Man, how am I just now getting around to hiking this?!…read more Falls Creek is located at ~Mile Post 105.6 on the Seward Highway. In relation to other trails: To the West: Rainbow Trailhead (https://www.yelp.com/biz/rainbow-trailhead-anchorage) To the East: Indian Valley Trailhead (https://www.yelp.com/biz/indian-valley-trail-anchorage) Stats: Mileage: 2.7 (one-way) Gain: 2,900 ft About a 1,000 ft/mile, steep but not *too* steep. The trail starts out...next to a falls! It closely follows Falls Creek for the first half of its length. As the water is loud and the brush is thick, I'd highly recommend doing some trail karaoke with your friends to make sure you alert any bears in the area that you're coming. Eventually, you get out of the brush and the valley expands. It's gorgeous. It's wide and it's bright-freakin'-green (my favorite shade of that color), or at least it was in mid-June. This is going to sound odd but, it actually reminded me of some of the valleys I hiked in Hawaii! It made me a little butthurt that I am only just-now getting around to hiking the trail. The trail ends at a lake. I'm not sure what the name of it is, so I'll just call it "Falls Lake". The lake frequently has snow on/in/around it, up until July. But, there is an ample amount of vegetated, snow-free flat area around the lake, this would be a perfect "Baby's First Backpacking" trip. (no permits required, just load yourself down and hike up) You can continue up past the lake, onto the ridge between South Suicide Peak and Indianhouse Mountain. The path will quickly change from "hiking" to "scrambling" though. I'd only recommend going up South Suicide if you are confident on your feet, and I'd only recommend going up Indianhouse if you have a rope and a partner! If you're quick enough, this can be done as an after-work hike. If you're slow or looking for a casual stroll, you can easily make a day of this hike.

I'm still sore. Dragged my spouse and our neurodivergent son with me to do this hike on a sunny…read moreSeptember Saturday. We parked at 1pm (parking lot was packed). Got back to the parking lot after 5pm. You'll need most of your day to do this hike if you're not a professional. This hike is beautiful but it is challenging for sure. You are going uphill the entire time. On the way down it's so steep you're jamming your toes trying not to fall. We did the bulk of this hike with nothing but backpacks full of snacks hahaha. Everyone that passed us up or down had poles, guns, bear spray, bells, dogs, the whole enchilada. I don't recommend hiking this area the way we did, we just got lucky :) It was a beautiful day and we were never alone for longer than 15-20min at a time. Weather was perfect, it was sunny and warm but the breeze was breezin'. The falls are a sight to see and made this strenuous hike completely worth it for my water-loving son. I can't wait to return soon and make it further.

One of the best trails I did in Alaska!!!! it's not that long and on relatively flat ground…read more Changing scenery along the way and you are rewarded with an absolutely gorgeous Alpine Lake at the end.

Beautiful trail any time of year. The parking area and street can packed, so be prepared to hike to…read morethe start of the trailhead depending on the time of day and day of the week. In the past I've only hit this trail to go to peak two for skiing, but recently went to Rabbit Lake on the most perfect day possible. Got great photos of the Suicides, waded in the lake, and wallowed on the grass. One regret is that I didn't get a pano shot. I'm like queen of the panos, what the heck? There were a few people tenting it, making it a perfect amateur backpacking adventure. Will come again and may pack a picnic.

We went here to do a little hiking and to check out the waterfall. The trail to the waterfall was…read morepretty good, but a bit close to the edge in 1 or 2 places. The waterfall itself was impressive. I really felt the power of it, being so close to it. I did not see any wildlife on the trail other than a few ducks in the stream. I would recommend this trail.

Like some other trails in Anchorage (Ram Valley, McHugh Peak) the legality of this trail probably…read morevaries depending on who you ask. I'm pretty sure it is legal, but you have to follow the rules: - obey any and all private property signs: while the waterfall itself is probably public land, there is lots of land around it that is not. - DO NOT park directly at the end of this cul-de-sac. You will probably get towed. Pull forward until you stop seeing all the no parking signage. Got it? OK. So there are two ways to get to the falls. If one were walking up the creek (against the flow) I'm going to describe them as viewer's left and viewer's right. Both ways start by walking down a road with a locked gate. If you hear a big Great Pyrenees barking at you, you're probably in the right spot. Folks describing this as a "trail" confused me and I ended up doing some minor bushwhacking on this completely easy and mundane trail. In a very short amount of time, you'll come to a sturdy bridge. This is where the paths diverge. 1) To get to the viewpoint: continue across this bridge. In maybe 100-200ft you'll see a sign saying "Barbara Falls" with an arrow pointing right. Go right. You're still on a very wide road that you could drive a truck on. Following this uphill, veering right-ward at any junctions. This will take you to the viewpoint with guard rails. With a 50mm-ish lens (the "zoomed in lens" on most modern phones), you can get pretty decent shots of the falls. If you want to get closer, you can go around the guard rails and climb down. BE EXTREMELY careful and take it slow. This terrain is really slippery and pretty steep, a fall would not be good. This view isn't that great for more "serious" (on a tripod) photography though. Why? Because the wind is constantly blowing mist off of the falls and to this point. 2) To get to the "right" side of the falls: BEFORE the sturdy bridge, look for a FOOT PATH (NOT a big, truck-wide road) on your right. It starts almost exactly where the bridge begins (see my photos). Fall foliage may make it hard to find. It hugs the creek pretty closely the entire way. This is the best spot for photography. It takes you to a pretty big area where you can safely explore the falls at their base...without any sketchy down-climbing. Wide-angle lenses work great down here, this is a very photogenic falls. In the "Fall" (*groan*) there are lots of nice autumnal colors here. Have fun and obey the rules so that others may do the same in the future!

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!

Compared to the usual hikes occasional hikers and/or tourists do (Flattop et al), this hike is…read morelonger. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. That means the grade (steepness) is much more gradual and, to many folks, it "feels" less steep. The trail starts out low and in the brush. In my opinion, this is the scariest part. Why? Well, you never have to scramble up rocks and use your hands on this trial, but that's not why. The why is simple: BEARS. I definitely recommend hiking with friends, or being loud, or taking bear spray, or all of the above. The lower parts of the trail have many blind-turns and overgrown areas where you could surprise Ballou. Soon you'll leave the brush though, and take a gentle cruise to the summit of Wolverine. The views from the top, looking east (away from Anchorage) are pretty incredible.

Hiking Wolverine Peak was my first activity in Alaska and it left me sore for the rest of the week…read more However, the climb as well as the views made it all worthwhile. The hike is well known locally and is about 10 miles round trip. It can be strenuous as Wolverine Peak is 4500 feet above sea level and most of the hike is straight uphill. The first 2 miles aren't too bad but the trail gets narrower and steeper as you go along so I was huffing and puffing halfway into it. You have to make your way carefully in certain parts where the trail gets narrow cuz there's this plant called Cow's Parsnip (I think that's what it's called) and something on the flower reacts to sunlight so if you brush up on the flower and it gets sunny, you will have very nasty blistering sores. Be careful! Throughout the hike the guide stopped periodically so that I could check out the scenery and the wildlife. There was a moose and her calf.. and we picked wild blueberries on the trail for a little snack. And the views of the peaks and valleys were so lovely. Just really hard to describe... Take lots of water and a nice lunch to enjoy at the top. A great way to spend the day.

Wow, how lucky are we to have two epic peaks within a 30 minute drive of Anchorage?…read more You have probably seen these guys as you drive around Anchorage. They are set back a bit, so they don't appear to be some of the larger peaks of the Chugach front range. Keyword: appear. These are both around 5,000 ft, which is pretty tall for the Chugach front range. (For comparison, Flattop is 3,510 ft tall) You can access them from the Rabbit Lake trailhead: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rabbit-lake-trail-anchorage?osq=rabbit+lakes The Rabbit Lake trailhead is to the South of the Flattop/Glenn Alps trailhead. Best way to get there is to take De Armoun Rd east (towards the mountains) until you just can't anymore. Anyway, there are various ways to climb these two peaks. I'll describe it from the Rabbit Lake side. But first: WARNING: CLIMBING IS INHERENTLY DANGEROUS, HAVE A PLAN, AND A BACKUP PLAN, AND EXTRA LAYERS AND WATER. If it's well into summer (Mid-June onward) these are both probably a craggy, scree-filled, strenuous hike to the top. If there is a lot of snow, a helmet, ice axe, and crampons may be required. From Rabbit Lake, climb up to the saddle inbetween the two peaks. From here turn left (north) to climb up North Suicide. You can then turn around and do the same thing for South Suicide. As you're coming down South, be on the lookout for scree/snow gulley on your left. This makes the descent a lot easier. I went up in late May during some gorgeous weather, can't wait to get up there in the winter!

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.

Absolutely stunning trail! Very friendly to all ages and all levels of athleticism. I've hiked out…read morethere with people as young as 3 and as old as 70-something! It takes about 10 or 15 minutes to walk out there if you're going at a relaxed/moderate pace. PLEASE be careful around the snow and be VERY aware that the ice above the river is often very thin! You'll see other footprints over it, but you are NOT supposed to walk on it, especially on the parts above the river! The water is eroding it from the inside out and one wrong footstep could send you falling 20ft into an ice cavern :( You can have just as much fun here without risking your life!! I always wear bug spray here, but I've seen only a few bugs. Don't drink the water unless you have a filter with you. If you're driving in from Anchorage, the Alaska Wildfire Conservation Center is directly on the route and definitely worth stopping at!

This trail is easy to overlook if you're not paying attention…read more It starts about 1/2 a mile down Powerline Pass trail (from Glen Alps) It takes you down into the valley then up the steep hill on the other side. (yes, this trail is, truly, "up hill both ways") The views at the top of the ridge are pretty great. You'll realize what you thought was O'Malley from the parking lot is, in fact, just False Peak. You'll also see "The Ballfield" a relatively flat 1 mile by 1 mile patch of land right in front of O'Malley. The trail thins out a bit through The Ballfield. Eventually it takes you right up to O'Malley. Or you can descend past O'Malley (rough scree ahead!) and meet up with the Williwaw Lakes trail.

Most people don't even think about this trail while they're traversing all the way to the end of…read morethe Ballfield to reach Williwaw Lakes. Surprisingly, there's a few different ways to access the peak and even the easiest route may prove to be somewhat of a challenge as you face up against an imposing gulley that'll get your heart pumping. And that's after you've already trekked up the saddle. Ideally, you'll be comfortable with class 2-3 hiking before tackling this one. And I hope you ain't afraid of heights either once you reach the top and glance down towards Williwaw valley. Vertigo for sure. I take a little longer than most people while hiking, so our group got back to the parking lot in just under 6 hours. I recommend saving this one for a long, sunny day. And although some dogs might be able to tag along, I would imagine most cannot.