Back in business

PALMER — J.C. Cooks relaxed by a soon-to-be-made fire Saturday afternoon at Kepler Park off the Glenn Highway, savoring a little down time away from Anchorage.

Even though skies were cloudy and a cool breeze forced Cooks and his friend into jackets, just being able to sit down by a lake within a reasonable distance from the city made it all worthwhile, he said.

“It’s cozy,” Cooks said of the newly reopened Kepler Park.

Like many in the area, Cooks can enjoy Kepler Park again this summer following three years of closure. As with any family business, Kepler owner Patti Kepler Goossen said family obligations began to conflict with running the park full-time, forcing its closure up until this year.

The opening of the park brings back another recreation option in the Mat-Su Valley. From fishing to camping, hiking to just having a picnic, the park’s location puts it within a short drive of the Valley’s population center.

And it appears locals are taking notice.

Even with the gloomy weather Saturday, families fished in the lake, others pitched tents for a weekend of roughing it and some, like Cooks, just sat back on a park bench, ready to eat some campfire-cooked food.

For Goossen, being back in the little shack that houses the park’s office has been a long time coming.

“It’s been great so far,” Goossen said Saturday.

But running the park entails more than simply setting up a lawn chair and taking in the surroundings.

Running the day-to-day business is a busy — and family — affair.

With droves of fishermen, campers and other outdoorsy folk heading to the park daily, Goossen has the responsibility of making sure boats are ready, fees are paid and everyone is on their best behavior.

“It’s a lot of work,” Goossen said. “Lots of long hours.”

But she takes it in stride, and has a lot of help from her grandson, Riley.

The 9-year-old has been a boon to the park, Goossen said, helping with everything from maintaining the boats to customer service.

Riley’s interest is a good thing for Goossen, who said she’d love to keep the park in the family.

“It’s definitely a generational thing,” Goossen said.

A long history

Kepler Park has been around for more than a half-century, but hasn’t always been open to the public. What began as a place to host family and friends gradually turned into the Kepler Park locals know today.

It all started when the late Jesse T. Kepler cleared an area of his 140-acre property to create a picnic spot for his family in 1952, Goossen said.

“Then, he eventually realized it would be nice to have it for the public, too,” Goossen said.

Kepler set about building 12 flat-bottom boats and began renting them out. As the area rose in popularity, he cleared out more and more land to expand. Adding campsites to the blossoming business put Kepler Park on track to grow into the recreation spot locals have been waiting for three years to reopen.

After Kepler died in 1960 his son, David Kepler, took over the park, continuing the family operation.

Now, 56 years after Kepler Park came into existence, it’s up to Goossen and her family to run the park.

Finally … open

When the gates finally reopened at Kepler Park this summer, Goossen said she was surprised just how many people were waiting for the moment.

“That’s what was really amazing,” Goossen said, “how many people kept track of how long we’ve been closed.”

Since reopening this summer, Goossen said the most popular activity seems to be renting boats and hitting the lake. Of course, most times those boat renters are hauling their fishing gear along with them.

Echo Lake, across the Glenn Highway from Kepler Park, isn’t as open to the public as it used to be, Goossen said. Unfortunate incidents of what Goossen called abuse and people partying and trashing the site caused Goossen to take away outhouses and largely close the area to the public.

Now, a simple access down the hill is supposed to be the only way to Echo Lake.

Now infamous high gas prices have also helped the park after it reopened, Goossen said, with weekend warriors seemingly giving up plans to head north toward Fairbanks, opting instead to stay close to home.

It’s great for Cooks, who said his 5-year-old son caught four fish in the lake.

“This kind of place is just where you can get comfortable,” Cooks said.

Tourists or locals, it doesn’t matter to Goossen, who said the family environment is what’s most important to her.

“Seeing them spending that quality time together and enjoying the outdoors” is the best part, Goossen said.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@

frontiersman.com.