Hiking Project Logo

A steep trail with stunning views of Turnagain Arm, good all-year round.


Your Rating: Rating Rating Rating Rating Rating      Clear Rating
Your Difficulty:
Your Favorites: Add To-Do · Your List
Zoom in to see details
Map Key

2.5

Miles

4.0

KM

Point to Point

3,423' 1,043 m

High

166' 50 m

Low

3,257' 993 m

Up

0' 0 m

Down

25%

Avg Grade (14°)

60%

Max Grade (31°)

Dogs Off-leash

Features Birding · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

The parking lot requires a $5.00 daily parking fee or a seasonal Alaska State Park parking pass.

Description

The Bird Ridge Trail begins as a steep climb and continues to climb to alpine. Then the trail follows the ridgeline to Bird Ridge Point at 3505 feet. This is a popular choice in spring, summer, and fall.

This is a good, steep trail with great views of Turnagain Arm and surrounding mountains.

The Bird Ridge Trail is located southeast of Anchorage along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. This trail features significant elevation gain; it starts from just above sea level and extends well beyond the tree line.

The first one-third of the trail leads constantly up through coastal forest. The trail remains steep for most of the way, eventually leading to a tundra-covered ridge, and then follows the ridgeline to the top. In winter, Ice grippers and trekking poles may be helpful for the descent. Due to the mountain's angle to the sun and direct sunshine, this trail is free of snow earlier in the spring than many others, although there may be snow patches remaining.

Near the top, there are several false summits; the last one is right behind a rather pointy lookout point at 3505 feet elevation. The summit offers spectacular views of Cook Inlet, mountains in all directions, and a huge glacier-carved valley.

Contacts

Shared By:

Kristen Arendt

Trail Ratings

  5.0 from 8 votes

#1

in Anchorage

#391

Overall
  5.0 from 8 votes
5 Star
100%
4 Star
0%
3 Star
0%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#1

in Anchorage

#1

in Alaska

#391

Overall
16 Views Last Month
5,272 Since Nov 22, 2016
Difficult Difficult

0%
0%
13%
0%
88%
0%

Photos

Summit photo above the fog
Jan 25, 2018 near Girdwood, AK
A winter outing on Bird Ridge - looking across Turnagain Arm at Mount Alpenglow.
Apr 23, 2017 near Girdwood, AK

0 Comments

Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

Aug 26, 2020
Zakary Hartford
5mi — 4h 00m
May 8, 2020
Nathan Horwath
Sep 17, 2017
Abe H
5mi — 2h 44m
Jul 26, 2017
Dan Lackey
Jun 13, 2017
Abe H
5mi — 2h 28m
May 14, 2017
Robert Mahaffey
The hike of false summits
May 12, 2017
Shelbee Davis
We only did 2 miles up due to high winds, but still beautiful! 4mi
Apr 29, 2017
Dave Gallegos
Dry 1.2mi
Welcome

Join the Community! It's FREE

Already have an account? Login to close this notice.