Chugach State Park

Bashful Peak, at 8,005 feet (2,440 meters), is the tallest mountain in Chugach State Park.
Aerial view of a glacier in Chugach State Park

Chugach State Park covers 495,204 acres (2,004 square kilometers)[1] covering a hilly region immediately east of Anchorage, in south-central Alaska.[2]

Established by legislation signed into law on August 6, 1970, by Alaska Governor Keith Miller, this state park was created to provide recreational opportunities, protect the scenic value of the Chugach Mountains and other geographic features, and ensure the safety of the water supply for Anchorage.[3] The park, managed by Alaska State Parks, is the third-largest state park in the United States, and consists of geographically disparate areas each with different attractions and facilities.[4] Only Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in California and Wood-Tikchik State Park in western Alaska are larger.[4] Though primarily in the Municipality of Anchorage, a small portion of the park north of the Eklutna Lake area in the vicinity of Pioneer Peak lies within the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.[5]

Hunting and fishing are permitted in the Chugach under regulations established by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for game management unit 14c.[6][7] Target practice is not allowed within the park boundaries.[6]

  1. ^ Guide to the State Parks of the United States-2nd Edition. Washington, D.C.: The National Geographic Society. 2004. pp. 340–342. ISBN 0-7922-6628-5.
  2. ^ "Chugach Access Plan". Municipality of Anchorage. Archived from the original on March 10, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  3. ^ Zimmerman, Jenny (1994). A Naturalist's Guide to Chugach State Park. Anchorage: A.T Publishing and Printing, Inc. pp. 83–86. ISBN 0-9637309-0-8.
  4. ^ a b Littlepage, Dean, A Falcon Guide Hiking Alaska: A Guide to Alaska's Greatest Hiking Adventures, The Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Connecticut, p. 150 (2006).
  5. ^ Alaska Atlas & Gazetter-6th Edition. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme. 2007. pp. 71–72, 82–83. ISBN 978-0-89933-289-5.
  6. ^ a b Zimmerman, Jenny (1994). A Naturalist's Guide to Chugach State Park. Anchorage: A.T Publishing and Printing, Inc. p. 227. ISBN 0-9637309-0-8.
  7. ^ "Hunting Maps by Game Management Unit". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2013.