crevasse-Moraine Pavillion
DirectionsTrails & water
25 named trails and 17 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 11.2 miHorses · 7.8 miUnpaved · 21.4 mi
Long Lake Loop2.9 mi
Long Lake Connector2.1 mi
College Connector1.8 mi
Outer Trail1.4 mi
Powerline1.3 mi
Farm Trails: Alphabet Field1.1 mi
Bearberry Bluff1.0 mi
Tighty-Whitey1.0 mi
Kin-Win Trailhead Access1.0 mi
Birthday Trail0.8 mi
15 more trails
Upper Farm Trail
0.8 miHilly Loop
0.8 miKepler Connector
0.8 miBearbottom
0.7 miPicnic Table Singletrack
0.7 miMooseberry Connector
0.7 miFoxtrot
0.6 miFarm Trails: UAF Farm
0.6 miArboretum Loop
0.6 miFarm Trails: CES Connector
0.6 miMoose Poop Loop
0.5 miTop Loop
0.5 miJulies
0.5 miSwamp Loop
0.5 miVictor Lake Loop
0.5 miBiking & sports
14 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.0 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
13 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
5Tracks
3Basketball
3Soccer
2Baseball
1Tennis
1Football
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Gateway: May to August
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 6.2 | 8.8 | 11.5 | 14.6 | 17.5 | 19.5 | 18.6 | 15.9 | 12.8 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 5.4 |
| High (°F) | 23 | 29 | 34 | 48 | 59 | 66 | 68 | 65 | 57 | 43 | 29 | 25 |
| Rain (in) | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
April is the driest month (0.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 68 °F). 2.5 inches fall in August, the wettest month. The climate in Gateway →
Next door
Gateway and its neighbors
Gateway has the most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gateway | 11% | 2.4 | 81 | 34% | A− |
| South Lakes | under 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 15% | D |
| Knik-Fairview | 18% | 0.2 | 2 | 10% | C+ |
| Farm Loop | 4% | 0.2 | 16 | 5% | C+ |
| Wasilla | 3% | 0.1 | 32 | 60% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gateway
Where can I hike in Gateway?
The longest trail networks: Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area, 4.1 miles; Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gateway is conserved land?
11% 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 Gateway’s trails?
Matanuska Lakes State Recreation Area and Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gateway?
14 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.0 of painted or protected lanes and 13 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Gateway?
48,808 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gateway or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 571 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gateway have?
Ahead of 84% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #6 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 Gateway neighbors.
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 →