Travel

Alaska Hiking: The Adventure Trails

There may be nothing more exhilarating than being out in the great wide open. If you love hiking, Alaska boasts miles and mile of unexplored wilderness and breathtaking scenery all over the state.

Hiking this great state gives you the opportunity to get out amongst Alaska’s most impressive tourist attraction: its natural beauty. Stroll paths to spot moose, bears, and eagles soaring overhead. Amble across tundra and rolling fields. Trek through snow capped mountains and fresh, sparkling rivers. Alaska hiking accommodates backcountry experts and beginners with ease, and trails and routes are available for all levels of expertise.

Denali National Park, between Anchorage and Fairbanks, is extremely popular with hikers looking to get away from well worn trails and experience the Alaskan backcountry. Park officials have never built official trails through Denali, so with some preparation and experience the opportunity is there to forge your own. Trek the dry riverbeds or the vast expanses of tundra in the park. Despite visitor’s concerns, a bear has never killed a visitor to the park – although you may see a couple along the way.

Chugach National Forest near Anchorage boasts some easily negotiable trails within close proximity to the city. With excellent fishing and wildlife viewing, as well the opportunity to walk among fields of wildflowers, this area is some of southeast Alaska’s most picturesque country. The Resurrection Trail Pass in the Chugach takes hikers through the Kenai Mountains for 38 miles of spectacular vistas.

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Wrangell St. Elias National Park on the Canadian border is the size of six Yellowstone Parks, and is open to hiking and camping throughout its vast expanse. Air taxis deliver hikers to the park’s more remote areas, and there’s the opportunity to hike the popular trail up the Root Glacier.

There are also great hiking spots throughout Glacier Bay National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park and Denali National Park.

Some Alaska hiking is remote in the truest sense of the word. Many famous trails can only be accessed by helicopter, air taxi or boat, meaning trips can take a few days to a couple of weeks in length.

Precautions to take before hiking

Hiking in Alaska is an invigorating way to spend your holiday, but safety considerations are important in the wilderness and it pays to be prepared. Alaskan weather can change quickly so it’s essential to hike with warm clothes and wet weather gear. Dressing in layers is the most sensible way to prepare for anything the unsettled Alaskan elements may throw at you. A lot of the state is isolated, rough terrain, and largely out of the range of cellphone networks. Bear attacks on humans are rare but do occur. More common are attacks by what’s affectionately referred to as ‘ Alaska’s national bird’, the mosquito.