Directions: Sledding hill on old Arctic Valley road, just past the power house on your left. To get there you just turn off the Glenn Highway at the Arctic Valley exit and go east toward the mountains until you pass the pump station on the left (it's the only building you'll pass so you can't miss it). Shortly beyond that on the right is a turn off area where the old road banks up against the new road and cars are meeting sledders. Continue on up the hill until you come to the upper turn off with a sign that says "Biathalon Range" That's where you drop off sledders--you can't miss it.



Comments: Arctic Valley is a valley with Ship Creek running down the middle of it. The military (back in the 50's) used to maintain a missle site at the very top of the mountain. Behind the missle site they had a cold weather training center (which, oddly enough, looked just like a ski resort) complete with a ski lift and small heated building at the base of the training center. The military closed the site in the eary 80's, and they now lease the land out to the Arctic Ski Association. The road to the top is maintained by the ski association, so it's plowed regularly. At the base of the mountain is a golf course called Moose Run Golf Course. That part is still run by the military, and is generally off limits in the winter time. There is one road that runs up to and past the golf course. The road winds up the side of a mountain, past a still operational hydroelectric power plant for Fort Richardson (the local army base) for about 5 miles. Pass the power station for roughly a mile and you will see a pull-out area where parents "park" while waiting for their children to come sledding down the hill. Once your children have completed the run, they pile into the cars/trucks and mom/dad drive them back up to the start of the trail. The trail does not run parallel to the road, so there isn't any danger from traffic or moving vehicles. This hill is probably the longest/fastest sledding hill that I've seen in my 30 years. I still drag my nephews out just about every weekend to throw ourselves down the side of a mountain. The trail is groomed through the summer months as a hiking trail. In the winter, after the first few snowfalls, the trail is smoothed out by sledders, such as myself and my nephews, into a sled trail that's a little under a mile long. The trailhead is approximately a mile up a winding road. Since nobody in their right mind would want to hoof it up the side of a mountain, we rely on my wife to drive us up after we've sledded down. The only hazard on the course is from falling off of your sled or from over hanging trees. The adults that patrol the area regularly do a fairly decent job of cleaning up the course, but there have been a few instances where I've been slapped in the face by a low lying branch or a rock in the trail. The only serious threat that I've encountered on that trail are moose. They usually scamper out of the way as fast as they can, but 2 tons of scared animal can be formidable at any time. Alaskans are very familiar with moose, and most everyone is aware of the proper procedures of dealing with them. Stay your distance and wait for it to move. The trail is excellent forolder kids. This hill is not suitable for children that cannot ride on their own, or are afraid of speeds. There are a few bends in the course, but at the bottom the path straightens out and you can gather up quite a bit of speed right before you hit the end. At the bottom of the course, there's a big hill to slow you down (and to keep cars/vehicles off the trail in the summer) before you go blasting out into the roadway.



2009 UPDATE: See more details in this blog post here



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