Houston sees multi-use trailhead as economic engine

HOUSTON — As soon as the snow flies, the Mat-Su Borough’s smallest organized city will have a big new reason for snowmachine and other trail users to head north.

Thanks to a $172,300 capital grant from the borough, trail users now have a new point from which to access the west side of the Hatcher Pass Management Area, Houston Mayor Virgie Thompson said at a ribbon cutting ceremony Nov. 14.

The Houston/Willow Creek Multi-Use Sled Trailhead is located off Mile 59, Parks Highway, .5 miles down the newly widened Zero Lake Road. Parking fees are $5 per day, or $10 per night and $5 for each addition vehicle and will be used to pay maintenance and operations.

Measuring an expansive 78,000 square feet, the lot can accommodate up to 60 RVs and trailers, Thompson said.

Already, many local dug mushers are using the trailhead to park their trucks and hook up their teams to four-wheelers before heading out to train on the miles of trails that fan out from there.

City councilmember Alma Hartley said the new parking area also includes public restrooms and soon it will have a kiosk that shows the trail system in the area. As a mother with small children, Hartley said she sees the public restrooms as a very family friendly addition.

The recommendation to create a trailhead off Zero Lake Road grew out of a 2012 review by RWS Consulting, titled “Recommendations for Constructing or Improving Parking Areas and Trailheads for snowmobiles in the Hatcher Pass Area,” which evaluated several sites identified in the 2012 Hatcher Pass Management Plan and ranked them based on the same criteria.

Thompson said groups such as the city of Houston and Willow Trails Committee had proposed the site as a multiple-use parking area and trailhead for many years.

As part of the access upgrades planned for the Houston/Willow side of Hatcher Pass, she said the Willow Trails Committee received funding to help groom trails in the area. The grant won’t pay for labor, but folks can be reimbursed for fuel. To volunteer, contact Steve Charles at 495-6368.

For Houston, part of the project included widening Zero Lake Road to 24-feet of drivable surface, an upgrade appreciated by the homeowners who live farther down the road, Thompson said. In the past, people parking along the edge of the narrow road created a safety concern, she said.

If further funding is available, Thompson said she’d like to expand parking to the other side of the road so motorized and non-motorized users also would have separate parking. And, she said it wouldn’t take much to extend electric access the half mile from the Parks Highway to the trailhead to provide lighting and plug-in access for vehicles’ block heaters.

She said the long-term plan is to continue adding amenities such as pavilions, a cooking area, trail markers and possibly a camping area.

To stretch the grant dollars as far as possible, Thompson said the city did as much of the work itself as possible and hired local contractors for the rest. The project took about six weeks to complete after the city broke ground July 16.

In a letter dated Oct. 22, Mat-Su Borough project manager Steve Cypra congratulated Thompson and the city of Houston on the quality of the project and the speed at which it was completed. Cypra singled out Curt Ensminger for praise for his role working for the city on the project.

For at least the first winter, Thompson said the city will have a camp host live at the site.

“We’re going to see how this year goes,” she said.

From the Houston/Willow Creek Multi-Use Sled Trailhead, users can access the adjacent to Haessler/Norris Trail System and the Herring Mail Trail. The Herring Trail, aka Houston-Willow Creek Trail, travels northeast for 16 miles where it meets Willow-Fishhook Road at Mile 31.2.

In the winter the road us not maintained for vehicle access, but it is groomed as a snowmachine trail instead, Thompson said.

Councilwoman Hartley said the city sees the parking lot as a key piece of infrastructure that will draw people to the area to play year-round.

Thompson said she hopes when people see a steady stream of folks headed to Houston on the weekends that it will translate into opportunity for other businesses — such as a gas station or grocery store — to open in the city.

For more information, contact 892-6869.

Contact managing editor Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.