Alaska has long been a favorite destination of mine. I love the majestic mountains, remoteness, lingering pioneer spirit, and softly angled light. I’ve flown in and out of Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Whitehorse, Yukon, but never spent much time around Anchorage, using it as a launching point for other adventures. Over the last two years, I’ve been able to spend a month in and around Anchorage, sightseeing, exploring, and hiking. Below are five hikes near Anchorage, Alaska.
When you’re in Anchorage and want to stretch your legs, take advantage of the 20-mile paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail along the city waterfront. The trail has two-way traffic and is open to cross-country skiers, bikers and pedestrians.
When I say “near” Anchorage, I’m including hikes 30-90 minutes away by car.
I’ll describe more about each hike in the next section.
We hiked Rabbit Lake Trail, a wide, gently ascending trail flanked on both sides by steep ridges that sweep up to the sky. This is only one of many great hikes in Chugach State Park, a hiker’s playground 30-minutes away from Anchorage. Moose, bears and Dall sheep can be seen on the flanks, unconcerned by the hikers below. The 8.7-mile (round trip) trail leads to a comely lake with a double peak framed perfectly as the backdrop. The photos compress everything to human scale, but see if you can find the orange tent in the lower right corner of the photo to get an idea of the size. p on the ridge to the south is Rabbit Creek Trail, a parallel trail, if you want to make it a loop or do hike with a different view.
To reach the Rabbit Lake Trailhead, drive 30-minutes south from Anchorage on the Seward Highway.
Turnagain Arm Trail is an easy trail with convenient access from Seward Highway in Chugach State Park. The trail extends 10 miles, but you can make it short or long by turning around when you wish. The water views of Turnagain Arm are spectacular on a clear day when you break through the thick forest.
A fun addition to this hike is a quick stop at the Potter Marsh Boardwalk that extends 1500 feet over the marsh. If you’re lucky, you’ll see bald eagles, too. Stop at the boardwalk parking lot before you get to the Potter Trailhead parking lot. It’s just past the Rabbit Creek exit.
To reach the Northern Turnagain Arm Trail, drive 20 minutes south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway to the Potter Trailhead parking lot.
Marmot Mountain Trail looks benign, but the steep, rocky shoots straight up the mountain with a nary a switchback. It’s a short, 2.6-mile round trip, intense workout with a knife edge and gorgeous views at the top.
To reach the Marmot Mountain Trail, drive northeast for 90 minutes from downtown Anchorage. The road winds up a gently ascending route through lush hills to the Fishhook Trailhead parking lot. If you’re on your way to Denali, it wouldn’t be too out of the way to stop here for this hike. It’s only about a half-hour drive from Palmer or Wasilla.
Alltrails: Marmot Mountain Trail
In the same vicinity as the Marmot Mountain Trail is the Reed Lakes Trail and beyond the Lakes is a steep ascent to Bomber Glacier, a glacier featuring wreckage from a bomber crash. You can customize the length: 6.7 miles round trip to Lower Reed Lake, 8.7 miles round trip to Upper Reed Lake, 10.5 miles round trip to Bomber Glacier. Note that you’ll need Microspikes and poles to hike on the glacier safely. This is a beautiful trail with varied terrain ranging from well-maintained trail to boulder hopping and it’s not uncommon to find lots of water running through it.
To reach the Marmot Mountain Trail, drive northeast for 90 minutes from downtown Anchorage to the Reed Lakes Trailhead parking lot.
Alltrails: Lower Reed Lakes Trail
Alltrails: Upper Reed Lakes Trail
South Fork Valley Trail is in Chugach State Park but is accessed from a different direction. This is a long, 10.8-mile out-and-back hike that is relatively easy because there is little elevation gain. Rewards are plentiful with wide open spaces, a well-maintained trail and two lovely lakes separated by an extensive boulder field. If the boulder field is intimidating, you can skip it and it’s still a very nice hike. There are several other hikes in the vicenity, as well.
To reach the South Fork Valley Trailhead, head northeast out of Anchorage for about 30 minutes.
Alltrails: South Fork Valley Trail
I hiked some of these with my husband and others with a guide, Nate Dietrich, when I joined a fundraising group from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Nate and Siobion did a wonderful job, planning and pivoting every day to meet the needs of the group, feeding us, encouraging us, shepherding us, and laughing and crying with us. Based in Fairbanks, they have lived in Alaska a long time, are seasoned adventurers and experienced in guiding. If you’re looking for a guide in Fairbanks, Denali or Anchorage, contact Nate at Get After It Guiding.
Weather is famously variable in Alaska. When we arrived in mid-July, we were told that Anchorage had barely seen any sun the whole summer, and daily rain was the norm. We lucked out and had one week of perfect sunny weather, followed by a week of partly cloudy weather that was perfect for hiking. The only days it rained were the first and last days, when it poured all day long. Luckily, we had planned to go to the fascinating Anchorage Museum the first day and the last day was a travel day when we fit the small Anchorage Air Museum in. Another year, we got rain nearly every day.
Layers are the key to hiking and traveling around Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula in summer. My packing list included:
Some of my favorite hiking in the world is in Alaska and I drank in the views every day, so grateful that the rain held off and the mosquitoes didn’t bother me. I can’t wait to return because there is always more I want to see.
I used Google Maps to reach all the trailheads using the location names provided for the parking lots.
For navigating the trails, I used Alltrails to get an overview and GaiaGPS once I was on the trail. Both apps work well.
It’s best to keep expectations low in Alaska unless you’re on an unlimited budget, because of the eye-watering rates, even for “budget” hotels. Lodging is unusually expensive, as are other goods and services, which reflects the remoteness of the area.
The Holiday Inn Express was clean and comfortable, with large rooms that accommodated all our hiking gear. Breakfast was adequate if uninspired with hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, fruit, cereal, pancakes and pre-formed omelets. The nightly rate for this modest lodging ranges from $300-400, to give you an idea.
I have also stayed at the Hyatt House Anchorage ($450) and Hyatt Place Anchorage-Midtown ($500), with the latter being more upscale.
Many years ago, we stayed at the Copper Whale Inn. I was pleased to see that the historic building, built in 1939, is still there, and rates are fairly reasonable at $250-350 per night, including a continental breakfast. This B&B is a hidden gem downtown with wonderful water views and easy access to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.
There is so much hiking around Anchorage with majestic views and gorgeous terrain. I hope you enjoy my selection of five beautiful hikes near Anchorage, Alaska.
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