Featured activities
Southeast Alaska hiking
Visit the Panhandle's gold mines, bears and alpine meadows
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• Indian River Trail: 5.5 miles. The trail begins west of the pumphouse and dam at the end of Indian River Road and goes to Indian River Falls. Brown bears may be in the area, and in the late summer and early fall there are salmon runs (but fishing isn't allowed).
• Mount Verstovia Trail: 2.5 miles. This state trail begins about two miles east of Sitka along Sawmill Creek Road near Rookies Bar and Grill. It ends near the summit of Mount Verstovia with an elevation gain of 2,550 feet and a 3,300-foot gain if one goes on to Arrowhead Peak.
• Harbor Mountain-Gavan Hill Trail. 6 miles total. The Harbor Mountain Trail starts on a the steep, windy Harbor Mountain Road and connects in the hills with the Gavan Hill Trail, which starts on Baranof Street in Sitka. Watch for brown bears. Near the summit, there are ruins of a World War II lookout.
Check with the Forest Service for information about other Sitka-area trails, cabins and campgrounds.
Haines
Look for the "Haines Is for Hikers" booklet and the "Birds of the Chilkat Valley" checklist at the visitors center on Second Street. Trails around Haines are maintained by volunteers and by the Alaska State Parks division of the Department of Natural Resources. Here are some of the trails.
• Mount Ripinsky Trail: 3.5 hard miles to a 3,610-foot summit. This route may be combined with the 7-mile Saddle Route for a 10-mile hike that’s moderately strenuous to strenuous.
• Mount Riley: Up to 7 miles of moderate difficulty. The trip may take most of a day. There are a couple of trail heads in Chilkat State Park on the Chilkat Peninsula. One is 3 miles out on Mud Bay Road, and the other is at the end of Beach Road.
• Seduction Point Trail: 7 miles each way in the forest and on the beach in Chilkat State Park, but shorter hikes can stop in coves along the way. The trail head is at the information station in the campground.
Skagway
• Chilkoot Trail: 33 hard miles should take 3 to 4 days from Skagway to Bennett Lake, British Columbia. The route follows the one taken by stampeders over the mountains starting in 1897 as they headed to the Klondike gold fields in Yukon Territory. There are snowfields all summer and boulders to contend with in some spots. Hikers may camp only in designated areas and should watch out for bears and bad weather.
Craig and Prince of Wales Island
• El Capitan Cave Access Trail: 0.25 mile. This trail climbs 300 feet from the parking lot to the cave entrance on gravel, boardwalk, wood stairs and earth. Visitors may go about 200 feet into the cave before reaching a gate; the Thorne Bay District of the Forest Service conducts guided tours during the summer. Check with the ranger at the Thorne Bay office, 1312 Federal Way; 907-828-3304.
• Karta River Trail: 4.8 miles from mouth of Karta River at Karta Bay to Salmon Lake Cabin in the Karta Wilderness Area. The Karta River has a tremendous run of silver, pink, chum and red salmon, as well as populations of Dolly Varden, cutthroat trout and steelhead.
Check with the Forest Service for information about other Prince of Wales Island trails, cabins and campgrounds.
Gustavus and Glacier Bay National Park
• Beaches. Gustavus' Long, flat beaches and wetlands invite hiking, but bring rubber boots. In Glacier Bay National Park, hikers won't find backcountry trails, but good hiking may be found on beaches, in alpine meadows and in areas where glaciers recently retreated. Permits are required for backcountry camping. Hikers may be dropped off by the National Park Service's concessionaire or by private companies' boats and aircraft.
Check with the Park Service for more information about hiking and camping in Glacier Bay.
Yakutat
There are trails and logging roads into Tongass National Forest.
• Malaspina Glacier Trail: 46 miles south of Malaspina Glacier along the western side of Yakutat Bay. The trail, built by geologists as long ago as the 1890s, starts on the western bank of the Grand Wash River and heads southwest, eventually reaching Osar Stream and tidewater pools at its mouth.
• Trails to Situk Lake Cabin: One trail is 6 miles on an unmaintained and often water-covered trail from near the Nine Mile Bridge on Forest Highway 10. The trail, also wet, is 3 miles long and starts at the end of Eastgate Road. The cabin is inside the Russell Fiord Wilderness Area.
Check with the National Park Service and the Forest Service for information about camping, cabins and hiking in the area around Yakutat, Glacier Bay National Park and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
Wrangell
• Rainbow Falls and Institute Creek Trail. These Wrangell Island trails both begin at the Rainbow Falls trail head, 4.5 miles south of Wrangell next to the Zimovia Highway. Rainbow Falls: A moderate-to-difficult 0.7-mile trail leads to observations sites. At Mile 0.6, there's a junction with the difficult Institute Creek Trail, with goes 2.7 miles farther to the Shoemaker Bay Overlook Shelter.
Check with the Forest Service for information other Wrangell-area trails.
Petersburg
• Petersburg Lake Trail: 10 miles each way. Hikers take a water taxi across Wrangell Narrows to the Petersburg Creek-Duncan Salt Chuck Wilderness.
• Petersburg Mountain Trail: 3.5 miles each way. The trail starts at the Kupreanof state dock just across the Wrangell Narrows from Petersburg. The mountain trail goes east; the Petersburg Lake Trail heads west from the dock. The trail is rated "most difficult" by the Forest Service. After 1.5 miles along an old road bed, the trail turns left and heads up the mountain. Above the saddle, blue trail markers show the way to the peak; an anchored cable helps climbers to the summit.
Check with the Forest Service for information other Petersburg-area trails.
Angoon
Most trails on Admiralty Island are used for canoe portages, and there are no maintained long trails. Nevertheless, hikers can walk along the shore and climb 2,000 feet to the treeless alpine area, above the dense rain forest.
Tenakee Springs
Trails run for 3 and 5 miles from the ends of this seaside town’s street, and another 10 or so miles of paths along the shore. Also, a logging road heads inland.
Hoonah
There are trails and logging roads in Tongass National Forest.
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