"I am frankly a bit astonished that it's finally happening," Susanne DiPietro told the Anchorage Daily News in May. She has lived in the area since the early '90s and sits on the Government Hill Community Council, which has pushed for this trail connection for decades. She was talking about the Downtown Trail Connection. It's a paved, non-motorized path of a little over a mile that will join the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and the Ship Creek Trail into one 14-mile corridor along Cook Inlet.
The gap was never really about money or interest. The Alaska Railroad decided the timing, the route, and even the engineering. The tide decided much of the rest. Those two forces explain why the link took nearly 30 years, why it follows the path it does, and why the Ship Creek end, the one closest to Government Hill, was the last piece to fall into place.
Thirty years, and the bridge that came first
The missing segment first appeared in the 1997 Anchorage Areawide Trails Plan. Anchorage Park Foundation Executive Director Beth Nordlund told ADN the project then went through "every kind of public process you could think of." Paying for it took years as well. ADN put the city's share at roughly $2.1 million in park bonds, approved over five elections between 2021 and 2025. Alaska Public Media reported a $2.8 million match from voter-approved bonds. Most of the $15.6 million total is state and federal money secured by Anchorage Metropolitan Area Transportation Solutions, known as AMATS.
The last hold-up was a railroad bridge. The new trail passes underneath the Alaska Railroad's bridge over Ship Creek, so the old bridge had to be replaced before trail work could start there. The project's own FAQ said construction would start in 2026 only "if all funding is available and if the construction phasing works with the railroad's plans to replace their bridge over Ship Creek." The order of events:
- June 11, 2025. The Urban Design Commission approved the trail review.
- September 2025. Construction began on the replacement of Alaska Railroad Bridge 114.3.
- Spring 2026. The bridge work wrapped up, according to railroad spokesperson Meghan Clemens.
- May 9, 2026. The Anchorage Park Foundation held the groundbreaking at 25 Small Boat Launch Road. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and city and state partners attended.
- October 15, 2027. This is the completion date in the state's bid notice for the 1.29-mile connection.
Parks Superintendent Taylor Keegan told ADN the build is expected to take two summers. As of early October 2026, the first of those summers is ending, and the second ends against that October 2027 deadline.
A route drawn along the tracks
Today, getting from one trail to the other means improvising. ADN describes cyclists winding through traffic in the downtown core and bumping over several sets of train tracks. The new route skips all of that. It starts at Elderberry Park, at the west end of Fifth Avenue, and runs on a raised mound between the Cook Inlet mudflats and the Alaska Railroad tracks. It passes the city's small boat launch, staying away from the railroad depot on First Avenue, then goes under the existing road and railroad bridges at Ship Creek.
The project team has explained why the line isn't more direct. Their answer is that the alignment "provides the fewest railroad crossings, provides a safe recreational experience for non-motorized users, and causes the least impact on the railroad's plans and existing facilities." The FAQ adds that the Alaska Railroad supports the route.
The FAQ also sets limits that matter if you're coming from north of Ship Creek. The new trail has only two connection points: Fifth Avenue near Elderberry Park and the Ship Creek Trail entrance. Other access points would come with future projects. The work doesn't include upgrades to side streets such as Second Avenue or Christianson Drive. From Government Hill, you'll join it where the Ship Creek Trail begins and ride the full length without a mid-route exit until Elderberry Park.
The scenery along that stretch is part of the case for it. Nordlund told ADN to expect views of Denali to the north, the downtown skyline to the south, and the occasional beluga, with the path running beside the tracks toward the Don Young Port of Alaska.
"It's going to be so much more beautiful than you can imagine by looking at this map. ... It's in an industrial area. If you don't have a reason to go, you just may not." Beth Nordlund, Anchorage Park Foundation, to the Anchorage Daily News
Built for the tide line
The Ship Creek end has a problem that anyone who uses it may already know. The project FAQ says the existing gravel trail under the bridges "is frequently underwater at high tide." The design aims to reduce that "as much as possible." The FAQ is also frank that extreme weather will still cause flooding.
The state's bid notice shows how much of the budget goes into holding ground along the inlet rather than into pavement alone. The listed work includes:
- Embankment, the raised base that carries the path above the mudflats
- Riprap, the armoring rock along the edge
- Paving and drainage
- A reinforced-concrete flood structure
- ADA improvements, including accessible non-motorized access to the small boat launch
Winter is the other test. Keegan told ADN the city plans to maintain the finished trail year-round if staffing allows. The FAQ says Parks and Recreation is planning winter grooming between Kincaid Park and William Tyson Elementary School. For a 14-mile corridor whose eastern end sits near Government Hill, that's the difference between a summer bike route and a path people can use through the dark months.
Dgheyaytnu and the longer line
The tide and the tracks shape the route, and the plaza at the boat launch carries a much older history. It will be named Dgheyaytnu. Alaska Public Media describes it as the Dena'ina Athabascan name for Ship Creek, part of an area that was a traditional pathway and fishing site for the Dena'ina people. ADN, reporting on the Anchorage Park Foundation's Indigenous Place Names Project, translates the word as "Stickleback Creek," pronounced duh-height-new. The plaza will also have a public art installation.
The new segment also ties Ship Creek into much bigger routes. It adds about a mile to the 32-mile Moose Loop. It also becomes part of the Alaska Long Trail, a planned route of more than 500 miles between Seward and Fairbanks. AMATS Executive Director Aaron Jongenelen called it "this missing connection that's been desired for a really long time." He added that more trail connection projects are planned for Fish Creek in Anchorage and in Eagle River.
Regular riders have their own reasons. Garrett Siebert of Valley of the Moon rides the Moose Loop about once a week in summer. "Anchorage motorists are not always the most friendly to cyclists, so I think anytime we can stay off the roads its a benefit for both parties," he told ADN.
The project website offers email notifications for updates, which is the most direct way to follow the second construction season through the October 15, 2027 completion date. You can sign up at connectcoastaltoship.com.
At RE/MAX Dynamic Properties, we follow projects like this one because they change how a neighborhood works long before they appear on any map. If you'd like to talk with someone who knows Government Hill and North Anchorage down to the trailhead, find the REALTOR® who's right for you.
