Easy hikes and walks around Point Mackenzie

A railed wooden bridge crosses Fish Creek and connects you to the paved Coastal Trail on either side. There is a little rest area here and you get serine views of the estuary. Out across the Knik arm you can see the mountains and towering peak of Denali.

Once a gravel pit, Westchester Lagoon really is one of the crown jewels of Anchorage. It's also a hub for year-round recreation. It also sits at the intersection of the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which runs along the coast, and the Chester Creek Trail that runs east-west through town. Both paved multi-use trails are great for biking.

This marks one of the larger interpretive displays within Earthquake Park, a parcel of land that showcases the effects of the magnitude 9.2 earthquake that struck Alaska in 1964. It's well worth pulling off the main trail to take a look or, if you're coming from the east, catch your breath from the short but steep hill leading up to this point.

Elderberry Park has some modest playground equipment and a few benches with views of the water and the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail that passes quite nearby. It's a great place for a break but not the best for starting or ending your ride, as it takes some luck to find parking nearby.

This small, paved "pavilion" is part of Earthquake Park, which showcases the effects of the magnitude 9.2 earthquake that struck Alaska in 1964. One of the steepest hills on the paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail is also right here, although it is mercifully short... sort of. Earthquake Park also has some singletrack mountain bike trails, and a short loop of interpretive walking trail. The walking trail really isn't good for running (it's too narrow, overgrown, and often slippery), and it's best for everybody if runners stay off the mountain bike trails here.

This is one of the best spots along the entire Coastal Trail: On one side you have Westchester Lagoon, a gravel pit turned waterfowl sanctuary and public green space, with paved multi-use trails that run in several directions for miles. On the other side is a short walkway across the rushing outflow of Chester Creek, with a quiet-feeling bench where you can enjoy the burble of water or, in the fall, watch for the occasional salmon working its way upstream from the ocean.

This is a sweet little park with a bit of playground equipment, some benches, and a view over the water. The paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail also passes nearby as it traverses the only really major hill between Westchester Lagoon and the furthest downtown access point. If you're headed north on the Coastal Trail past Elderberry Park you'll find yourself chugging up a very steep hill; and of course, heading south leaves you to more or less freewheel it on the downhill.

Once an old gravel pit, Westchester Lagoon is now one of the crowning jewels of Anchorage. Locals come here to canoe and kayak, watch the waterbirds that gather in the protected waters of the lagoon, or enjoy the paved, multi-use trails that run along three sides of the lagoon. There is also a rushing creek where you can occasionally see salmon working their way in from the ocean to spawn.