Windy Corner Trailhead: Lonely but beautiful

I suppose the Windy Corner railhead doesn’t have much going for it, but it’s still one of my favorite places to start (or end) a hike.

As the northern terminus of the Turnagain Arm Trail, this tiny, poorly signed trailhead really serves just the one trail. But the 1.9-mile stretch of trail from Windy Corner (often called just Windy) to the Rainbow trailhead is my absolute favorite stretch of this trail.

Catch this little patch of land in the right season and it’s a great chance to see mountain goats and wildflowers… and I hear that it is a seasonal rutting ground for Dall sheep. You can click the previous links for species profiles, and read this interesting column by Bill Sherwonit for an example of how a sheep encounter can go wrong — and how to handle the resulting chaos in a classy way.

As a bonus the trail leading into the Windy Corner Trailhead is relatively uncrowded. By Turnagain Arm Trail standards, anyway!

Windy Corner Trailhead Information

• GPS Coordinates: Coming soon!
• Fee: None
• Trails: This is the northern terminus of the Turnagain Arm Trail. The other trailheads along the Turnagain Arm Trail are Rainbow, McHugh Creek and Potter, in that order as you head south from Windy Corner.
• Driving Directions: From Anchorage, take the Seward Highway south and look for the tiny Windy Corner pullout on your left at about mile marker 106. It’s not very well marked, and is much easier to spot when you’re coming toward town.

Pictured: Overlooking the Seward Highway from the Turnagain Arm Trail, close to Windy Corner.