Tracking the Mat-Su Trail Map: What Changed, and How to Help

The Mat-Su Borough's interactive trail map (trails.matsu.gov) has gone through changes since it launched in June 2025, and the Alaska Outdoor Access Alliance has been tracking them closely on your behalf.

What Happened

In late 2025, the map was displaying a detailed usage table for each trail, marking activities like ATV/UTV and snowmobile use as "Yes," "No," or "Unknown." AOAA raised formal concerns with Borough officials that many "No" designations weren't backed by any actual agency closure documentation, in conflict with Alaska's General Allowed Uses regulation (11 AAC 96.020), which keeps state land open to listed uses unless an agency has formally restricted them. In December 2025, the Borough agreed to un-publish those per-activity fields while they're reviewed, and to rely instead on a single "Typical Use" tag pending clearer guidance on what that tag does and doesn't mean.

Where Things Stand

The map still shows a "Typical Use" label for each trail. AOAA's position is straightforward: that label describes common use, not legal status. A trail on state land stays open to the uses covered under 11 AAC 96.020 unless a government agency has issued documented closure for that specific trail. No agency has to "prove" a trail is open, the burden runs the other way.

Check the Map Yourself

Visit trails.matsu.gov and look up trails you use. If a trail's "Typical Use" tag doesn't match how it's actually used, or you know of documentation that closes a trail to a certain use, tell us.

Help Us Keep the Record Accurate

Use the Mat-Su Trail Usage & Documentation Report form to tell us how a trail is actually used, or to share documentation of an official closure. AOAA tracks these reports and shares them with the Borough's Land & Resource Management Department, the same team that's asked for exactly this kind of input as they keep refining the map.