4 Best Sights in Palmer, The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska

Gold mining was an early mainstay of the Mat-Su Valley's economy. You can tour the long-dormant Independence Mine on the Hatcher Pass Road, a loop that in summer connects the Parks Highway just north of Willow to the Glenn Highway near Palmer. The stunningly scenic drive travels past forested streams and alpine meadows and winds high above the tree line. The road to Independence Mine from the Palmer side is paved; the section between the mine and Willow is gravel. In the 1940s the mine employed as many as 200 workers. Today it is a 271-acre state park that has good cross-country skiing in winter. Only the wooden buildings remain; one of them, the red-roof manager's house, is now used as a visitor center.

Matanuska Glacier is the largest car-accessible glacier in the country, with a four-mile wide terminus that can be seen from the road. Right off the Glenn Highway (Mile 102), the entrance is maintained through Guided Glacier Tours. The only way to visit is on a guided tour—a number of companies offer glacier these.

Sixty or so animals roam at the Musk Ox Farm, which conducts 30-minute guided tours. There's a hands-on museum and a gift shop featuring hand-knitted items made from the cashmere-like underfur (qiviut) combed from the musk ox. The scarves, caps, and more are made by Oomingmak, an Alaska Native collective.

On a sunny day the town of Palmer looks like a Swiss calendar photo, with its old barns and log houses silhouetted against craggy Pioneer Peak. On nearby farms on the Bodenburg Loop off the Old Palmer Highway, you can pay to pick your own raspberries and other fruits and vegetables. The peak picking time at Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, which cultivates 35 kinds of fruits and vegetables, occurs around mid-July.