OK, OK. Whoever…read morenamed everything in this area BIRD or bird-related names probably thought they were being cute, but they were really just making things VERY confusing. This is a trail that starts at the Bird Valley Trailhead. This is NOT the same as: Bird Ridge, the steep and popular hike. That trailhead is a couple miles west (closer to Anchorage) of here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-ridge-trail-anchorage Bird POINT, a sightseeing area on the Turnigan arm a few miles EAST (farther away from Anchorage) of here. Bird Creek CAMPGROUND, a car-camping area near the highway that is a mile from this trailhead...known for nearby combat fishing: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bird-creek-campground-anchorage To get to this trailhead, you'll be on a bumpy, un-paved road. If it looks like you ain't supposed to be here...you're probably in the right spot. Once you reach the trailhead, if you hike maybe 2 miles and keep veering right, you'll eventually reach a junction. Head left at the junction and that's the Penguin Creek Trail. (look at the PDF this page links to and it all will make much more sense, trust me) "Creek Trail" is apt, because you are often hiking up a flowing creek. Either bring high-rise waterproof boots are some beater shoes you don't care about. Why would you come to this trail? 1) If you're on an ATV and want to make it go splishy-splash! 2) You are on your way to climb Nest Peak or Bird Peak (yet another Bird name! Note: Bird Peak is NOTHING like Bird Ridge. It is MUCH more involved...review coming soon) If you aren't doing either of those things, there isn't much reason to come here, in my opinon. You'd be much better off going up Penguin PEAK, on the Penguin PEAK trail, which you can read my review of here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/penguin-peak-trail-anchorage

This is the perfect trail for a family! People of all ages can come. It's super short with an easy,…read moreflat dirt path. We saw senior citizens, kids, dogs, etc. all comfortably share this path. I took my husband and parents who are in their 60s to this trail. My parents aren't too fond of when I take them on what they call "too crazy of an adventure," but this trail they handled just fine. It only took 55 minutes to drive from Anchorage to the trail head. And you get to drive the beautiful scenic Seward Highway. That itself already made the trip worth it. The trail is only 1.4 miles one way. There are no river crossings or switch backs. It's just out and back. It's a pretty sunny walk, so bring a hat/sunscreen. At the endpoint, you get a nice view of the Byron Glacier. Apparently you can even sometimes visit ice tunnels. Those weren't available when we went because an avalanche reportedly happened the week prior. But it was still definitely worth the trip. If you take your time to enjoy the walk and glacier, the "hike" takes about 3-4 hours.

This was an easy and beautiful trail. We had to pass through the fly infested forest before…read morereaching the snow bank. We couldn't stop while in the woods or the flies would stick to you. No problems with mosquitoes, only the slow flies! It was a beautiful hike that everyone could enjoy.

Stunning! The views are breathtaking from start to finish, and the trail itself is well-kept and…read moreeasy to follow. The scenery changes as you go, with incredible overlooks and peaceful spots to take it all in. Definitely a must-see if you're in the area!

This is a great hike! It's probably right around the longest you can go for a weekday, after-work…read morehike...and still get to bed at a normal time. (unless you trail-run, of course) If you start at the Bear Valley trailhead, the stats are: 5.4 miles round trip, 2,300 ft. elevation gain BIG SIDE RANT INCOMING: About that trailhead. It's located in an area with many McMansions. The people that live in these McMansions chose to build their McMansions within spitting distance of PUBLIC lands. And yet, they hate it when people use these public lands. Parking is tiny and STRICT. The police left these wealthy McMansion owners with a sign explaining these rules. Rampant theft in all of Anchorage and these one-percenters in the hills waste law enforcement's time because someone parked on the side of the road. Of course, their excuse for this is "safety", because of course it is. Safety, like children, is always a great excuse to get your way. WHAT?! ARE YOU SAYING YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SAFETY?! WHAT IF MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE AND THE FIRE ENGINE TAKES 2 SECONDS LONGER BECAUSE A HIKER PARKED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD? The icing on top is that these McMansions are usually vacant. Such beautiful land with beautiful views: wasted. Anyway, be prepared to not have a parking spot if you're here on a good weather day and/or a weekend. There is an "overflow" (seems silly to use "overflow" when the "main" lot only has 3-4 spaces) place you can park, but it will add another half-mile to your hike. A half-mile with scenic views of McMansions. The hike takes you a softly-undulating ridge. It leads up and down a few false-summits until you arrive at the castle-turret-looking formation that is the true summit of McHugh Peak. There are numerous ways to the top, of varying difficulty. Plan your route accordingly. If you start to climb up and feels very difficulty, maybe back down and try a different side. There is some steep relief on some sides of the summit. A fall would be...."real bad".

O'Mally peak is the craggy fang in the line of Chugach peaks you see from Anchorage…read more Most of us see it every day. There are numerous ways to climb it. The easiest way is up a loose scree gulley. I'd consider it very much a "hike". The other lines start to get a bit more complex and technical. Everything from 4th class to ice and mixed lines! Like many peaks in the Chugach, this starts at the Glen Alps traihead. (the same one as Flattop)

The Seward always promises to deliver three things: beautiful vistas, danger and frustration. The…read morebeauty along the mountainous Turnagain Arm with her swirling clouds, tumbling falls and possibility whales, bears, dall sheep and eagles makes for a very risky drive. Distracted driving is a real risk. Add in falling rock, impatient/sleepy/influenced driving and NO passing zones on most of the Highway and it can be some tricky driving. For Alaskans that drive it regularly, we get really frustrated driving behind tourists who are enamored by the beauty and go well below the speed limit when we are just trying to get home. The State of Alaska is taking it's sweet old time expanding the Highway to four lanes.... SIGH. When there is an accident, which is frequent, the entire highway can close the ONLY artery that connects Anchorage with the south for as long as 12 hours, which is frankly a nightmare. But living in Alaska, you just learn this like all things is just how it is, so relax and resist the temptation to lay on your horn. The traffic will move when it's good and ready. This is why Alaskans are always ready for EVERYTHING (pack snacks.)

Ah, the Seward Highway!…read more Crown Jewel of the Alaska roadsystem! Always in the top-5 of every click-bait list of roadtrips/drives/roadside photography/wildlife/etc. The highway technically starts in Seward and ends in Anchorage. Along the way, you'll pass by two major mountain ranges: Chugach and Kenai. You'll see many glaciers from the road. Wildlife abounds: Moose on the ground, Beluga Whales in the water, Sea Otters in Seward. There are hundreds of rock climbs and dozens of ice climbs on the cliffs bordering the highway inbetween Anchorage and Girdwood. Points of interest from Anchorage to Seward (many also on Yelp): - Chugach State Park - Turnagain Trail - McHugh Creek Trail - Beluga Point - Falls Creek Trail - Mountain Spring - Froth and Forage (Indian) - Girdwood - Wildlife Conservation Center (Portage) - Turnagain Pass - Seward

Portage Pass Trail is a fantastic hike in Whittier, Alaska!…read more I didn't even know this trail existed until the Ship Captain on my 26 Glacier Tour Cruise mentioned it was his favorite activity. So...being only about 6pm in the summertime and still looking for more worthwhile areas of Whittier to explore...I thought...why not come over here to Portage Pass to hike for a few hours! From the parking lot where I had left my car for the cruise, the trailhead was only 1-mile away near the tunnel area getting in and out of Whittier. When turning onto the road leading towards the trailhead, be careful of all the potholes along the way. I parked on the side of the road. Portage Pass Trail is a 4-mile roundtrip hike. Well...let me just back up a little... It's a 1-mile hike to Portage Pass which overlooks Portage Lake and Glacier in the background. Then, it is 1 more mile to trek from Portage Pass down to the shores of Portage Lake. Then...obviously, it is a 2-mile hike back to the trailhead. The 1st mile hiking to Portage Pass was virtually all uphill. I gained 800 feet in elevation. This part was moderately strenuous. I believe, since you work hard to make it to Portage Pass, you might as well go all the way to Portage Lake/Glacier. The 2nd half of the hike from Portage Pass was mostly downhill where I winded my way through bushy areas but all on a defined, dirt trail. And it was sort of fun to maneuver on down to the shore. And just to back up one moment, at Portage Pass in late afternoon, the sun was shining brightly onto Portage Glacier and the surrounding landscape offering beautiful views worthy of pausing for photos. Finally, at "The Toe" of Portage Lake and Glacier...the setting was calm and quiet. There weren't many hikers around with me at 7pm. I took some time to admire Portage Glacier but found that my pictures weren't nearly as colorful being at eye-level with a fading sun in comparison to the perspectives looking down on the landscape while hiking lower from Portage Pass. For me being a picky photo person, the dwindling sun started facing me which created shadows rather where I would have preferred the sun positioned at my back. So...to give a suggestion...I believe visiting Portage Lake and Glacier; you'd be better served coming in the morning time. I also noticed that you could hike around the lake to possibly even step on Portage Glacier! That was intriguing to me, but I knew I still had the return hike to complete along with taking the tunnel to depart Whittier. Those factors were on my mind. And...I didn't have any micro spikes or crampons with me so the best I could do was maybe just stand in front of the glacier. But I feel that would maybe lose the photogenic aspect whereas being at the shoreline, I could capture the glacier in its entirety. This just me being particular...lol, that's all. I spent 25 minutes wandering along the shore, even to just breathe in the fresh air. Had I known about Portage Pass Trail ahead of time, I certainly would have afforded myself an extended stay to marvel at how cool untouched glaciers can appear in the distance. The hike back to Portage Pass was uphill, but not nearly as difficult as the initial trek from the trailhead. Then, of course, once back at Portage Pass, it's downhill back to the dirt road where I parked. I'd say the 4 total miles hiked plus time at the lake took me 3.5 hours...just enough time to complete my 26 Glacier Cruise Tour plus this afternoon hiking adventure making for an absolutely wonderful summer day experience here in Whittier, Alaska.

Wanting to see a glacier but with our previous honeymoon glacier adventure being canceled due to…read moreinclement weather, we had to get creative. My husband and I found the trail head for Portage Pass and decided to give it a shot! The trail head is located down a gravel road, on your right hand side immediately after you exit the Whittier tunnel. There is no parking lot. The trail was extremely easy to follow and as most reviews state, the 1st mile is all incline until you reach the peak. Once you reach the summit, the wind picks up but then it is all downhill until you reach the glacier. During our adventure, the trail was quite slippery and frozen over with ice but we managed to find a few foot holds. Seeing a glacier up close and personal is absolutely breathtaking and a once in a lifetime experience. We had the entire trail to ourselves since it was the off-season and not too many people wanted to brave the whipping windchill. Definitely worth the short drive from Anchorage if you want to see this glacier before it is gone!

COVID-19 update: The…read moreEagle River Nature Center(ERNC) is closed. Its trails: are not. You can still park at the ERNC, you just can't go inside. As of 4/5/2020: Trail was hardpacked (no post-holing!) to Echo Bend. (about 4ish miles in, one way) Great views and blue skies were plentiful. There was barely anyone past 1 mile in. (still, bring a mask, it's impossible to get 6ft away from other people on the trail) Yurts/campgrounds were still open! (this was shocking to us) For more general trail details, see my previous review.

Where is all the blue ice? I don't see no trail! Well... I did see a couple of glaciers up top…read moreunder white snow, so I saw sprinkling of blue ice. This is the Tony Knowles Coastal trail of Portage. You start at Moose Flats, or Visitor's center, and walk/jog/bike/skate/meander 5 miles to the opposite end. I started at Moose Flats and it was a good time viewing natural and unnatural areas of interest. Scouted out camp spots, watched kayakers in a lake, and enjoyed walking over bridges during the jaunt. It was good, not great. So much so, that instead of walking all the way back I hitched to get the car and pick up walking companion. Then we jetted over to Byron's Glacier for a proper, albeit shorter, hike. Would come again if camping in area, but would pass for future hiking funsies due to lack of interest.

This is a flat 5-mile trail that links together the many sights and sounds of one of my favorite…read moreareas in Alaska: Portage. Despite being located a little over an hour from Anchorage, this area gets obscene amounts of snow and rain. As a consequence of all that H2O falling from the sky, the mountains in here are heavily glaciated, even though they are not very tall by Alaska standards. (tallest in the area is around 6,000 ft, with many in the 3,000-4,000 ft range) Because this trail is so flat, it's very commonly cycled. Bring your bike and make a half-day of it, or bring only your boots for a much fuller day. There are places to view Salmon here, but I can never seem get the timing right. Stuff to see in this area from/next to the trail: Explorer Peak (and Explorer Glacier): https://www.yelp.com/biz/explorer-peak-portage Byron Glacier Trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/byron-glacier-trailhead-anchorage Portage Glacier visitor center: https://www.yelp.com/biz/portage-glacier-and-begich-bloggs-visitor-center-girdwood