Willow: Sled Dogs, Salmon, and a Capital That Never Was
Willow is a census-designated place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough with approximately 2,102 residents. The community spreads along the Parks Highway between Wasilla and Talkeetna, about 70 miles north of Anchorage. Willow gained attention in 1976 when Alaska voters chose it as the site for a new state capital, but the relocation was never funded and Juneau kept its status.
Today Willow serves as a checkpoint and sometimes restart point for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The area is popular with mushers, and several professional sled dog kennels operate in the surrounding hills. Willow Creek provides fishing for king and silver salmon, and the Susitna River system to the west draws anglers from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley.
Development is sparse. The highway corridor has a few businesses, a post office, and a community center, but most land is zoned for large residential lots. Properties are affordable compared to Wasilla or Palmer, which partly explains the steady trickle of new residents. Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, just south of town, offers canoeing, camping, and cabin rentals within a network of interconnected lakes.
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Willow is a census-designated place in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough with approximately 2,102 residents. The community spreads along the Parks Highway between Wasilla and Talkeetna, about 70 miles north of Anchorage. Willow gained attention in 1976 when Alaska voters chose it as the site for a new state capital, but the relocation was never funded and Juneau kept its status.
Today Willow serves as a checkpoint and sometimes restart point for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The area is popular with mushers, and several professional sled dog kennels operate in the surrounding hills. Willow Creek provides fishing for king and silver salmon, and the Susitna River system to the west draws anglers from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley.
Development is sparse. The highway corridor has a few businesses, a post office, and a community center, but most land is zoned for large residential lots. Properties are affordable compared to Wasilla or Palmer, which partly explains the steady trickle of new residents. Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, just south of town, offers canoeing, camping, and cabin rentals within a network of interconnected lakes.
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