Moose Creek
Buffalo Mine Rd. to Glenn Hwy.
| Difficulty | III+ |
| Length | 5.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 128 fpm |
| Gauge | Moose C Nr Palmer Ak |
| Flow Rate as of 19 minutes | 72 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | October 15, 2004 |
River Description
Put-In
The put-in for Moose Creek is reached by turning north off the Glenn Highway onto the Buffalo Mine Road 3.4 miles northeast of the Willow/Fishhook turnoff (approximately Milepost 60). Continue for 5.0 miles, passing from paved to gravel road, and turn right 50 yards before the chain across the road. Drive 100 yards down to the river and park. Put in just below the ATV bridge, and look for the coal fire burning through the mountain across the river.
Take-Out
Take out 200 yards upstream of the Glenn Highway Bridge where a faint trail meets the creek. Walk 100 yards east through the woods to the car pull out. If you miss the takeout, just continue down to the bridge, and walk the highway back to your car.
Description
Moose Creek (one of at least 30 ÂMoose Creeks in Alaska) is a class III+ creek 20 minutes from Palmer. It is a small volume run that is enjoyable at low to high flows. The rapids consist of sections of moderately steep water flowing over and around small granite boulders and a short shale canyon making up several ledge drops, including a relatively safe 10-foot waterfall. There are very few places deep enough to roll a kayak, but single-boat eddies are nearly constant, and everything but the waterfall can be boat scouted. The water is clear and cold, and supports a large run of king and silver salmon, which can make the stretch below the waterfall a bit smelly. The salmon also lead to a fair amount of bear encounters, which can be exciting in such a small creek. There are a few log hazards, and the rapids change often due to fall flooding. Moose Creek flows through Tsadaka Canyon, a U-shaped valley that intersects the Matanuska River Valley. Leaf fossils are common in the Tsadaka Canyon shales.
The whitewater starts immediately from the pool below the bridge. Boulder dodging and boofing are continuous with few discernable drops. After approximately 2 hours o
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportLets clear some of the wood out of this river! I hiked it from the takeout a few days ago. Clearing wood seems very manageable with a rope and saw. There are about 7 logs in the last 2 miles of the run. I will post on Alaska Packraft FB page as well. Post on the FB page if you are heading up there so that others know you are working in the area. Our group cleared one log near the parking lot.
Ran the stream today; one kayaker one pack rafter. Very bony and approxiametly 10 places that needed to be portaged due to river wide trees. Needs to be cleaned up and lots of water for an enjoyable run. A notch run, would not do it again. Very pretty canyon. Lots of salmon.
Danny Crow
This creek is below my house...so neat to hear it described in such detail! :) Several phases of re-routing have been done. The falls are no longer there. The major flooding that happened in late summer of 2006 did some damage to the creek and did some re-routing of it's own.
Construction is beginning on the re-routing of the creek around the falls. The engineer in charge is an Alaskan whitewater kayaker, and is very aware that Moose Creek is a good resource. Keep your head up for machinery and debris in the channel below the bridge and above the ledge drop.
Dan Crandall on Moose Creek way back when.
Dan Crandall on Moose Creek
Dan Crandall with some scenic Moose Creek