Hatcher Pass East Management Area

The 300,000 acre Hatcher Pass Management Area primarily consists of mountainous terrain in the Talkeetna Mountain Range that climb from the 1000 ft. valley floor to summits higher than 6,000 ft. The area includes more than 30 prominent summits and associated glaciers. It can be accessed on paved roads and is only an hour and 20 minutes away from Anchorage, and 20 minutes from either Palmer and Wasilla. The Palmer-Fishhook road north of Palmer from Mile 49.5 Glenn Highway leads to the east side of Hatcher Pass while the Willow-Fishhook Road off the Parks Highway leads to the west entrance. Hatcher Pass offers access to extraordinary mountaineering terrain, beautiful mountain scenery, gold panning, berry picking, hiking, biking and horseback riding in the summer. It also offers mountain skiing, snowboarding, sledding, snowshoeing and snowmobiling in the winter. Hatcher Pass has a rich history of gold prospecting, claims and active mining, and includes Independence Mine State Historical Park.