Alaska Hiking: Falls Creek

the drive to Falls Creek along Turnagain Arm

Have you ever wondered what's up that little trail along Turnagain arm that starts next to a small waterfall/river? At about mile 105, there's a small parking area and sign marking Falls Creek trailhead. Back in June, I decided to explore it one day after work. Falls Creek trail is beautiful but brushy and a bit overgrown, I imagine it's high bear encounter area (though luckily I didn't run into any!) The trail follows the river up and out of treeline, offering some nice intermittent views of Turnagain Arm along the way. The only tricky part is where you come to a boulder area several miles up, the trail crosses the river and heads left to Falls Lake (Or, if you're me, you miss that and keep going straight up a less developed trail to a ridgeline).

The ridgeline detour I took was beautiful, but unfortunate as a freak lightning storm came out of nowhere in an otherwise sunny June afternoon. (I've only ever seen lightning a few times in my life in Alaska). I was pelted with cherry-sized hail balls followed by a downpour of rain and howling wind. I saw lightning strike one ridgeline over and consider myself extremely lucky that I escaped unharmed. Rookie mistake, no matter how sunny it is in Anchorage - be sure and check the weather before you do this one.

Once the storm passed I had an amazing view of wildflowers, a meadow, and a snow-capped bowl (Suicide Peaks) and snapped some photos. This is a great off the beaten path option close to Anchorage - I only saw one other runner/hiker out there the whole time.

Total miles (round trip):6-8 (reports vary)
Elevation gain: 2,900 feet
My round trip time (running): ~2 hours

More trail information can be found here:
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/maps/fallscreektrailguide.pdf

Happy hiking/mountain running!