Matanuska River

Quick Facts:

• Drive time from Anchorage: 2 hours

• Mileage: up to 73 miles

• Difficulty: II-III (IV)

• Activity: Whitewater rafting

• Recommended time: 2-3 days

We put in at the Caribou Creek highway bridge to run the class IV Lion’s Head section to start the multi-day rafting trip. It starts on Caribou Creek with about 2 miles of class II until you hit the gray & silty Matanuska River. Shortly after that, you’ll go around the “Lion’s Head” rock formation and the you have about a mile until the continuous whitewater begins, eventually passing the terminus of the Matanuska Glacier. This section of the trip should only be done by experienced boaters comfortable in big water.

There are a couple of put-in options after this section at either Glacier Park or Hick’s Creek. The 5-mile section between these two put-in’s is a class III. After Hick’s Creek, it is mostly class II, braided water with occassional holes. You lose the highway for about 20 miles until you come to the Chickaloon River, which is another put-in/take-out option. This section (and the entire river) is insanely gorgeous, with glaciers, huge peaks, colorful canyons, and beautiful trees.

Next, you follow the highway for 13 miles of class III, single-channel until you reach Kings River, which is your final take-out option until the Old Glenn Highway bridge which is about 16 miles further. The final stretch is very braided and slows down quite a bit. We accidentally did this trip at near flood stage, which resulted in us paddling through a forest with tons of wood hazards.

There were plenty of gravel bars available before the Chickaloon River, which is where we camped for the night. I would think most people do this as a 2-night trip, but due to the high flows, we did the 61 miles in only 2 days. You can also continue past the Old Glenn Highway bridge to the Glenn Highway Bridge, which is another 12 miles of class I-II river.