The Government Peak Race Trail begins on the Matanuska Loop, but you can find signs for it starting at the picnic tables at the GPRA parking lot. The 3.5-mile trail travels through fireweed meadows and forest until it steepens dramatically, ascending almost directly 3,700 ft up a ridgeline in a test of endurance. Up top, the payoff is a far-reaching alpine view of Knik Arm, a vast valley floor, and the Knik Glacier and t your back the countless ridges of the Talkeetna Mountains are visible.

This trail is very steep and becomes extremely slippery when wet.  Additionally the trail up in the alpine can be indistinct and easy to loose, particularly when visibility becomes limited.  There are some stakes and cairns to mark the trail but be sure to have navigation tools.