Cultural context and accessibility help could be coming for Hay Flats Trail

An overlook trail in an area home to historic Dena’ina cultural sites is slated to see a series of upgrades and interpretive signs honoring the area’s original users thanks to the work of a small local nonprofit.

“What the trail is right now is potential. And what is going to be? We don’t know, we’re at the start of the process,” said Michelle Davis, who volunteers as secretary for Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats (APH), which is spearheading the project.

Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats (APH) advocates for continued protection of the 45 square miles of wetlands, sloughs, lakes and forest located north of the Glenn Highway between Palmer and Wasilla. The area is one of six game refuges in the region. Scout Ridge overlooks Cottonwood Creek, a site known to be widely used by the Dena’ina and possibly other indigenous groups.

While there are several trails and recreation areas across the hay flats, APH is focusing its current efforts on land use planning and improvements for the Scout Ridge loop trail, which takes visitors on a walk over the Scott Ridge Overlook. Previous trail improvements were done in partnership with a local Eagle Scout Project. While maintained and considered an easy hike, the full trail is not currently wheelchair accessible beyond the overlook and doesn’t include interpretive signage or information.

Those are things APH volunteers are hoping to change with their improvement efforts, including adding cultural and historic information about the area’s indigenous Dena’ina users. They’re working with the National Park Service, which is providing technical assistance and guidance for their project, Davis said, as well as local trail groups, including the MatSu Parks and Trails Foundation.

They are also currently in conversation or working to connect with representatives from local Tribes to ensure all indigenous users are represented and honored. Davis said they will also work with disability advocates to ensure the trail meets that community’s needs as the project goes on.

“The site of Cottonwood Creek was a beautiful, thriving, dynamic community,” Davis said. “People fished, they hunted, they lived there. And to bring that memory, that vibrancy, that news forward into today’s world I think is just an incredible opportunity.”

The upgrade project is expected to take about two years, she said.

While just how much the project will cost is still unknown, the group is already working to raise funds. An ongoing fundraiser at 203 Kombucha in Palmer is helping the group raise money for the project. That store is donating half of all sales of a special APH small batch, which is a black tea-based brew flavored with highbush cranberries, apples and horsetail. The fundraiser will last until the batch runs out, employees at 203 Kombucha said.

“For APH, we all love the refuge and we feel so privileged to live there,” Davis said.

Visitors wanting to access the Scout Ridge trail should follow Fairview Loop off Knik-Goose Bay Road in Wasilla to Hayfield Road. They then take a left on an unmarked dirt road, which leads to a parking area for the trail.