Lake Otis and Carlson Park/Playground in Anchorage AK

Nestled within Anchorage's midtown there is a lake called "Lake Otis." Many locals do not even know that it is there. I myself didn't know that it was there until a few years ago. When most people hear "Lake Otis" they think of the road that runs north and south through most of anchorage parallel to the New Seward Highway. They do not think of the actual lake, located in the College Village neighborhood bordered by Northern Lights Blvd, 36th Ave, Latouche St, and of course, Lake Otis Pkwy. The lake is accompanied by a charming little playground called Carlson Playground. There is also a large open field leading up to the lake which makes up the majority of Carlson Park. To access the lake and the playground it is best to park on Stanford Dr. near its intersection with Cornell Ct. From there you will see a paved walkway that leads west in-between two houses on the west side of Stanford Dr. It can be easy to miss if you aren't looking for it, which has led to my family and I calling it the "hidden park". The path goes on for about 100 yards and is lined with trees and ends at Carlson Playground.

Carlson Park/Playground in Anchorage

Carlson Playground is a small playground, with some interesting equipment. There are no slides and no swings. There are multiple climbing obstacles, a small rope bridge, a climbing wall, two of those rocking things on springs for younger kids, a larger spring rocker made for multiple kids, and a really interesting spinning apparatus. The spinning apparatus is basically a rectangle and when you climb on the lower bar you will start spinning, with higher speeds resulting in quite a bit of centrifugal force, which can actually be a bit surprising the first time you try it out. There is also a small tower that has those containers on a pulley system to raise and lower things to the tower, as well as pipe systems to pour woodchips or sand down after you haul it up. My daughters enjoy the tower and pouring things down the tube system the most, but we tend to do everything on a trip through the playground. The last time we were there we found 3 painted stones that are part of the hidden rock group through Facebook, Anchorage Rocks. This was a really fun surprise, and they were all very good. One was Tetris themed, one was a great picture of a Goomba from Mario, and the last was a bright flower! My daughters were so thrilled with these discoveries.

Picnic Destination

After the playground, Carlson Park is mostly just a huge field that abuts the east side of Lake Otis. In the summer there are public use canoes and kayaks that are left near the edge of the lake. We haven't taken them out yet as our youngest daughter is still a little too small to be on the water safely. However, there are plenty of water foul to be viewed including loons, ducks, geese, and herons. There were quite a few little ducklings hanging out on the lake this summer, which is always fun as well. In the winter, the lake freezes pretty solid and is a great ice-skating destination. This park is a great picnic destination for the whole family, with easy access for people with physical limitations to the area.

Hidden Gem of Anchorage

My family and I consider Carlson Park and Lake Otis to be one of the little hidden gems of Anchorage. It isn't big or flashy, and the equipment is missing some key elements (here's looking at you swings), but we still quite enjoy going here as an afternoon walk destination. As an added bonus there is also a little free library near the entrance, which usually has a pretty good selection of kid's books. Have you visited Lake Otis and Carlson Park recently? If so, we at Northern Lights Massage Center in Anchorage would love to hear your thoughts on your visit!