Draft plans for Girdwood’s parks displayed at Parks Plan Workshop
Workshop participants read draft park plans and contribute feedback during the Parks Planning Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 16. (Photo by Chase Berenson)
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
On Tuesday, December 16th, Girdwood Parks and Recreation hosted the second Girdwood Parks Plan Workshop. The Girdwood Parks Plan project is a year-long project to generate a Parks Master Plan that can provide guidance on improvements to Girdwood’s existing park spaces and the potential creation of new parks in the future. The project is spearheaded by Kyle Kelly, Girdwood Service Area Manager, and Bri Keifer, landscape architect with Huddle AK, a consulting firm brought on to help the project.
The project began with a park user survey in the fall, followed by a workshop in September which presented the results of the survey and collected Girdwood residents’ thoughts and opinions on existing park locations and infrastructure. Huddle AK worked with Parks and Rec to interpret the survey results and feedback, and the second workshop allowed them to present their draft plans for Girdwood Park, Lions Club Park, Town Square Park, Moose Meadows, and the new concept Glacier Creek Park. Huddle AK used this workshop as an opportunity to collect feedback about the draft plans presented. The workshop was open-house style, with various exhibits set up around the Community Room that focused on each of the different parks.
Girdwood Park would see some improvements but would likely not look dramatically different than it does today. There were several comments about the inadequacy of the playground, so there are plans or new play equipment for 2-5 year-olds and 5-12 year-olds. Additionally, there are plans for an elevated plaza with amphitheater-style seating that is facing the playground and skate park; the plaza idea was spurred by comments from parents that it can be difficult to keep an eye on children playing, especially if there are multiple children using different areas of the park.
The parks plan calls for including pickleball in the parks as well, with two potential locations for pickleball courts in Girdwood Park. One potential location is where the volleyball court currently is, and the other potential location is where Little Bears is currently located (once it moves to its new location). There are two other potential pickleball court locations in Lions Club Park, one near the Alyeska/Egloff intersection and one further south near a proposed improved parking area. Lions Club Park will also include a new gazebo that has been fundraised by the Lions Club; the gazebo is outside the scope of this parks planning project, but it is great to see park improvements coming from various directions.
Most of the Girdwood residents’ comments about Town Square Park were that the park needs a stronger draw. Additionally, it can be hard for tourists to even know that it’s there. To solve these problems, Huddle AK proposes installing entry gateway features at each of the four entrances. Once inside Town Square Park, the park will be converted into an outdoor museum featuring increased signage and historical exhibits, while still maintaining open space for community events such as the Farmers Market.
Workshop participants read draft park plans and contribute feedback during the Parks Planning Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 16. (Photo by Chase Berenson)
The proposed changes to Moose Meadow are also on the periphery of the park, with no changes to impact the meadows themselves. Plans call for improving drainage on the soccer field, adding a small playground near the soccer field, and enlarging and improving the parking area. There are also plans for a short boardwalk with a viewing platform, which would help make the meadow accessible even in the summer. Moose Meadow is also one of the proposed locations for an outdoor ice rink, along with Glacier Creek Park.
Glacier Creek Park is proposed to be on Karolius Drive past the baseball fields. In addition to the potential ice rink, there are many proposed plans for this currently underutilized area. Some of those plans include the construction of a year-round RV park and a fenced dog park, which would require the relocation of the disc golf course slightly further down the road. This area is limited in its use due to the floodplains, but there are still ways to take advantage of the space with limited infrastructure construction.
As park planning work continues, Girdwood Parks and Rec and Huddle AK are planning to take the comments and feedback from these draft plans to create the final Girdwood Parks Plan document in spring 2026. If you could not provide feedback on these ideas at the event, Huddle AK is also accepting feedback via e-mail; you can contact Bri Keifer at bri@huddleak.com.