Running trails in Wasilla, AK
Wasilla has 10 trails in the directory — 2 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 2 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 2 open 24 hours. 6 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 1,017 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Newcomb Park Wasilla Lake
4.5 ★★★★★ 513 reviews
Public area for swimming and kayaking on a river or lake, with swings, slides and a playground.
Iditapark
4.5 ★★★★★ 276 reviews
Area featuring a basketball court, bike track, jungle gym, skateboard park, trail and sledding hill.
Wasilla Creek Boardwalk Trail
4.4 ★★★★☆ 100 reviews
Trail through the woods and marsh ending at a nice platform that overlooks mountains.
Cottonwood Creek Park
3.7 ★★★★☆ 17 reviews
Pedersen Park
3.5 ★★★★☆ 13 reviews
Cottonwood Creek Wetlands Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 8 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Wasilla
- Match the surface to your legs. Wasilla gives you a choice: 2 natural surface, 2 mixed, and 1 boardwalk. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 2 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Wasilla is Wasilla Creek Boardwalk Trail at 4 mi.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 2 trails in Wasilla are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 6 of the 10 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 2 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Wasilla. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 1 that runners describe as quiet, 4 dog-friendly, and 4 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Wasilla trails by type
Running trails near Wasilla
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.