Anchorage - Eagle River
Start/Finish
Checkpoint
Dogdrop
The first mile and a half of this leg is on city streets lined with thousands of spectators. The next six miles run east and south through the city greenbelts and parks on the extensive system of bike/ski paths. After crossing Tudor Road on an overpass, the trail winds east for several miles in a large wooded park area on the Tozier Track sprint dog trails; the Iditarider drop off point is about halfway through this part.
The trail then crosses onto the Fort Richardson army base and follows a maneuver road north for the next five miles, eventually crossing Ship Creek and Arctic Valley Road and onto the army's Moose Run Golf Course. Then it generally parallels the east side of the Glenn Highway frontage road northward to the military firing ranges behind the highway weight station, about four miles.
From the firing ranges it picks up another old road northeast through the woods, then cuts north through the forest directly to Hiland Road, about two miles. After Hiland Road, the last couple of miles are along the Glenn Highway frontage road north past the state correctional facility and down to the Eagle River State Campground, across Eagle River, and then up the hill on the frontage road again to the VFW post, which is the checkpoint.
