The summer fun is heating up in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, where parks and trails spread across an area the size of West Virginia offer plenty of space for recreation.

So what’s exciting in Mat-Su for 2026, what should you know before you head out, and what new trails and recreation spots should you try?

On this episode of Outdoor Explorer, we’ll dive into the summer ahead on parks and trails in Mat-Su as we catch up with leaders at the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation,, recreation officials with the Matanuska Susitna Borough and officials up at Skeetawk, an area usually known for its winter skiing but also home to some fun and growing summer options

Host: Amy Bushatz

Guests: Taylor Rafftery, Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation

Allan McClain, Matanuska-Susitna Borough trails specialist

Hugh Leslie, Matanuska-Susitna Borough outdoor recreation manager

Menga Justus, Skeetawk General Manager

Mike and Kelly Bender operated Lazy Otter Charters in Whittier, Alaska, for over 30 years. Decades ago, a random trip Mike took to Whittier on the Alaska Railroad led to him buying a boat and getting into the water taxi business. He then met Kelly and they slowly grew the business as Whittier became more accessible after a road was added to the Whittier tunnel in 2000. They added boats, a coffee shop, and a fudge store in Whittier all while raising their family. Recently they sold the business to sisters Michelle, Jen, and Tammy Lang, passing their legacy to a younger generation. On this Outdoor Explorer Mike and Kelly share their stories of starting and running a family owned business in a small town, including the rewards and challenges they experienced and the changes they have seen in the sound. Jen and Michelle also talk about how they fell in love with Prince William Sound, started working for Mike and Kelly, came to purchase the business, and their vision for the future of Lazy Otter Charters.

On this episode of Outdoor Explorer, we're catching up with author and wildlife biologist Caroline Van Hemert — whose new book has grown from years of watching the natural world change and a conviction that nature still has surprising and hopeful possibilities to offer if we know where to look.

David Hart is one of many Alaskans with impressive mountaineering resumes that few people know about.

Dave's early formative years were spent in his back yard of the Chugach Mountains. He left the state and discovered rock climbing, technical mountaineering and peak bagging in Colorado.

Dave eventually moved back to Alaska for his professional career, and a full life in the mountains. He has climbed over 1550 peaks worldwide including over 550 in Alaska. This includes the 13 highest peaks in Alaska and the 13 highest in Canada.

He joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his approach to mountaineering and related risks, what he looks for in a good climbing partner, the importance of groups such as the Alaska Mountaineering Club and his latest passion: peak bagging.

Search and rescue in Alaska is complex and difficult. Even close to Anchorage, a city of around 289,000 people, search operations are challenged by steep mountains, thick brush, bears, avalanches, bad weather and cold rivers. Search and rescue organizations, both volunteer and professional, work together under the coordination of the State Troopers to conduct numerous missions every year.

In December of 2025 host Paul Twardock attended an event organized by the Anchorage Nordic Ski patrol featuring a panel discussion on search and rescue in Alaska. The panelists were Amanda Del Frate with Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs (ASARD), Amy Holman with Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol (ANSP), Jonathan Bryan with Alaska Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG) and Manch Garhart with Alaska Incident Management Team (AIMT). The event was moderated by Abby Elbow and Esther Kennedy, both with the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol.

Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs helps train and deploy dog teams to help search for missing and lost people. The Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol are volunteers that help with emergency care and rescue services in the backcountry and events like the Tour of Anchorage ski race. Alaska Mountain Rescue Group also consists of volunteers and their mission includes ground searches, wilderness first aid, incident management, and technical rescues. The Alaska Incident Management Team's volunteers coordinate complex search and rescue incidents statewide.

The panel discussion was held at the BP Energy session in Anchorage with an audience.

Eagle River residents and military veterans Justin and Wella Jay know what it’s like to spend weeks on a trail hiking and exploring together after tackling a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, an adventure they shared on an episode of Outdoor Explorer in 2018.

But late last year, Justin headed out solo to take on his own solo long hike, tackling the Continental Divide Trail and learning a host of lessons about life, kindness and what you find along the journey.

In this episode, Justin and Wella join Outdoor Explorer again to share some of those insights in a moving conversation about the magic of the trail and supporting someone you love as they take on a big adventure.

Alaska shapes you in particular ways. It teaches you to read weather, to know your exits, to pay attention to what's underneath the surface. For Kelsey Kroon, it also taught her to pick up the trash, follow the salmon, and find a story worth telling. On this Outdoor Explorer, we hear from wildlife filmmaker and artist, Kelsey Kroon, a 3rd generation Alaskan whose work has taken her from the Kenai River to Antarctica, the Marshall Islands, and beyond. We talk about her film, "Silver Rush," and what it's like to show Alaskan salmon stories to audiences who've never heard of subsistence fishing, and how trash collected from the Aleutians can become fine art. It's a conversation about attention, where we direct it, and what happens when someone points a camera at the things we've stopped noticing.