Westchester Lagoon

awesome little body of water to walk around, summer or winter. In the winter you have a decent enough chance of seeing Moose, and it also becomes an ice skating rink. In the summer its a great place for a jog, a stroll, or to exercise your dog.

Wintertime, this place becomes a world class lake top ice skating rink! Surreal! (Bring your own skates, or rent a pair from a nearby sports shop.)

Baby ducks, baby swans, sand pipers and more. Islands of fire weed. Stunning this time of year. Clean open park, easy path to walk along. Perfect view of the mountains. Free parking.

Saturday mornings are very fun. Great skating rink for all ages. Music, hot chocolate and coffee for free. Hotdogs are sold nearby. It is a pity that this holiday does not last until the evening. Favorite location.

Lovely place to go on a walk with connections to the Chester Creek Trail and Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Beautiful park and you can spot beavers and ducks everywhere. As is usual, lots of mosquitoes in and around the area so be prepared. Came at midnight and was greeted to a beautiful sunset in early June. Cool bike counter for tracking total bikers along the trail as well.

This place was Bussin!!!!! First time ice-skating not on a rink and it was super cool. I felt like a Nascar driver going in a big circle with 4 left turns. They so also have a smaller circle, and small area for a hockey rink. Lost of fun and I definitely recommend going! I rented my skates for 10 dollars a day from Champion Choice and it worked out amazing! I plan on going back this weekend while we still have good ice. At night they also have burn barrels for warmth fyi!

Beautiful place. Lots of birds. Nice walk or bike ride but watch out for the Peter Pans in their tights trying to ride fast like their actually in a race. A few loose dogs here and there as well. Maybe an enforcement patrol is needed

Best park in town. Gorgeous walking trail connected to the Coastal Trail. Excellent bird watching. Good for old people and handicapped.

I probably spend more time at this park year round than any other park in Anchorage proper. It is conveniently connected to multiple trails and easy to access on foot from most of West Anch, Spenard, Northstar/Valley of the Moon, Midtown, and Downtown. If you've got a bike, you can connect from even further out very easily. As such, the Lagoon looks a lot like a Gilmore Girls community and is popular with people year round. There are frequently small sponsored events going on- the coolest of which involves ice skating in the winter. I personally love this park because it's a great place to bird watch. It's a fragile breeding ground for aquatic birds (take note dog owners - IT IS NOT OK TO LET YOUR DOGS OFF LEASH HERE OR LET THEM SWIM!) Red Neck Grebes are one if the more unusual arctic birds that breed here. The arctic terns also put on quite a show. Various loons and cranes also make an appearance, as well as some unique ducks. There's also an awesome playground and snack bar for the kiddies. A few years ago they also installed a bike counter that tracks the thousands that use the Tony Knowles at various intervals - it's fun to watch the numbers climb as the season goes on. There's also a free bike maintenance station here. Definitely a great location for lots and tourists alike, but parking is a problem, so carpool or better yet, use the trails!

This is a park which also goes by the name also known as Margaret Eagan Sullivan Park, is home to a man-made water fowl sanctuary, a lake, a disc golf course and a playground. They have private parking lots for you to park free of charge. It is located near downtown and is a welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of the city. It conveniently lies at the intersection of two of Anchorage's most popular trails, the Tony Knowles and Chester Creek trails. There were many runners traveling through while I was there, going through the two little tunnels that run under the road. You will find benches and picnic tables here to sit around the lake. This is home to lots, I mean lots, lots of waterfowl. They seemed aggressive, so I kept my distance. The disc golf course was nice but was covered in snow and mud. The lake is nice and during the winter is converted to an ice hockey/skating rink. My only complaint is that the park could be a little cleaner, even though part is that could be due to me visiting off-season. There were some maintenance guys there do some other stuff. The park is touted as a great place to bird watch in the spring and you can see other animals such as moose, beaver in the early morning or late evening, muskrats, foxes, otters, and minks, year-round, but it is rare. I did not see any of them. This nature park has a calming kind of peace to it, even though you hear the hum of cars on the nearby road. Just sitting on the bench looking out to the lake was so very soothing. If your schedule permits, I highly recommend visiting this place to just relax and recharge.

If Town Square Park (http://www.yelp.com/biz/town-square-park-anchorage) is Anchorage's living room, then Westchester Lagoon is its big backyard. It's a nicely-sized lake with great views of the Chugach (http://www.yelp.com/biz/chugach-state-park-anchorage) and it's connected to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail (http://www.yelp.com/biz/tony-knowles-coastal-trail-anchorage) . If you're suuuuuper lazy, but would like to ride a bicycle from downtown...this is the first major stop. Is the lake "real"? I don't know. Is it even a "lake"? What makes it a "lagoon"? Again, I don't know. And I'm not making a "quick stop" at Wikipedia to figure it out. A couple minutes of light research often ends in hours of productivity loss. YOU DO IT. "The Lagoon" freezes in the winter and people walk on it, skate on it, even hockey on it. I don't. I only like ice when it's vertical, and I can climb it. If it hurts me, it's probably because I lost my grip on my axes and fell. Horizontal ice...I have an irrational fear of. You're just walking along, mindin' your beez, and then *BAM* TRAPPED UNDER ICE*. Is it because you messed up? No. Could I have trained harder and not fallen under ice? No. It just happened. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time and now you're going hypothermic and your organs are shutting down on you. Anyway, it's a great place to watch birds. You can also watch people's dogs and wonder why you don't own one and why you'll always be alone in this world. Maybe they'll let you pet theirs. *Yep, that was an oldschool Metallica reference, nice job, you get a pizza party this Friday.

Best thing about this place is it's free. Bring your ice skates :) and hockey sticks/puck. Fun place for all ages.

We went on a Sunday night around 9pm... We started at the beginning of the Tony Knowles Trail in Elderberry Park and ended at Westchester Lagoon. There were TONS of people enjoying the BEAUTIFUL summer weather and DAYLIGHT! :) The salmon were jumping (which attracted many people to stand on the bridges/boardwalks to view), kids were playing, the ice cream stand (I think that's what it is) was open, people were biking, running, and strolling. The views are breathtaking (as usual) - I personally prefer to avoid large crowds and Westchester Lagoon appears to be a popular spot to congregate (especially when the temps are perfect and the days are long).

Such an amazing spot!! Sat here all day and enjoyed the beautiful views and perfect weather! Many people were walking and biking here. There were many ducks, geese, and even trout! Such a great little spot!

Oh I love this little park nice trails biking,walking,there's even ice skating,it's awesome

Such a nice place to walk around to get a breath of fresh air. It's so beautiful and peaceful here. Being from California, it was freezing cold for me to be walking around, but I forced myself to overlook the coldness of Alaska and enjoy the scenery. It's pet friendly so I took my pup with me for a walk. He enjoyed meeting other dogs on the trail! They offer doggy bags throughout the trail just incase you forget to bring your own. This is also a great spoke to ride your bike or go for a jog! As far as parking goes, they have a tiny parking lot on site, but there's also street parking!

This is a great place not only for summer but for winter walks. This park is very well taken care of not only by the Parks department but by the local. This is what a community should do don't let people mess with whats everyones. I very much enjoy the area and hope someday to own a home in the area. The people that use the trail are very friendly and helpful. The park views can be very nice almost all times of the year.

The Margaret Eagan Sullivan Park, more commonly known as Westchester Lagoon, is a manmade lagoon and waterfowl sanctuary. It is located along the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail near downtown. There are trails for running, biking, and skiing, as well as a nature trail. In the winter the lagoon freezes over and ice skating becomes popular. In the summer, kayakers and canoers can be seen on the water.

Great hockey rink with goals already in place best time to come is on Friday and the rest of the weekend however u will want to bring your own puck since there might not be people willing to share a puck

Out of towners, you should definitely check this place out. This is a great area for a photo, a jog and even to check out some wildlife. Parking can be a little tough on weekends but it's worth it.

So, I went to go for a short hike around the lagoon and to the trail along the inlet. I stopped to use the outhouse before I left. When I opened the door, the toilets were overflowing. It was so gross. So many people love and use this park. Somehow the bathrooms need to be taken care of.