Paradise, Alaska

When you ask somebody to describe their paradise, many mention sand, sun and the surf. But ask snowmachine fanatics to describe their paradise, and they'll probably tell you about a place just up the road.

Petersville is a snowmachiner's utopia -- Peter's Hills to ride in for those who want to climb, virtually endless trails in the low lands, plenty of roadhouses at which to stop for a midday burger and brew, and a friend's cabin probably within minutes of the parking lot.

"We usually ride up there a couple weekends a month because it's closer to home and we can make a good day out of it," said Wasilla snowmachiner Tobey West.

Petersville, according to the 2000 census, is home to exactly 27 full-time residents. Depending on whether your cup is half full or half empty, that makes Petersville the 326th largest city in Alaska, or the 22nd smallest (counting two places that have 0 full-time residents). But take a trip down Petersville Road after a large snowfall in winter, and you'll find 10 times that many trucks in the parking lot, many with trailers capable of hauling either two or four snowmachines.

Around every corner on the trails are cabins -- the two-day homes, from Friday to Sunday, for serious snowmachiners from around Alaska who convene in Petersville. The population booms during the winter, as Petersville Road becomes a highway and the many roadhouses swell with people.

"It used to be that Petersville was the best-kept secret among snowmachiners," said Palmer snowmachiner Tony Grover. "But, my God, drive up there after we get a bunch of snow, and you'll find people everywhere. It seems like everybody is up there now."

For snowmachiners, there are the two extremes to travel to in the Valley -- Eureka and Petersville -- but often, they end up at one of those two locations when looking for a day ride.

"Eureka is a lot farther to go, and honestly, I just like the Petersville area better," West said. "It's a little closer to home, and I have a couple of buddies who have cabins up there, so I always have a place to stay. I like to take my boy [son Travis, age 12] to Petersville rather than Eureka, unless it's been like this winter, because Eureka was the only place you could go."

While it may be getting a lot bigger in terms of recreation opportunities and cabins, Petersville surely isn't getting much bigger in terms of full-time residents. There were 17 full-time residents in the 1920 census, or 10 less than there are today. You would be hard-pressed to find another Alaska community that has grown by only 10 people in the last 80 years.

Petersville was established by a hearty bunch of settlers looking for gold, and they found it in the Petersville area. That's why Petersville Road is here today.

"Now known as Petersville Road for most of its length, the historic road began as a simple trail blazed out of the wilderness by a miner named Henry Bahrenburg in 1917," wrote Trapper Creek author Kenneth Marsh in his 2002 book A River Between us, The Upper Susitna Valley.

"Bahrenburg, like many of his fellow Cache Creek miners, wanted to bring in his supplies from the new town of Talkeetna located on the recently-constructed Alaska Railroad," Marsh wrote.

The road began as the Cache Creek Wagon Road, but as the community of Petersville grew, the name of "Petersville Road" became accepted, as it is today, according to Marsh's book.

"It became the true lifeline to the whole area west of the Susitna River and Talkeetna," Marsh wrote.

And while the road is the main vein snowmachiners take to get into the Valley's prized backcountry, it is also the route those hoping to get rich by finding a gold nugget still take today.

The area is still home to many miners in the summer, much like it was 80 years ago, and recreational gold miners flock to the area from May through August.

Petersville is known by many for the winter getaway opportunities it provides, but it offers plenty of chances to have fun in the summer, if you are willing to work for fun. The terrain is swampy in many of the areas, and there are plenty of mosquitoes to go around.