side of Eklutna Lake at the unpaved Bold Airstrip. North of Eklutna, the southern summit of Pioneer Peak can be reached from Knik River Road via the Pioneer Ridge Trail beginning outside the park boundaries in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. Visitors to Eklutna Lake have the opportunity to experience a variety of plant life at different elevations. Dense forests, characteristically of white spruce (Picea glauca), paper birch (Betula papyrifera) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), dominate the lower elevations. Ferns, mushrooms, and wildflowers such as dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis), fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), and the parasitic northern groundcone (Boschniakia rossica) of the broomrape family cover the forest floor. At higher elevations wildflowers such as mountain avens (Dryas octopetala) and the Alaska state flower, the alpine forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris), grow in profusion. The alpine milkvetch (Astragalus alpinus), bog wintergreen (Pyrola asarifolia) and wild geranium (Geranium erianthum) predominate on lower slopes, while further up the nootka lupine (Lupinus nootkatensis), coastal paintbrush (Castilleja unalaschcensis), prickly saxifrage (Saxifraga tricuspidata), the poisonous yellow anemone (Anemone richardsonii) and eventually the mosses of the tundra will reward hikers. Berry picking is popular in late summer and early fall. Highbush cranberries (Viburnum edule), lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), northern redcurrants (Ribes triste) and bog blueberries (Vaccinium uliginosum) grow along the lower trails. Dwarf blueberries (Vaccinium caepitosum), alpine bearberries (Arctostaphylos alpina) and crowberries (Empetrum nigrum) are found higher up. Correctly identifying berries before consuming them is important as some species are poisonous. Eagle River A non-profit organization in association with the park operates the Eagle River Nature Center which exhibits interpretive information on wildlife and geological features. The basin of the Eagle River can be accessed by the nearby Albert Loop Trail which passes through three miles (five kilometers) of mixed forests and leads to a river fed by glaciers hidden in the surrounding mountains. At those times in the fall when the park's ursine residents are using the area for their fishing purposes, the trail is closed so as to lessen bear-human interactions. In addition, the Rodak Nature Trail leads to a beaver and salmon viewing deck. From the trail red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and silver salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) can be seen as they spawn, especially in August. Brown bears (Ursus arctos) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos ssp.) often feed on salmon in shallow water between the beaver dams. Hundreds of black bears (Ursus americanus) likewise live in the park. Area streams are