Anchorage suffered a severe 9.2 earthquake on Good Friday, 1964 that destroyed the coastal area along Cook Inlet. Instead of rebuilding along the coast line, the area was converted into a wildlife protection region that includes a paved bike trail and a memorial park. One Saturday we rented bikes and rode from downtown out to the airport on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
The views along the bike trail were wonderful and since it followed the Cook Inlet shoreline, after about 3 miles we could look back and see this view of the city.
This huge lake is on the outskirt of the city. The city maintains the bike trail and facilities along the path, even providing free life preservers at water access areas. On our return, we saw a sail boarder out on the lake. It is also a public skating area during the winter which I would've loved to skate around.
The trail takes you right under the flight path for the airport with only a street and a brush patch between the bike path and the runway. The planes were coming in so low you could feel the their tail wind as they blew out your ear drums... still we were mesmerized by them and watched several of them come right at us, pass overhead and land across the street. Check it out in the video clip below!