Matanuska Peak

Matanuska Peak is a 6,093-foot mountain in Alaska’s Chugach Mountains that rises prominently above the Matanuska Valley east of Palmer. Its official name was approved in 1969, but it comes from the older name of the Matanuska River, recorded on maps by 1897 and derived from a Russian term for the “copper river people,” reflecting the region’s layered Indigenous and colonial naming history. The mountain is also known as a strenuous climbing objective, with a steep five-mile trail gaining 5,670 feet, a seasonal challenge race in August, and a subarctic environment marked by long snowy winters, mild summers, and runoff into the Matanuska and Knik rivers.

Lazy Mountain, Alaska · United States