Chugach State Park is heeding the call of Alaska鈥檚 growing fat聽bike population and opening up many of its most popular trails for unlimited access.聽
The country鈥檚 third largest state park, sits 20 minutes east of Anchorage, Alaska鈥檚 biggest city and a major fat聽bike hub. The park first started issuing permits to fat聽bikers four years ago, but increased demand led it to completely open the trails this winter.聽
The new regulations went into effect in last Sunday and allow bikes with a minimum tire width of 3.7 inches and pressure of 20 psi or less.
鈥淚n the winter, if you鈥檙e using a fat tire bike, the impact on the resource is negligible,鈥 said park superintendent Tom Harrison, adding that fat tires are also less likely to make ruts that disturb cross country skiers.聽
For their part, fat-tire bikers are excited about the softened regulations, especially since mild winters have made for a string of bad ski years.
鈥淔at-biking was kind of born and raised here, and it keeps getting bigger,鈥 said Jon Kunesh, a fat聽biker and manager of , the closest shop to the park. 鈥淚f you can't ski, you try to find something to do or else it's going to be a long winter. And even if you can't ski, you can always fat bike.鈥澛