Hiking - Ben Walter's Park Floating Dock

View from Ben Walter's Park as a Floatplane Lands

Stats

Distance:  0.1 miles         Difficulty: Easy           Time:  15 min

Summary

Tucked away at the side of Beluga Lake in Homer, Alaska, Ben Walter’s Park is

Adventure - Grandview Tour on the Alaska Railroad.

Glacier View from the Grandview Tour

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                                   Time:  Half-day

Summary

Carol's parents visited us in Alaska in June.  Her father can't really walk much anymore so we went looking for cool activities that don't require much walking.  Not surprisingly, there aren't that many in Alaska, but we found a winner in the Grandview Tour on the Alaska Railroad.  The Grandview Tour is pure sightseeing into area of Alaska that cannot be reached in any way other than by train.

Opinion

This is a fun trip, even for those who have no trouble

Hiking - Skilak Lookout Trail

View from the top of the trail

Stats

Distance:  4 miles                              Difficulty: Moderate                                     Time:  4 hrs

Summary

The Skilak Lookout Trail ends at a truly spectacular view of the mountains and Skilak lake.  Best of all, it has beautiful views all along the trail and, at least in June, there were wildflowers everywhere.  The hike itself wasn't too bad most of the time.  We considered it moderate because of occasional steep spots and muddy patches.  It also has a steady low incline to the top of the mountain for a total elevation change of 790 feet.

Opinion

This is is very pleasant hike with truly spectacular views.  The high angle view of Skilak Lake is beautiful; Skilak Lake has that beautiful milky blue color unique to glacier lakes.  In addition, there was a wide variety of spring flowers all along the trail.

Trail Advice

Sweat resistant mosquito repellent is a must.  The bugs were out in force.

If the temperature is acceptable before you start, a jacket is probably not necessary.  You will produce enough heat on the trail to keep you warm.  

In the spring (June in Alaska) the trail can be muddy in spots.  Wear hiking shoes you don't mind getting muddy.

Suitability

This trail is suitable for adults and children.  But the trail is a total of 4 miles with some climbing so be sure you and your kids are up for it.

Trailhead

Trailhead from the road

Warnings

To find the Skilak Lookout Trail take Skilak Lake Rd from the Sterling Hwy.  Skilak Lake Rd is a loop of sorts that starts and ends at Sterling Hwy.  There is an East entrance just outside Cooper Landing and a West entrance a few miles outside Sterling.  You can take either entrance.  The trailhead is a mile 5.4 on Skilak Lake Rd.  The parking area is on the north side of the road and the trail is on the south side.  It is well labeled.

The Hike

This trail is one of many in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  The maps for these trails can be found on the Kenai Refuge Map website.  We chose this trail because the 2014 Funny River Wildfire was still burning and we wanted to see of we could see the fire or fire damage from the overlook.  

Boardwalk near the trailhead

The trail starts through a dense spruce forest along side a creak, but quickly opens into meadows filled with alpine wildflowers.  Many of the trails in this section of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge are in an area that burned in 1996 and this is one of those trails.  At first it can be difficult to tell the area burned, but then you realize the large open meadows along the trail were once spruce forest.  The area is quickly being reclaimed by birch, cottonwood, and alder.  In a few more years the trees will be tall enough to overtake the meadows and the character of the walk will change again.  

Early view of Skilak Lake

You can also still see some dead, burned standing trees and more fallen spruce can be seen on either side of the trail.  The fallen trees have opened up the view and as a result you get frequent terrific views of Skilak Lake and the surrounding mountains.  

Eidelweiss

June is early spring on the Kenai Peninsula and the trail was lined with a huge variety of wildflowers.  Most common on the lower trail was Edelweiss, but there was also Lupine, wild Rose, wild Geranium and many more.  The flowers made the trail a delight to walk.

Wild Rose

The trail is pretty much a shallow constant grade with occasional steep spots and some muddy area.  The steep spots all have good switchbacks making the trail easy to walk most of the time.  We listed it as moderate because of the few steep areas and the muddy patches.  This trail has been hiked a lot and, as a result, the trail has sunk 2 or 3 inches into the peat that makes up the soil of the area and is rather narrow, so the footing can be tricky sometimes.

A view from the top

When you get to the top the view makes this hike very much worth it.  There is a 270 degree of the Wildlife Refuge.  Interestingly, there was no view of either the Funny River fire or the areas it had burned.  The good news is the way down is just a beautiful as the way up and is easier going.

Another view from the top

Hiking - Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Ranger Station

Boardwalk across the marsh

Stats

Distance:  0.25 miles                            Difficulty: Easy                                    Time:  15 min

Summary

We stopped at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge ranger station, located on Ski Hill Rd in Soldatna to see if they had hiking maps or other useful information about the hiking in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.  The refuge is enormous, covering most of the northern Kenai Peninsula, but only a relatively small part actually has maintained trails.  The ranger station has a variety of activities for children and adults, but there are only 3 short trails at this location.

Opinion

If you are looking for information on parts of this refuge we haven't covered yet, stop here!  The people at this ranger station were a wealth of information!  They helped us find a variety of short hikes ranging from a few hours to a day.  Moreover, when we expressed and interest in kayaking, they pointed out the best lakes for kayaking contained within the refuge.  They also warned us off of a few; apparently they suffer from high winds and wind driven waves as high as 4 feet or more.

The trails near this ranger station are pleasant and wind through the spruce and cottonwood forest.  We took the shortest, a quarter-mile trail to the lake, because were were short on time that day.

Trail Advice

This trail has the usual voracious mosquitoes during summer and has little shade.  We strongly recommend a good coating of both sunscreen and mosquito repellent.

Suitability

The trails around the Visitors Center is suitable for all ages, but not wheelchairs.  These trails are often used for children's educational programs.

Trailhead

To find the ranger station:

• From Homer:  Take Sterling Hwy north.  Turn right on Ski Hill Rd (across from Sky View High School).  Follow the gravel road about a mile and watch for the signs for the Visitors Center.  The turn will be to the right.
• From the north:  Just before you exit Soldatna, turn left on Funny River Rd.  Turn right about one block later onto Ski Hill Rd.  Follow the gravel road about 1 mile and watch for the signs for the Visitors Center.  The turn will be on the left.

The Visitor Center

We were in Soldatna shopping for things we can't get in Homer.  Were weren't in the mood to hike (too busy), but we'd been passing a National Refuge sign for months and were curious.  So, that day, we decided to drive the road and see what we found.  What we found was a visitor center with very helpful rangers and support staff.

After a quick look around their displays we struck up a conversation with a ranger and the lady manning the information desk.  We asked them about the day hike trails in the refuge.  We got lots of suggestions and you will be seeing posts about them over the next few weeks.  At the time we visited, spring was just beginning and the hikes would have been barren and brown.  Now the Kenai has exploded with life and we are just waiting for good weather to start hiking the recommended trails.

We also asked about kayaking.  They warned us away from Skilak Lake and Tustamena Lake.  Although they look very promising, it turns out they are not safe for small craft (even motorized ones).  When the wind picks up--and it does virtually every day--waves on the lake can get over 4 ft in height.  They also advised against Engineer Lake.  It isn't as dangerous as the other two, but suffers from high wind and waves as well.

The Hike

Marshland

After we finished chatting with the rangers, we decided to walk the shortest of the trails to stretch our legs.  The hike is very short and pleasant.  It winds down a hill to the lake behind the ranger station.  Most of the trail is through a spruce forest rich with spruce, cottonwood, birch, moss, and lichen.  At the end it lets out on a marsh where a boardwalk takes you to the lake.  

I wouldn't go out of my way to do this hike, but if I were stopping at the Visitors Center for information, I would definitely take a break from driving on this trail.

The Funny River Fire

Smoke heading south on
Sterling Highway

Smoke from the Funny River fire

People considering hiking in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge might be concerned about the effects of the Funny River Fire.  We've crosschecked the maps against the fire and, large as it was, the fire was to the south of the trails.  In fact, most of the area burned was true wilderness.  However, if you are planning to hike in the Cooper Landing region or near this Visitor Center, I would recommend waiting until the fire is fully controlled.

Hiking - Portage Glacier Trail (all the way to the beach)

Stats

Distance:  4.7 miles                  Difficulty: Strenuous                                Time:  5 hrs

Summary

We chose to try the Portage Glacier Trail on 10 Jul 2013.  The hike goes up a nearly continuous inclined for a 750 ft elevation change, then back down (more gently) the full 750 ft to reach the portage glacier lake.  We found the hike on the National Park Service map (NPS Portage Glacier Trail).  This page is useful, but someone dated, see The Hike section of this post for updated information.

Opinion

This is a fabulous hike!  But we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is not at least reasonably fit.  The highlights of the hike include

Adventure - Boat Tour of the Portage Glacier on the MV Ptarmigan

Portage Glacier Cruise

Portage Glacier from the MV Ptarmigan

Stats

Difficulty: very calm water                                                                     Time:  approximately 1 hr

Summary

We chose took the Portage Glacier Cruise on the MV Ptarmigan on 29 Jul 2013 (Portage Glacier Cruises).  This is the only motorized boat authorized on Portage Glacier Lake.  The boat cruises the short distance from the docks to the glacier for a spectacular, close-up view of the Portage Glacier.  A Chugach National Park ranger narrates the trip.

Opinion

This is a great trip.  The price is surprisingly reasonable and

Hiking - Grewingk Glacier Lake and Saddle Trail (Summer)

Grewingk Glacier and Lake

Stats

Distance:  4.5 miles                   Difficulty: Easy / Moderate                                 Time:  5 hrs

Summary

On 8 Jun 2013, the Kachemak Bay State Park had its annual “Trails Day”.  The purpose of trails day is to clean and repair the many managed trails in the park.  In addition to the maintenance hike, the state park also sponsors a guided family hike to Grewingk Glacier.  The hike started with a boat ride to the beach to take the Glacier Lake Trail to the glacier, the returned to the bay via the Saddle Trail.  

Since the start and end points are not the same, this particular route requires someone with a boat to drop you off and pick you up; if you don’t have a convenient friend with a boat, you can take one of the Water Taxis operated out of Homer.  This particular hike, as part of Trails Day, was sponsored and supported by Mako Water Taxi.

We did this hike before we started this blog, so we don’t have GPS maps of the route we took.  You can find good trail maps at the web site above.  We will upload a GPS track of the route the next time we take this hike.

Opinion

This is one of our favorite full day hikes; it is well worth the water taxi fee.  We also recommend planning a nice picnic lunch at the glacier.  The Glacier Lake Trail