Entry No. 22 — the Anchorage file — filed under: aviation
Sky Harbor Airpark
What looks like an ordinary gravel road running alongside Cange Street in South Anchorage is actually a functioning 1,800-foot private airstrip — FAA ID 9AK5, operating since 1962. The homes lining this street have built-in airplane hangars where most houses have garages, and residents taxi their propeller planes out the front door straight onto the runway. The whole operation is cooperatively owned by the Sky Harbor Property Owner Association, which means the HOA meetings probably get interesting when someone clips a neighbor's Cessna on the apron. Drive by and it reads as a quiet residential street; look closer and you'll notice the "garages" are a little taller than normal, the driveways are suspiciously wide, and someone's Piper Cherokee is just... parked out front.
The story
In most American suburbs, an HOA argument involves unapproved house paint or unpaved driveways. In South Anchorage, it involves someone clipping a wingtip while taxiing past their neighbor's mailbox. Welcome to Sky Harbor Airpark, a residential subdivision off Cange Street where the houses don't just have multi-car garages—they have full-height, built-in airplane hangars. Officially designated by the FAA as airstrip 9AK5 since 1962, this isn't a museum or a flight school; it's a neighborhood built around an 1,800-foot gravel runway running right through people's backyards.
In a state where 82 percent of communities are cut off from the road network and roughly one in 58 Alaskans holds a pilot's license, pulling a Cessna or Piper Cherokee out of your attached hangar isn't a gimmick—it's essential transport. The airstrip and apron system are cooperatively owned and maintained by the Sky Harbor Property Owner Association. Driveways double as taxiways, meaning residents literally start up their propeller engines at the front door, taxi past the flowerbeds, and roll onto the gravel strip for a weekend fishing trip in the bush.
Drive down Cange Street without knowing what to look for and you might just assume South Anchorage homebuilders had an unusual fondness for massive garage doors and wide asphalt turnouts. Look closer and the details give it away: subtle runway markers, extra-tall door clearances, and prop planes parked on front lawns right where suburbanites in the Lower 48 leave their riding mowers.
What it's like
Drive Cange Street slowly between O'Malley and Huffman roads. Because Cange is a public municipal road, you can freely drive through, but treat the neighborhood with strict discretion. These are private residences and an active, un-towered airstrip: stay inside your car, don't block driveways, and never step onto the runway or aprons. Visit on a long summer evening when Alaska's midnight sun keeps pilots active, and you might catch a resident taxiing out for a weekend takeoff. Pair the drive with a trip further up O'Malley Road to the Glen Alps trailhead for sweeping views of the Anchorage bowl.
The move: Drive Cange Street slowly — it's public road — and spot the hangar doors, the runway markers, and any planes sitting in "driveways"; if timing cooperates, watching a neighbor take off for the weekend from their front yard is one of those only-in-Alaska moments that requires no admission fee.
📍 Before you go Sky Harbor sits on lower Hillside in South Anchorage, off Cange Street between O'Malley and Huffman roads — easiest reached via the Old Seward Highway and O'Malley. Cange is a public road, so you can drive it, but the strip itself is private and active: stay in the car, don't block driveways, and never wander onto the runway or apron. This is people's front yards, so keep it low-key. Summer's long daylight gives the best odds of catching a plane actually taxiing out. Pair it with a drive farther up O'Malley to the Chugach Hillside trailheads — Glen Alps and Flattop — for mountain views.
- 📍 South Anchorage
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 11680 Cange St, Anchorage, AK 99516
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Flying Crown Airpark — Follow up one neighborhood runway with Anchorage's other residential airpark, located under two miles away in Oceanview, where grassy taxiways sit next to the railroad tracks.
- Gravity Hill — Drive three miles up Upper Huffman Road afterward to test your senses on a hillside slope where parked cars appear to roll uphill.
- Anchorage re:MADE — Head a mile and a half down Old Seward Highway to browse thrifted Alaskana and salvaged goods at a community upcycling workshop.
Good to know
Is it legal to drive down Cange Street to view the airpark?
Yes. Cange Street is a public road in South Anchorage, so you are free to drive through. However, the runway, taxiways, hangars, and driveways are private property.
Can I walk onto the gravel runway or taxiways?
No. Sky Harbor (9AK5) is an active, private airstrip. Walking or driving onto the runway poses severe safety risks to incoming and departing aircraft and constitutes trespassing.
How long has Sky Harbor Airpark been there?
The FAA registered the 1,800-foot gravel airstrip in 1962, well before much of the modern residential development expanded into the lower Chugach Hillside.
When is the best time to spot planes in motion?
Summer offers the best odds thanks to nearly 24 hours of daylight, especially on weekend mornings and late afternoons when residents fly out to remote cabins and hunting spots.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: airnav.com · Atlas Obscura · digital.akbizmag.com · skyvector.com · forum.skyscraperpage.com
last checked: 2026-06-09