Tucked between Palmer and Wasilla, the Matanuska Greenbelt doesn’t announce itself the way Alaska’s bigger landscapes do. Kettle ponds catch the light between spruce, moraine ridges roll across the terrain, and the trails weave through a landscape that tells an ancient story of glaciers. Miles of accessible, interconnected trail that almost anyone can step onto, regardless of fitness level or experience. It is, for some, where their relationship with Mat-Su’s outdoors begins.
Mat-Su Borough’s Outdoor Recreation Trail Specialist Alan McClain has watched it serve that role for a long time. “Some people are not as comfortable going up on the more remote trails and higher peaks,” Alan states. “The Greenbelt is very accessible, a place many people can start and work their way out further.” Alan knows the feeling firsthand. Before stepping into this role, he was a trail user himself, and the Crevasse Moraine trail system was where he spent a lot of time getting turned around. Hugh Leslie, Operations Branch Manager of Outdoor Recreation at the Mat-Su Borough, echoes that, noting that for some users this is their very first backcountry-style experience in Alaska, despite the Greenbelt sitting right in the middle of the valley.
Once deep in the network, you can still find yourself miles from a road or trailhead. And for years, that experience has come with a catch. The Matanuska Greenbelt Trail system is one of the most heavily used recreation networks in the Mat-Su, and many users have shared the same disorienting moment: reaching a confusing intersection and not knowing exactly where they are. Wondering which way is the right way, if there even is a right way, whose land they may be on, or where the nearest way out might be. This extensive network of trails spans land managed by the Mat-Su Borough, Alaska State Parks, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Experiment Farm, the University of Alaska Mat-Su College, and the Kepler Bradley campground, and without clear navigation tools it’s easy to get turned around.
300+ Signs, 33 Miles, Years in the Making
Improving signage and wayfinding across the Mat-Su Valley is a priority project focus of the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation. In 2025, MSTPF awarded $38,700 in funding to the Mat-Su Borough for a large Greenbelt signage and wayfinding project. Once trail conditions dry out this summer, crews will begin installing more than 300 signs throughout roughly 33 miles of trail.
Users can expect to see updated trailhead maps, “you are here” maps at major intersections, directional signs pointing toward the nearest trailheads, and clear boundary signage indicating when users are entering different managed lands. Many of the new signs also include QR codes linked to OuterSpatial for additional navigation support. Rather than focusing on distances, the system is designed to help users quickly orient themselves and identify the most direct route back to a trailhead or exit point. Each trailhead will feature maps that reflect the managing landowner while maintaining a consistent visual system across the broader network. The project also brings consistency to trailhead amenities. Previously only some trailheads had pet waste stations and bear-safe trash containers. With this project, every trailhead in the network will have them, a meaningful step toward keeping the system clean and welcoming for everyone. Taken together, it amounts to something the Matanuska Greenbelt has never quite had before: a coherent language for navigating the landscape.
A System Built by Many
The Greenbelt’s signage was originally installed as a unified system, and that same collective approach guided this update. This project has required years of collaboration between agencies, landowners, and recreation partners. The Greenbelt covers more than 2,300 acres with multiple landowners, seven access points, and a wide range of recreational uses, which makes consistency especially important. Getting all the partners aligned on a shared vision was no small undertaking, and the fact that it happened at all says something about the folks involved.
Alan captures the spirit of it well, “It involved a lot of moving parts, with Mat-Su Borough having the manpower and the backend and administration work coming from the other agencies. It was a give and take of this is what we want, this is what they want, that made the whole thing feel cooperative, which isn’t always the case these days.” Alaska State Parks, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Experiment Farm, University of Alaska Mat-Su College, and the Kepler Bradley campground each brought their own knowledge of the land, its users, and its needs to the table. The Greenbelt functions as a single connected system in the minds of most users, but beneath that is a patchwork of individual landowners, each with their own expectations and priorities. The signage project honors both, creating cohesion across the whole while giving each agency the ability to communicate what matters on their land.
More Than Directions
Signage does far more than tell people which way to go. In a trail system as layered as the Greenbelt, it also helps reduce user conflict by clarifying expectations across different lands and uses. Some sections prioritize recreation, while others pass through active agricultural or research lands where yielding to tractors or staying on designated routes is especially important. Without clear signals, users aren’t breaking rules out of disrespect; they simply don’t know the rules exist.
Alan notes that many users don’t realize when they cross those imaginary lines between ownerships with different rules. “People will now see signs displaying what is allowed and not allowed on each property, helping educate on expectations. People just don’t know some of the rules or priorities of different landowners.” The new boundary signage will make those transitions visible and legible, so users can practice correct stewardship even when the physical landscape doesn’t signal a change.
That clarity connects directly to how people experience the Greenbelt in the first place. Alan shares, “I love seeing people go out. If someone gets lost, they’re less likely to go back. I want people to have a positive experience in Alaska’s spaces and help them have a great first impression so they can feel comfortable spreading out to other adventures.“
There is real psychology behind that. Uncertainty becomes a barrier. Feeling disoriented can create apprehension, limit exploration, and reduce the enjoyment of a place altogether. Clear signage creates stability and predictability, allowing people to focus less on the fear of getting lost and more on the experience itself. That sense of security helps people build confidence, develop a relationship with a place, and, as Alan says, eventually branch out into new trail systems entirely.
Behind The Scenes
There is a paradox in good wayfinding: the simpler it feels to the person using it, the more complex the work that made it possible. Heidi Whipple, GIS Specialist with the Mat-Su Borough, notes that the GIS Division spent several years refining trails data across the Borough before releasing an updated public dataset and interactive trails map in June 2025, the first time that data had been made publicly available. That groundwork, alongside earlier trailhead sign installations at six popular Borough locations, helped establish a visual style and data foundation that could carry into the Greenbelt system.
When the grant opportunity came forward, Heidi describes it as “a perfect chance to incorporate some of the feedback we’d already received into a new signage design, and to have a good draft ready as we met with the partners to invite their specialized knowledge of the area.” Because of the density and complexity of the network, nearly all labels and map elements had to be manually placed and adjusted to maintain readability across both large 4-by-4-foot trailhead panels and much smaller 7-by-12-inch wayfinding signs. As partners reviewed drafts, updates to trail names, routes, permitted uses, and access points were folded back into the Borough’s master trails dataset, ensuring that any future online or physical map will reflect the same underlying information. “I really appreciated the improvements that were made to the data as a result of the collaboration,” Heidi notes. “I’m so excited that all recreators in the Greenbelt will be better served with more accurate trail information.”
A Legacy Project
For everyone involved, this project carries a value that extends well beyond routine trail maintenance. Hugh describes it as a “legacy project,” something intended to serve trail users for many years into the future. Unlike seasonal work that must be repeated year after year, these signs are built to last. Alan reflects, “Something the crew can bring their friends and families back to and show them the work they did to install. It creates a sense of accomplishment. This is a lasting project, helping people long after we’ve moved on to other projects.”
Alongside the signage rollout, the Borough is expanding tools for stewardship and maintenance reporting, including a new problem reporting system that makes it easy for users to flag trail issues like downed trees or damaged infrastructure. Crews are starting to get out on trails, so the best way to help is to report what you see and let the trained professionals take it from there. This problem reporter can be found here.
As seasonal work begins across the Matanuska Greenbelt, this combination of clearer signage, coordinated management, and community stewardship reflects a broader shift in how the system is cared for and understood. Years of collaboration, thousands of decisions, and more than 300 signs, all in service of a simple goal: helping people find their way. If you see crews out working this summer, make sure to stop and say hello to the folks helping bring this to life.
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