After more than a decade of delays, new Mat-Su visitors center is now open

What you need to know:

• The new Gateway Visitor Center near Palmer opened June 19 after nearly 20 years of planning, funding setbacks and redesigns. Located off the Glenn Highway near Matanuska Lakes State Park, it replaces the visitor center displaced by Mat-Su Regional Medical Center more than a decade ago.
• Operated by the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau, the center features interactive trip-planning tools, exhibits on the region's history and natural features, restrooms, picnic areas and other amenities designed to encourage travelers to spend more time in the Mat-Su Borough.
• The $8.4 million project was funded primarily through state and federal grants, with about $500,000 provided by borough taxpayers as a required grant match. Although designed for visitors, the center also includes classroom space and will host lectures and other programs for local residents.

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PALMER – A new regional welcome center near Palmer opened its doors to visitors last month, ending nearly 20 years of work to reopen such a facility after the original location was displaced by Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

The building marks a new chapter for visitors coming into the region and gives them a jumping-off point to learn about what Mat-Su has to offer before heading out to explore, said Casey Ressler, who leads the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The new 9,400-square-foot space is meant to give visitors a place to pause and a reason to linger longer in the region by connecting them with information about local experiences and tour operators, he said. 

It is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and located on a wooded bluff just off the Glenn Highway beyond the Parks Highway interchange near Palmer. The driveway is directly across the street from the entrance to Matanuska Lakes State Park.

"Everything in here is intentional," he said in an interview at the new building. "The idea is to show people information outside of what they normally know to get them to stay longer and spend a little more money."

Tourism brought $2.3 million in revenue to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough during the summer 2025 season, Ressler told the Mat-Su Assembly during an April briefing, and he expects this summer to see similar numbers. About 2.7 million people visited Alaska from outside the state last year. 

The building was designed by Palmer architect Gary Wolf to reflect the curves of a pit house, or nichil, used by the region's Indigenous residents, Ressler said. A series of interpretive stations in the facility's showroom highlights the region's natural features and local history. 

A trio of interactive digital stations offers information on local attractions, an events calendar and an itinerary creator that can help visitors decide where to go and what to see. Outside, a walking path wraps around the building and leads to a mountain view. Visitors can also access bathrooms, picnic tables, a water bottle refill station, free coffee and tea, and Mat-Su-branded items and chilled water bottles available for purchase.

The Gateway Visitor Center — so named because it is the gateway to the region and because it is located in the Gateway area of Palmer — was funded almost entirely by state and federal grants, Ressler said. Of the nearly $8.4 million in funding for everything from land to construction materials, about $500,000 came from borough taxpayers as part of a grant match requirement, he said.

The building and property are owned by the borough but managed by the Mat-Su Convention and Visitors Bureau under a management contract.

Although open to users, the building is still receiving a few finishing touches. Hydroseed was sprayed over the grounds earlier this week, and signage directing visitors where to turn from the highway has not yet been approved by the state, Ressler said. Neither Google Maps nor Apple Maps have updated to reflect the move from the bureau's rented office space to the new location.

Still, the facility has already welcomed busloads of visitors since its June 19 soft opening.

Unlocking the doors was a long time coming and capped a process Ressler has personally helped oversee for most of its nearly 20-year journey that was riddled with delays caused by a series of state and federal funding setbacks.

The new center was first proposed in 2006 as Mat-Su Regional developed around the previous building, making it more difficult to access and reducing visitor numbers, according to a fact sheet provided by Ressler. State grants paid for a series of studies to select the new site, purchase the land and develop plans and displays for a 10,600-square-foot facility with an industrial kitchen and auditorium, but work was put on hold when the state faced a funding crunch in 2018.

The project restarted in 2021 when the visitors bureau received COVID-19-related grants designed to help the tourism industry recover from the pandemic. Officials dusted off the shelved building plans, then downsized them by more than 1,000 square feet to account for rising costs.

While the building is designed with tourists in mind, some features, such as the classroom rental space and an upcoming lecture series, will also appeal to locals, Ressler said.

"I think you'll find that there's a lot more in your backyard than you realize," he said. "I think that's an opportunity to get locals out exploring their own backyard a little bit more."

A grand opening for the center is scheduled for July 10 from noon to 2 p.m. at hte new building at 2764 S East Matanuska Spur Road in Palmer.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com