Alaska’s state government continues to fail its parks system and the many people who recreate in those parklands. A prime example of that is Chugach State Park’s Prospect Heights Trailhead, where the parking lot is in abominable condition despite promises of long-overdue paving.
Though Prospect Heights is one of the main entry points into the Chugach Front Range, to reach the trailhead, drivers must negotiate a minefield of huge potholes, some of them large and deep enough to bust an axle or do other damage.
I first inquired about plans to pave Prospect Heights after learning, in fall 2022, that the state planned to pave the much-lessused Upper Huffman parking lot. In an exchange with Chugach Superintendent Ben Corwin, I learned “both are on the shortlist for paving,” which encouraged me.
By September 2023, Upper Huffman had been paved and “striped” for parking spaces. Meanwhile, Prospect Heights was in even more deplorable condition. This time I contacted not only Corwin, but also Alaska State Parks Director Ricky Gease and Rys Miranda, chief of design and construction for state parks. I expressed my continued astonishment that Upper Huffman would be paved first, and was informed parks had received a grant which could not be used for Prospect Heights, while adding “regardless of any paving plan, why is Prospect Heights allowed to deteriorate so badly?” Corwin assured me the lot had received funding for paving and that “Construction hopefully will commence next summer.” In the meantime, it would be graded before winter. It wasn’t.
Another year has passed and no paving has been done. In fact, the start of construction remains “on the horizon.” And the potholed mess has worsened. Nearly two years have passed since my initial inquiry, and no effort to improve the Prospect Heights lot has been made. This is an absolute disgrace and completely unacceptable.
I don’t blame Ben Corwin; he’s doing the best he can with limited resources. But a responsible parks director would make certain that conditions didn’t deteriorate so badly, both in Chugach State Park and other state park units around the state. Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the Alaska Legislature also share responsibility for this mess, for not making certain that our world-class system of state parks gets the funding and staffing it deserves. Both our parks and we Alaskans deserve so much better.
— Bill Sherwonit
Anchorage
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