What's New

Download a PDF version of this page 

ACTIVITIES and PACKAGES:

Alaska Backcountry Adventures has a new cabin facility on the Yentna River, right on the Iditarod Trail.  Visitors can watch from the living room window or have a seat right on the side of the trail as mushers and their teams travel the river on their way to Nome.  The 1,000 square foot cabin is open all winter long as a warm up location for day tours, and accommodations up to eight guests for overnight or multiple day tours for snowmobile tour guests.  Guided snowmobile tours to the cabin include meals, bedding for overnight guests, snowmobile, helmet, and winter gear if needed.  Contact: Craig Saunders, (907) 745-2505; alaskavisit@alaska.com, www.youralaskavacation.com. 

45 minutes from Anchorage visitors can see the spectacular Knik Glacier on a jet boat cruise with Glacier Jet Alaska. Departing twice daily, view massive floating icebergs and just beyond the glacier amazing snow capped mountains of the Chugach range. Look for sheep on the steep mountain sides and listen to the ice fracture from across the lake. This trip is a scenic four hours including transportation time from Anchorage.  Contact: Chris Maynard, (907) 868-7669; info@glacierjetalaska.com, www.glacierjetalaska.com.

Alaska Ultra Sport offers year round wilderness guide service for travelers seeking an active adventure. They take small groups of two to six people backpacking, mountain biking, rafting and kayaking to Alaska's national parks, state parks and wildlife refuges in the Mat-Su Valley.  Owned and operated by a husband and wife team with a lifetime of experience in the outdoors, they are based in Chickaloon in the scenic Matanuska River Valley. They customize soft adventures like van tours from lodge to lodge with day hikes, to extreme adventures on the Iditarod Trail in the wintertime.  Multi-lingual, they also speak German, French and some Italian.  Contact: Bill and Kathi Merchant, (907) 745-6680; info@alaskaultrasport.com, www.alaskaultrasport.com/.  

Alaska Adventure Unlimited is offering two new soft adventure "One-Day Tours" from Anchorage. The "Matanuska Glacier Exploration & Iditarod Trail Ride" includes an easy Matanuska Glacier trek, a visit to historical Athabascan spirit houses at Eklutna Village, a trip through blueberry country, and a complete Iditarod experience, including a visit with a musher, tales from the trail and a dog sled ride. The "Knik Glacier and Hatcher Pass Adventure" includes an airboat safari through Knik River (with wildlife viewing) to Knik Glacier, gold panning at Hatcher Pass, a visit to Independence Mine, and the opportunity to walk around mountain creeks and meadows of wild flowers in Hatcher Pass.  Both tours include transportation featuring PA system, LCD TV for photo viewing, individual headsets, large windows, high-powered spotting scopes, binoculars, wet weather gear, complimentary beverages all escorted by resident guides. Contact: Corky Champagne-Einarsen, (907) 373-3494; info@alaskaadventureunlimited.com, www.alaskaadventureunlimited.com/AnchorageDayTours.html. 

Meekin's Air Service and Alaska Wilderness Trails have teamed up to offer unique adventure tours throughout the Matanuska Valley.  This father-daughter team, Mike Meekin and Samantha Meekin Keller, provide high quality, short- term eco-tours. Each expedition begins and ends in the Sheep Mountain area, a 2.5-hour scenic drive north of Anchorage. A flight in the comfortable back-seat of a Piper Super Cub will deliver backpackers to their vigorous mountain escape. A knowledgeable guide will accompany the group in order to aid in the safety and efficiency of the trip, as well as enhance the overall experience. Drop-off trips are available.  Tours include the "Fossil Walk, Iceberg Lake Expedition, Streams and Volcanoes, Majestic Valley Expedition and Glacier Isolation."  Contact: Mike Meekin, (907) 745-1626; meekin@mtaonline.net, www.meekinsairservice.com or Samantha Meekin Keller, (907) 355-6008; info@backpackak.com, www.backpackak.com.  

Kennel tours and dog mushing clinics:  Dream a Dream Dog Farm now offers year-round tours and excursions. Located in Willow, visitors can enjoy a 1-hour kennel tour or during the winter months, have an opportunity for a hands-on experience learning how to mush their own dog team.  Under the guidance of long-time dog musher Vern Halter, independent and group visitors will experience an educational and fun visit at his kennel.  Contact: Vern Halter, (907) 495-1197, vhalter@mtaonline.net, www.vernhalter.com.

With over 20 years of experience, Alaska Nature Guides now provides daily guided nature walks and hikes in the up and coming South Denali area located in Denali State Park.  This service is optimal for visitors who enjoy exploring the outdoors but would prefer additional guidance and education on the surrounding area.  Hikes range from easy, moderate and difficult.  Trails in the area bring visitors to amazing vistas of Mount McKinley, North America's highest peak. Contact: Noelle Carbone, (907) 733-1237, info@alaskanatureguides.com, www.alaskanatureguides.com 

Rail and raft adventure: another rail excursion option in the Mat-Su - The Alaska Railroad is excited to offer Flagstop Rail and Susitna River Float!  Ride the Hurricane Turn, the local flagstop train, from Talkeetna to Chase and then enjoy a gentle float trip back to Talkeetna courtesy of Denali View Rafting. The glacial fed river meanders through wilderness areas with magnificent views of Mt. McKinley, weather permitting. Your guide will make stops along the way to show you salmon spawning areas, walk on a glacial silt island, and explore the flora and fauna of the area. Watch for bear, bald eagles, beavers, fox and moose as you float the river. Lunch, snacks, refreshments and rain gear are provided. The tour departs from the Old Talkeetna Townsite Alaska Railroad Depot. Transfer is provided from the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. Depart Talkeetna at 11:45 am. Total tour takes about 4.5 hours.  Contact: Susie Kiger, (907) 265-2494, reservations@akrr.com, kigers@akrr.com, www.AlaskaRailroad.com

Home to one of the richest drainages for salmon and trout fishing, the Little Susitna and Deshka rivers offers amazing sport fishing opportunities.  Rainbow River Expeditions, iFishAlaska Guide Service, Alaska Fishing Guides - Millers Riverboat and Susitna Valley River Guides are the most recent additions to the Mat-Su CVB.  These experienced guides take clients to the Mat-Su Valley's best fishing areas.  They offer half-day, full-day and multi-day guided trips.

Specializing in tours for German speakers, Euro Alaska Tours offers customized, small group tours of Alaska including the Mat-Su Valley.  Contact: Ruth Waldstein, (907) 274-1596; euroalaska@earthlink.net, www.euroalaskatours.com.

 

LODGING

The Mat-Su CVB welcomes several new lodging members to the Bureau.  These include:
Alaska Garden Gate Bed and Breakfast (vacation homes), Palmer and Wasilla, www.gardengatebnb.com
Alpaca Cabins, Talkeetna, www.alpacacabins.com
Cookie Jar Gardens Bed and Breakfast, Palmer, (907) 746-2072
Lazy Mountain Bed and Breakfast, Palmer, www.lazymountainbandb.com
Main Street Suites, Downtown Talkeetna, www.talkeetnasuites.com
Stephan Lake Lodge, Talkeetna (fly-out), http://www.stephanlakelodge.net
Talkeetna Landings Guest House, Talkeetna, www.talkeetnalandings.com
Willow Vacation Rental, Willow, www.willowvacationrental.com
Winsby's Far North - The Yukon House, Wasilla, (707) 477-6361

Third place finisher of the 2007 Iditarod Sled Dog Race and owner of Sheep Mountain Lodge has added four new handcrafted deluxe log cabins with kitchen facilities to their property.  They also offer a lodge restaurant open daily during the summer season and features fresh Alaska seafood, steaks and homemade desserts. Fresh-baked cinnamon rolls, cookies, strawberry-rhubarb pie and sourdough bread are their specialties. Hiking trails, wildlife viewing, berry-picking, hot tub and sauna make relaxing in the scenic mountain setting easy. Located at Mile 113.5 on the Glenn Highway. Contact: Zack and Anjanette Steer, (907) 745-5121; info@sheepmountain.com, www.sheepmountain.com.

Alaska Adventure Unlimited has three new creekside, multi-level, log-sided chalets in Wasilla. Each chalet has two bedrooms that sleep up to four guests. The upstairs private suite features king bed and a master bath including Jacuzzi tub, separate tiled walk-in shower, antique vanity with granite top and plenty of ambiance. Downstairs, the second bedroom (in two of the chalets) offers a day bed with trundle for possible two guests with ¾ bath including shower. The living room features fireplace, comfortable leather seating, with an entertainment suite (32" LCD TV / DVD /Wireless Internet) and phone.  The chalets feature beautiful light maple as well as the tongue and groove ceilings, with cherry wood header and cross beams. The living area offers the comfort of a gentleman's club while the master suite surrounds you in an antique baroque style with hanging chandeliers. Several wooded acres boast flower gardens, winding gravel paths that connect separate decks featuring lounge area, firepit, BBQ area and overlooks. Contact: Corky Champagne-Einarsen, (907) 373-3494; info@alaskaadventureunlimited.com, www.alaskaadventureunlimited.com/Chalets.html.

Authentic Alaska experience at Fireweed Station Inn, Talkeetna. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, this historic inn was once accessible only by riding the Alaska Railroad flagstop service.  Today, visitors can still flag stop the train from this beautiful, frontier Alaska lodge.  Contact: Tom Kluberton, (907) 733-1457, info@fireweedstation.com, www.fireweedstation.com

Wilderness experience just 45 minutes from Anchorage at Knik River Lodge.  15, private cabins situated adjacent to the Knik Glacier give guests the ultimate wilderness experience just outside of Anchorage. Take an airboat tour or flightseeing adventure over Knik Glacier and the Chugach State Park. Deluxe, continental breakfast is delivered to the guest at their cabin. Contact: Peter Schadee, 907-745-5002, info@knikriverlodge.com, www.knikriverlodge.com

The Matanuska Lodge, located in Sutton off the Glenn Highway National Scenic Byway, is the newest luxury wilderness lodge consisting of four spacious rooms with Jacuzzi tubs and views of Alaska's largest road-accessible glacier, the Matanuska.  Guests are treated to daily hors d'oeuvre service and breakfast with special continental flair.  The lodge is situated near hiking trails, river rafting and glacier trekking.  Contact: Brenda Goldberg, (907) 746-0378; nuska1@mac.com, www.matanuskalodge.com.

 

MEETING FACILITIES

Meeting planners have another great option for corporate retreats and small conferences at Meier Lake Conference Center in Wasilla.  The combined facilities can host up to 120 participants and is located on the shores of a private lake close to recreational and team-building opportunities like canoeing and hiking. Contact: Glenn Galloway, (907) 376-0594; meierlk@mtaonline.net, www.meierlake.com.
 
Newly remodeled, the Gold Miner' Hotel and Bar and Restaurant offers a new dining menu of an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring a variety of international cuisine ranging from Mexican to Japanese entrees.  In additional to the international menu, the dinner buffet includes all-you-can-eat Alaska King crab legs.  Contact: (907) 745-6160; goldminershotel@gmail.com, www.goldminershotel.com.