Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad Trail: Totally Chill, Except When It’s Not
The Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad Trail, also known as the Palmer Rail Trail or the Palmer-Moose Creek Trail, is a pleasant, moderately difficult trek from Palmer to the Moose Creek Day Use Area via wide, overgrown railway beds. This is one of my favorite fall hikes, when the bright yellow leaves and white tree trunks on the Palmer side of the trail form a sharp contrast to the glistening water of the Matanuska River.
This is also one of the few flat — or flattish, anyway — trails to be found in Southcentral Alaska. It’s best as a point-to-point or thru hike, which means you’ll need a second car and driver to help you shuttle from one trailhead to the other.
This is hike 19 in my guidebook Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska.
| Total Distance: 6.9 miles one-way | Nearest community: Palmer |
| Elevation gain: 355 feet | Typical season: Year-round |
| Parking fee: No fee | Nearby trails: Bodenburg Butte, Lion’s Head, Pioneer Ridge, Lazy Mountain, Lazy Moose |
Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad Trail Driving Directions
Palmer Trailhead: From Anchorage, drive 43 miles northeast on the Glenn Highway into Palmer. Cross East Bogard Road and turn right onto neighborhood roads: First East Eagle Avenue, then another right onto North Valley Way. Look for signs indicating the designated curbside parking area on your right; there is only enough room for three or four cars.
Moose Creek Trailhead: From Anchorage, drive 50 miles northeast, passing through Palmer. You’ll find the Moose Creek Campground on your left, between miles 54 and 55 of the Glenn Highway. Keep a sharp eye out; it’s easy to drive right past on the first try.
Hiking the Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad Trail
If you’re doing the Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad trail as a one-way hike with a car shuttle, I recommend starting at the Moose Creek Day Use Area. This way the end of your trek will be filled with great views over the Matanuska River, plus you have the option of grabbing a bite to eat before you drive back to collect the other car.
If you’re doing the hike as an out-and-back, I suggest starting from Palmer, if you can get a spot in the extremely limited trailhead parking. You’ll find driving directions for both trailheads below.
From either direction, the Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad trail makes for a somewhat straightforward hike, pun kind of intended. Just stick to the most-traveled trail or, once you’ve hit the straight lines of the old railbed, stick to that straight line. Do beware a few broad side trails (other railbeds, I assume) that make tempting excursions. If you have a map or GPS track to follow, it’s pretty easy to stay pointed in the right direction.
One of the key sights along this trail is a ruined old railroad car, but I have to admit I haven’t found it yet — I always end up on the trail once the grass and brush have gotten pretty high.
A Word About That Gorgeous River
Speaking of the Matanuska River, it is always hungry and tends to consume trails and road beds with equal ease, so expect to cross multiple large washouts. At least one of these is a stretch of mud, but most are littered with large round cobbles, as you can see in the featured picture on this post.
Those cobble-clad washouts are the “not always chill” part of the Palmer-Moose Creek Railroad Trail, although if you’re of the scrambling-loving persuasion like I am, you might enjoy crossing them too.
Lisa Maloney
A long-time Alaskan, Lisa has written three award-winning guidebooks including "Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska" and "50 Hikes Around Anchorage." She also served as senior editor of Alaska magazine and has written hundreds of newspaper columns and magazine articles about her adventures around the state. Learn more about her at http://maloneywrites.com.
