Willow is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.

Located 26 miles northwest from Wasilla along the George Parks Highway, it is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Ships and boats brought supplies and equipment up Cook Inlet, landing at Knik or Tyonek.

[3] In 1920, the Alaska Railroad built its Willow station house at mile 185.7 along the tracks leading from Seward to Fairbanks.

[4] During World War II, a radar warning station and airfield were built near the railroad tracks; a post office was established in 1948.

[5] By 1954, Willow Creek was Alaska's largest gold mining district, with a total production approaching 18 million dollars.

Landscape architect M. Paul Friedberg created a master plan for the city as part of one such proposal.

Nearly all of the occupied homes in Willow are fully plumbed, using individual on-site water wells, septic tanks and drain fields.

[6] Willow is now the official host of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart.

[8] In June 2015, a large wildfire burned thousands of acres of wilderness, numerous structures and forced the closure of the George Parks Highway, severing the road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Willow has a subarctic climate with long and cold winters and mild summers.

Due to its outlying location and access to trails, Willow has become a popular destination for a number of notable dog mushers.

John Gourley, lead singer and guitarist of Grammy Award-winning American rock band "Portugal.