Nancy Lake State Recreation Area is a 22,685 acres (9,180 ha) park near Willow in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska. Founded on July 6, 1966 and set aside specifically for recreational use, the park is home to more than a hundred lakes as well as extensive wetlands. The landscape of the park was crafted in glacial retreats around 9,000 years ago, and around this same time the first inhabitants likely moved into the area. They were eventually followed by Russian exploration, and later increases in white settlement due to commerce and the presence of gold.