Originally Posted by
jackal
Where's Prominence Point and Bodenburg Butte? You're making me feel like an outsider in my own town! :D
The road to Exit Glacier's only a couple miles long. The rental car companies don't care about those. They want you to stay off of the long gravel highways (Denali, Dalton, Dempster, etc.) to save wear and tear on their cars. A couple miles isn't going to hurt.
Prominence Point is one of the newest, ritziest subdivisions in town. It winds up the side of a steepish hill. Take the Seward Highway south to Rabbit Creek Rd, turn right at Goldenview and you should see it on the left after about 1/4 mile.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...28453&t=h&z=16
Bodenburg Butte is a popular Palmer hiking destination. Take the Glenn Hwy to the Old Glenn Hwy. Drive almost to Palmer. You'll see a huge hill soaring to the left of the highway. That's the Butte. The old access point is my favorite. It's at the end of the first straight section of Bodenburg Butte Loop at the base. It's on private land and is $3 donation per car. There's another newer access point on the other side of the Butte. It's about 800' tall and takes maybe 45 minutes to climb if you are in average shape. It starts off steep, but gets easier. And there are easy routes and less easy routes to the top. The hike down takes half the time.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...=lmc:panoramio
The dirt road to Exit Glacier was a 16-mile roundtrip.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...=lmc:panoramio