This is a great hike near Eagle River that I was surprised I hadn't heard much about…read more You start at a trailhead on a winding road (see my photo for exact Google Maps location), you switchback up through the trees and eventually make your way to a ridge line. You ride the ridge line, up and down, until you finally reach the proper summit of Mt Magnificent. Be advised, there are many false summits on the way. You'll think you're about to summit the mountain numerous times, then reach the "top" only to see a larger summit in front of you, in the distance. (it can be rather heart-breaking) I'd imagine this hike can go quicker in the summer/fall (the website I read said it was casually done in less than 3 hours, RT), but it takes a decent amount of time to do in the winter/spring (microspikes and a pole are a must). I think it took us maybe 4.5 hrs. There was a bit of route finding and some side-hilling you have to do because it's difficult to scramble on the rocks when they are covered in slippery snow. There are event some flat spots on here that would be great for camping in the summer. I look forward to exploring the Eagle River hiking scene. This one is a pretty big step up from Mt Baldy. Give it a shot!

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!

A word of caution: this trail is BRUTAL in the winter…read more I think it's because the people of Hope rarely hike it then. The final 3 miles were pure misery, non-stop post-holing. It took us nearly 7 hours RT, this shocked my climbing partner and I both. In the summer, I imagine it can comfortably be done in half that time. The trail is mostly flat, and 5 miles, one-way. At the 5 mile mark, there are some places to camp. This would be a great trip for a beginning backpacker. Most of South-central was socked in when we hiked it, so the views at the end were just OK. Already dreaming of a warm, summery, Corona-free hike in the future. Will re-review it then. As it stands now, it's high-effort, low-reward. You'd be better served by a higher elevation, but more frequently used trail in the winter. (like Flattop, Powerline Pass, Rabbit Creek, etc)

Gull Rock Trail, located in the Chugach National Forest, is a really excellent, moderately easy…read moretrail that has a lot to see and explore. Able bodied adults, children and seniors will enjoy this trail as long as they go prepared for some terrain changes and the misty rain that enevitably descends on hikers in this part of Alaska. To access Gull Rock Trail, take Hope Highway to the end and the entrance and parking lot are on the left. If you are camping at Porcupine Campground, you can access the trail from a 2ndary trail head there as well (which carves .5 miles off the one way distance of the hike.) There is no public parking in the Porcupine Campground to access the trail, so hikers are best off parking at the main trailhead (or camping at Porcupine... make reservations online or you'll NEVER get spot !) Unfortunately I jacked up my knee right before my vacation (argh!) so I was only able to hike about half the trail but it was very enjoyable but not terribly challenging. There's some elevation changes, but not more than about 500 feet elevation gain total. The terrain, however changes a lot. There's rainforest, birch forest, pine forests, talus (rockslidy areas), views of the inlet and the mountains. It's a nice bit of everything. There's some minimal berry picking as well, but nothing particularly exciting. There are some water sources about, so if you bring a water purifier along with you you'll stay well hydrated. There's also, unfortunately ample mosquitos. It's DEFINITELY a trail you want to be prepared for wildlife encounters (bear spray/gun), injuries (first aid pack), and basic survival stuff (a way to purify water, start a fire and a space blanket). Most of the trail has cell service since across the inlet is Seward Highway (which you can see in some spots). But there are dead spots and if you get hurt, no one's gonna find you for a while, so be prepared to hunker down. We had a bear scare on the trail because in some places the brush and shrubbery is flush with the trail. That always makes me a little squirrley. Especially if you take kids with you, be prepared for large animal encounters. There's not a lot of traffic on this trail past mile 2, so it's pretty secluded for some nice quiet time with nature. Enjoy!

Kudos to Joy G for snagging the FTR on this one! (and shame on my for missing it!)…read more This is one of two trails in Hope. Both are very well maintained. The other one, Gull Rock, is flat the entire time: https://www.yelp.com/biz/gull-rock-trail-hope This one, should you take it all the way to the top of Hope Point (3,708'), if you want to take it that far! Views from the top are incredible. You get views of the many peaks of the arm that you just can't get driving to Girdwood because, well, you're too close to the mountains to see their full profiles! This trail is also unique in that it melts out pretty early season (May) for how relatively high it is. More details on Joy G's review, check it out!

Hope Point trail has 2 access points. You can park at the free parking lot that shares the trail…read morehead will Gull Rock Trail for the first mile. Or, if you're lucky enough to be camping at Porcupine Campground, you can start your hike at the unmarked trailhead that starts at the entrance to the campground where the bridge crosses Porcupine Creek. It takes through a much prettier walk through the forest full if beautiful flora and the sounds if rushing water. We hiked both and agree this was much nicer. We didn't have time to hike the whole trail since we also did part of Gull Rock this day, but turned around due to overgrowth and a TON of bear scat on the trail. Hope Point is much rockier and steeper, and doesn't have the same pretty views as Gull, but I also don't want to be mauled by a brown bear. We'll definitely do this trail again.

This is a great trail!…read more But I don't hike it much... Why? My (your, kind reader!) State Park pass doesn't work here. You need a special pass to park here. Or, you can buy a day pass. The year membership is $25, you are effectively joining the Anchorage Ski Club. More details here: http://arcticvalley.org/anchorage-ski-club/ However... You can also access this trail by going to the South Fork Eagle River trail: https://www.yelp.com/biz/south-fork-eagle-river-trail-anchorage After about a mile of hiking, you'll see a sign post pointing right (if you are hiking in) to Rendezvous Ridge. This will take you up onto the ridge where you can hike parallel to the South Fork trail with WAY better views. There is a lot of up and down on the ridge, but none of it is the type of climbing that requires a rope. It's the perfect way to spend a long day when the weather's good. There are even numerous flat spots where you could backcountry camp. (there isn't any water up here though, so plan accordingly!) Eventually the ridge connects to Triangle Peak. This is a hideously difficult-looking mountain from the South Fork trail but...it's a puppy dog when you're right up on it. It's a scramble up loose blocks of rock, similar to Flattop, although much longer. It's about 8 miles from the car to Triangle Peak from the East Fork Trail. There are tons of Dall Sheep all along the ridge. They kept sauntering ahead of me, I felt like I was herding them. This area (the area near the parking lot) is also very good for berry picking.

This is the sister trail to the South Fork Trail…read more It's very interesting because you walk under and around all the ski lifts connected to the ski lodge. I'm going to try and give a comprehensive review for this. From the Glenn, take the Arctic Valley exit like you are headed to Moose Run Golf Course. You'll pass the golf course on your left and the driving range on your right. The road will turn to dirt/gravel and head up and incline. Just keep going until the road ends at the ski lodge. There is a 5 fee per vehicle and a trail map guide at the parking lot. From here you have lots of options. We headed out to the overlook. It was about a ten minute walk. Right before the overlook there is a four way. The overlook is straight ahead and the left trail heads up toward the ridge. Once you head up to ridge. It is a clear gravel/dirt trail at least wide enough for an ATV. I would say the hike is moderate. You head up for quite a while (about 2 miles). At around the two mile mark you will be able to see down into the valley with the South Fork Trail. As best as I could gather, you're to the left of the South Fork Trail parking. From here you have several options. You could head down following the trail along the chair lift. It's muddy. It's about a 1.5 mile stretch down. Or You can continue up the next ridge or around the peak in front of you and check out all the trails you see across the valley. Lots of options. Hope this helps!

If you want a trail that's a step up from your usual Flattop, this is a good candidate…read more Stats: Mileage: ~2 miles Gain: ~3,500 ft For comparison, here is flattop: Mileage: 1.5 miles Gain: 1,350 The trail is only slightly longer but packs ~2.5X as much gain! It's located between the McHugh Creek (https://www.yelp.com/biz/mchugh-creek-chugach-state-park-anchorage) and Falls Creek trailheads (https://www.yelp.com/biz/falls-creek-trail-anchorage). It's poorly-signed so you gotta be on the lookout! (mile marker is between 108 and 109). Like just about every trailhead on the Seward Highway, it connects with the moderate and uncreatively-named "Turnagain Arm Trail" (https://www.yelp.com/biz/turnagain-arm-trail-anchorage). The main attraction here is summiting Rainbow Peak. To do this: - From the parking lot, walk West (towards Anchorage) till you find the trail. - This short unnamed trail feeds into the Turnagain Arm trail, you'll quickly come to a sign at the junction with TA trail. You'll want to, again, go towards Anchorage. (e.g. NOT towards "Windy Corner") - Look for where the trail crosses a gravel service road (warning: do not go up this, weird private property section!) Once you cross this, start being on the lookout for a scree covered "trail" to our right. It's very close to where the TA trail crests up on a ridge, it'll be on your right. It'll look sewwwper steep, but, don't be scared (I recommend grabbing trees, in the amateur alpinst world, we call this a "veggie belay"). It lets up. After a while, you'll gain the ridge proper and it'll be pretty obvious where to go (up!) The views from the summit are pretty good, you can see the neighboring trails (McHugh and Falls Creek), the Suicides, and a panoramic view of the arm. A word of caution: be on the lookout for bears and always carry spray and/or hike in groups. I saw a grizzly bear on a neighboring slope (he was far away, he just chilled in the bushes the whole time) and some hikers coming down told me they saw a black bear chasing a sheep on the ridge. I then started hiking with my spray-drawn. I thought I looked like Special Forces team, but I probably more closely resembled The Orkin Man. (is that still a thing? Do people still know who he is?) Definitely, try this one out, it can also be done as an after-work hike if you don't mind coming in a little tired the next day!

Do not be confused, this isn't access to Potter Marsh!…read more This is the western start of the 10 mile Turnagain Arm trail. The great thing about this trail is that it's very moderate and almost immediately gives decent views. The not-so great: - It can get VERY crowded, especially in the summer. - There often isn't good parking here in the spring. Everyone wants to get on one of the firs trails to melt out and the parking lot isn't quite fully open yet - You are almost constantly bathed in LOUD highway noise, which can almost make it feel more like a city trail than a hiking trail

This is the start of a one-way ~9 mile trek along Turnagain Arm. First 3 miles are to McHugh Creek,…read morewhich has an easy walk with stops along the way. There are benches and side trails to pop out and rest, or just view the arm and the surrounding mountains. At the start of the trailhead it's not well advertised, but there is an interactive walk with stops to read about the flora and fauna, and another trail that is straight on through along the trail. Will recommend to the outdoor walking enthusiast.

The Campbell Tract is tract of (park) land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management adjacent to…read morethe Far North Bicentennial Park. Most people visit Campbell Tract to see the "technically" active 1 mile airstrip (kept operational for emergencies). As you weave in and out of the 12 miles of trails controlled by BLM, it's virtually impossible to distinguish where one park ends and the next begins unless you're really good at reading maps. It's a spaghetti of trails back there! In August and September this stretch of birch forest is especially beautiful with fall colors. High bush cranberries and mini dogwoods changing color, and lots of wild berries, mushrooms and other fungi provide a rainbow colors in all shapes and sizes. Be aware that black and brown bears frequent this area. One of my pet peeves in this area are rude hikers. Lots of off leash dogs and people who don't clean up after them. Also, hikers using the sled dog trails that explicitly designated as for them alone. There are gazillions of trails back here, but people always want what they can't have.... (For more details about the BLM Campbell Tract, go here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/cultural-heritage-and-paleontology/archaeology/what-we-manage/alaska/campbell-tract-WWII

If you do not get lost, you are doing it wrong. Or maybe it's just me…read more The trails located around the Campbell Airstrip and Airport offer miles of intertwining trails. Walk em, run em, cross country ski on em, and if you really wanted to, you could get your sled dogs ready on these trails. This is another one of those areas where you need to be wildlife aware. There aren't too many "wow" or "super cool" spots to check out here. But if you are looking for a 'walk in the park' to get away, this could be your spot.