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Independence Mine Today 1PM by redwop

The gate is open to Independence and still good skiing up in Gold Cord and beyond.

Hatcher Pass Yesterday 1PM by Kelly

Reed Lakes - perfect day up there. We hiked up to just below (about .25 mile) the lower lake. Lots of snow. Snow shoes would have been perfect. A couple of manageable snow fields before that. Lots of folks out. Trail is good up to the falls which is fishing g beautifully! Up high near the Saw a guy jump in the river 5 times for his cold plunge!

Bird Ridge Friday Jun 6 by Ella

Two snow patches to walk through. Easy. We went around one at the top. Lots of snow beyond the marker. Beautiful wildflowers. Highly recommend.

Bird Ridge Friday Jun 6 by Ella

Two snow patches to walk through. Easy. We went around one at the top. Lots of snow beyond the marker. Beautiful wildflowers. Highly recommend.

Independence Mine Wednesday Jun 4 by Redwop

2 to 4 inches of fresh snow and still very skiable on the maintenance trail and Sochi Hill, and through the mine area

Hillside Sunday Jun 1 by Steve McKeever

Found Sunday afternoon: pile of good clothes at north end of Hilltop Parking lot, at entry to ski trails. 4 pieces on the ground: Champion wind jacket, Columbia jacket, sweat shirt and Storm Tech jacket. Others said they'd been there at least since Friday. Put a post here if they're yours and you want to retrieve them.

Glen Alps Sunday Jun 1 by Brian

If the wind blew your REI tent off the Ballfield (below O'Malley Peak), it’s at the pay kiosk at the lower lot (poles and body, no fly).

Hillside Singletrack Trails Thursday May 29 by Julian Mason

Emily-the firebreak is not a trail. It is a firebreak. Trees have been cut and some brush has been cleared but it is not a trail. It would be very tough to bike, or walk, or even to ski without a lot of snow cover. The area has been closed because hot shot crews have been working cutting the firebreak. The firebreak is near the STA trails and is nearly complete. Check back in a day or two.

Tour of Anchorage Trail Thursday May 29 by Larry Rundquist

Moose caution along the Tour Trail or Old Rondy Trail. Cow with 2 new calfs on the south side of the trail between the two trails that connect to the Airstrip Trail. Another moose seen at the sharp bend in the trail just north of the North Fork bridge. It did not bother me but did charge another biker and thus could have a calf.

Hillside Wednesday May 28 by Emily

Firebreak trail was closed today. Anyone know why and for how long?

Campbell Creek Trail Wednesday May 28 by pete

Just wondering how this trail is with regards to homeless camps. It was a pleasure to ride Chester Creek without all the mess.

Glenn Highway Pathway Tuesday May 27 by John

Road paving on the portion of the Glenn Hwy to and over the old bridge that is now a local road makes it less attractive ride, and it will be closed from 2 June until complete. Taking People Mover bus 92 to get around it. Three bikes fit on this one.

Independence Mine Sunday May 25 by Dave

Still here, still skiing(6pm),Wet snow probably fell today.Pretty late in the day with these conditions.
Far from perfect, but still kicking and gliding(ok, just not as much!).Leave the skinny ski's at home.Friday was fantastic.
Clear skies at the moment, if it dips below freezing, could be a fun morning.
Skiers ski...

Independence Mine Thursday May 22 by Jonathan

The just started plowing the mine road. Have a good summer, thank you groomers

Alaska Pacific University Tuesday May 20 by Sarah Schoen

I was just walking on the APU trails and ran into a woman and her two dogs who had been attacked by a cow moose defending her calf. It was near the trail that goes next to the Faculty Ridge Road. She is going to be okay, but I just want to make sure other people are aware of the aggressive moose in the area.

Independence Mine Saturday May 17 by Ed Strabel

MSSC (Lucas Parker) is currently grooming the mine trails. Once he is done you can check Nordic Pulse for his report. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Turnagain Pass Friday May 16 by redwop

Still decent XC skiing in the meadows from the Tincan trailhead. Nice to have the small bridge to cross the creed, which is open

Independence Mine Friday May 16 by Ed Strabel

"Keep your fingers crossed". Lucas is going to attempt to groom the mine trails early Saturday morning. You can follow his progress on the MSSC web page Nordic Pulse tracking. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Rabbit Creek Valley Friday May 16 by Jonathan

There might have been a good crust a day or so ago? This morning I went on skate skis which was ...not the optimal setup. It was silly at times, heinous at times, never "good" but still skiing. The valley is too soft on top, but still supportable/firm underneath- one of my poles is missing a basket and still wasn't penetrating deep. Went up to the bowl by mchugh peak, icy and bomber up high, icy and breakable mid way, and back to supportable but overly-soft-top near the bottom.

Independence Mine Wednesday May 14 by Ed Strabel

Steve is almost done grooming the mine trails. This is probably the last grooming session of the season. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Tuesday May 13 by Ed Strabel

Steve is planning to groom tomorrow (Wed) morning. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Sunday May 11 by Ed Strabel

Steve groomed this AM. Great conditions! Crust solid but won't stay that way long. Warmer weather and rain forecasted for Monday and Tuesday. Steve may groom later in the week. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Saturday May 10 by Ed Strabel

Steve finished up grooming at about 8:45, 33 degrees. Crust skiing should be good if you get on it soon. Steve will be grooming again Sunday AM. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Thursday May 8 by Ed Strabel

Steve is currently grooming the mine trails. Some snow and rain last night and earlier this AM. Looking at the weather cameras, it looks like flat light conditions. Visibility should be improving. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Independence Mine Wednesday May 7 by Ed Strabel

Mat-Su Ski Club (Steve) will be grooming the mine trails Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings for your skiing enjoyment. Crust skiing has been great in the mornings. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Kincaid Park Wednesday May 7 by Gavin Kentch

Raspberry multiuse path has been swept from at least Serenity to Sand Lake. I find it more likely than not that they also headed down Sand Lake but I can't speak to that directly. Multiuse trail between rollerski loop and Serenity had not been swept as of yesterday afternoon, but had unremarkable levels of organic debris on it and was totally skiable, both skate and classic rollerskis. Watch out for gravel on the low-lying spot of the trail coming down to the stadium from the wax bunker, but it's nothing serious.

Hatcher Pass Wednesday May 7 by Erik Flora

Skate and classic skiing were very good this morning at the Hatcher Pass mines with good track and corduroy. Violet klister worked well. Matsu ski club does an amazing job! Great day to ski and a great day to prep for Olympics. Thank you from the APU Nordic Ski Center.

Independence Mine Tuesday May 6 by Redwop

Exquisite crust/corn skiing after a hard freeze, off trail

South Fork Eagle River Sunday May 4 by Joel

Found: AirPod case halfway up Harp Mt. this morning. If you think it's yours please text (four1five) 9nine4-eleven12

Independence Mine Saturday May 3 by Dave Bass

Conditions looked amazing for crust skiing!
We exited at 2pm on alpine skis and it was still holding up fine on wider boards

Independence Mine Saturday May 3 by Ed Strabel

Steve is currently grooming the mine trails. 27 degrees at the visitor center weather station, but warmer at the trail head. Crust skiing ??? Should be a great day to be a skier. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Glen Alps Saturday May 3 by Jonathan

Skate skied. Should you? Probably, you're here reading this. Embrace the season you have, not the season you wish you had. It's sparce, as you know. Rotten in places. But there's good adventure to be had. Bring your grass skis

Hatcher Pass Wednesday Apr 30 by Steve J

Matsu ski club is grooming Independence mine as I type. It’s 36F with dusting of new snow.
Head over to https://matsuski.org/
For live grooming reports. Please consider supporting our grooming efforts.
Still winter left up here

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage Monday Apr 28 by Friendly Report Bot [?]

Hey Trail Enthusiasts! Just thought we’d pass on some volunteer opportunities with our friends from the Chugach Park Fund and Alaska Trails. Here are the dates for volunteer events, just a reminder that volunteers will get a taste of Chugach Chocolates and minors (12 and older) will be allowed to participate with adult supervision. So, sign up your hard-working kids or grandkids and join in. Let’s give young people a sense of community, teamwork and accomplishment.

6/14/2025         Gasline Trail from Upper O’Malley trailhead

6/21/2025         Penguin Peak 

6/28/2025         Middle Fork from Glen Alps trailhead 

7/19/2025         Rabbit Lake 

7/26/2025         Hanging Valley 

9/27/2025         Middle Fork from Glen Alps trailhead 

More details and how to sign up at https://www.alaska-trails.org/current-volunteer-opportunities  

Updated 4.28.2025



Support grooming by the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage

Crust Skiing Sunday Apr 27 by wayne

Crust on east side of Independence Mine valley was alright Sunday around 10AM. I was too late for bomber crust conditions, but I saw folks playing around until 1 or so. There's a pretty thick sun/wind crust that didn't dinnerplate when soft, just sank in more as the snow heated. Main trail had more foot than ski traffic.

Independence Mine Saturday Apr 26 by Ed Strabel

MSSC (Lucas) Groomed the mine trails for classic and skating. Mine temperature at 7 AM was 30 degrees. Get it while it's good! Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Kincaid Park Thursday Apr 24 by wayne

For those who don't want to drive to the mountains: Kincaid multi-use trail, Raspberry pathway, Sand Lake Road pathway, and gravel pit neighborhoods are snow-free and roller-skiable. Some sand on the Kincaid pathway between the hill and chalet; Sand Lake pathway at Kincaid Road has the typical sand trap on the south side; Raspberry pathway has sand near curb ramps; the rest of the pathway is pretty clean. Not sure if the gravel pit neighborhood has been swept or not, but sand/gravel wasn't a problem on road or pathways.

Girdwood Ski Trails Tuesday Apr 22 by SkiGirdwood

Happy Earth Day! The 5K loop is still SKI ONLY and a little rough, but a great ski tour. Maneuver around one large tree. Skigirdwood.org

Upper Huffman Sunday Apr 20 by Heidi

Classic skied from Upper Huffman up a smaller unnamed trail to the Gasline and Powerline to Glen Alps, then back down Gasline to Silver Fern to TH.

Snow was spring soft and slushy. First mile uphill from Upper Huffman TH was thin and dirty, but still continuous snow cover for the moment. Winter snowpack starts about halfway between Upper Huffman and Glen Alps. Everything was skiable except Silver Fern trail, which was about half mud patches.

Archangel Road Saturday Apr 19 by Ed Strabel

4-6" heavy wet snow overnight. Mat-Su Ski Club attempted to groom the non-motorized section of the road. Managed to get in a classic lane and most of a skate lane. Snow was isothermal in sections. Some equipment problems. Steve is currently grooming the mine trails. Flat light, 4-6" snow, some drifting. In a while you can go to the MSSC website and check Nordic Pulse for his report. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Glen Alps Friday Apr 18 by Happy skier

Follow up from Gary’s post. Skate ski conditions were not bad! The new snow last week on the previous wind crust smoothed things out considerably. It was slightly soft for skating (more work than usual) but very skiable all the way to the end of the valley before it gets steep at the pass. I assume the crust will continue to improve with warm daytime temps this weekend.

Glen Alps Friday Apr 18 by Gary

I was just testing some new BC gear but skate skiing looked decent on powerline. Wind crust on east side of valley made me wish I had skate gear. Skiff of new snow.

Alaska Pacific University Thursday Apr 17 by CC

Paved multiuse trails dry! Unpaved trails bottomless mud / ice-puddles / decomposing frost heaves.

Archangel Road Tuesday Apr 15 by Zack Steer

Touched up the skate and classic lanes to upper outhouse. Punchy on the bottom, icy on top. Ski-able, but not great conditions. At least it's still mostly white trail. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Eklutna Lake Tuesday Apr 15 by Jeffrey Bannish

Today was more bust than crust. Overall, a dumb idea. I do not recommend. I did see one other skate skier out there.

I made the loop counterclockwise. The south shore had thin snow the entire way. The north shore looked white, but was bumpy clear ice colored white by powder settling into the divots. Out and back on the south shore would have been better. Once I had committed to the loop, I dared not cross the lake. Most of my time was spent double poling. I fell and hit hard once.

Ice thickness was variable. I measured 17 inches in one spot, four in another. Of course the edges had open spots for the entire perimeter. I almost abandoned the adventure right at the beginning.

The best part was that the Eklutna road in was bone dry.

Girdwood Ski Trails Monday Apr 14 by SkiGirdwood

The 2K and 4K loops were groomed again today! The sun is out. Enjoy your ski!! #groomersrock #girdwoodnordic skigirdwood.org

South Fork Eagle River Monday Apr 14 by Monty and Gary

Ice grippers needed here. Ice 75% of trails to bridge. If not ice, glazed and slippery packed, sloped snow. We made it on just boots and poles but wished for traction devices in some spots.

Archangel Road Sunday Apr 13 by RyanM

Groomed the non-motorized portion of Archangel for skate and classic. Support grooming by the Mat-Su Ski Club

Hillside Sunday Apr 13 by Frank

Looks like hillside trails were snow machine groomed this morning. A bit chunky in spots, but overall still very good. Spencer was less chunky, perhaps due to warmer temperatures.

Girdwood Ski Trails Saturday Apr 12 by SkiGirdwood

Last night the 4K was track packed and rolled, HERO Groomed by volunteers! 5K is single track packed. GNSC answered the calls to groom. Go SKI as a thank you! skigirdwood.org #groomersrock @girdwoodnordic
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About Terms

About This Site

The Alaska Outdoor Reports website is a community of outdoor enthusiasts who share information about the areas where they recreate. Thank you very much to everyone who takes the time to post reports. You are what makes this site so great!

The Alaska Outdoor Reports are developed and maintained by Cory Smith, out of his desire to always know where the best skiing is. Special thanks to Resource Data, Inc. for contributing to this project.

If you have any questions, or are interested in having the Reports on your website, check our admittedly meager help section for more information and/or contact info.

Thanks for visiting!

Terms Of Use

By using this website and the information it contains, you acknowledge all of the following:

Reports in this forum are the opinion of the reporter only. They are opinions only, and should not be construed as fact or professional assesment. The information may be inaccurate. Reports are not the views of this organization, the website owner, or the forum moderator(s). These reports are intended to supplement your existing knowledge of the area being reported, and the outdoors in general. The reports are not comprehensive. Hazards will undoubtably exist that are not documented here. These reports should not be your only source of information. The reports are simply one more piece of information to help you make better decisions in the outdoors. Those decisions are still yours alone.

Have fun and be safe!

Grooming Reports

In pursuit of our mission to provide a state-wide platform for all trail conditions, and to support the grooming efforts of the clubs that make those trails possible, we are excited to now include automated grooming reports provided by the Municipality of Anchorage's (MOA) Nordic Grooming Map.

When MOA, NSAA, or Girdwood NSC update the grooming status on the MOA Map, it is automatically displayed here as well, thanks to our "Friendly Trail Bot". Each new grooming update is displayed as a text report, similar to our usual user reports, including the names of the trails groomed as well as any groomer comments. The groomed trails are also displayed on the map, color-coded based on how long ago they were groomed.

This is a new feature, and we'd love to get your feedback on how we can improve it. Please send me an email: cory@snowio.com And, of course, we still want to see all of your first-hand reports posted here as well!

Thank you to the Municipality of Anchorage, Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, and Girdwood Nordic Ski Club for making this possible! Please support these clubs' grooming efforts!

If you'd like to get your local club's grooming updates on this site (automated or otherwise), please get in touch. We'd love to make it happen!