13 hikes in Hatcher Pass, Alaska

The 13 hikes in Hatcher Pass are some of the prettiest and most popular trails in Southcentral Alaska. With a few notable exceptions, they’re also relatively easy to get to. But I see lots of questions about these popular day hikes flying around, from locals and visitors alike.

With that in mind, this comprehensive list of day hikes in Hatcher Pass gives you a basic summary of each trail, plus which ones are accessible via paved road (okay for all rental cars) or via unpaved road (not okay for most rental cars). Click any of the hike names for more trail information and detailed driving directions to the trailhead, or grab a copy of my guidebook, Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska, for the most detail of all.

As you’ll see, some hikes have multiple names. I’ve included all the names that I’m aware of; if I’ve forgotten one, please let me know! Sometimes a given name applies to a particular destination along the hike, while other times it’s just a different name for the exact same trail.

PLEASE NOTE: These are generally not early-season hikes. The unpaved sections of road often don’t open until early July (or in an early year, mid- or late June), and that’s typically when the hikes may start becoming passable too.

Hikes in Hatcher Pass (not okay for rental cars)

These hikes are all either in Hatcher Pass itself (the pass proper, not the region around the pass) or very close to it, and they are all accessed by the unpaved section of Hatcher Pass Road. This road usually doesn’t open until early July; in a typical year it will be open by the July 4th weekend, but the date sometimes shifts earlier or later depending on snow conditions in the area.

The road itself can be a little rough, but is usually drivable by any passenger vehicle with decent ground clearance. I’ve listed the trails in the order you encounter them when driving up to the pass from the Wasilla/Palmer side:

1. Skyscraper Peak

• Total distance: 2.2 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 1170 feet

Park at a wide spot in the road; it’s on your right just before you reach the pass itself. The trail itself is the great web of erosion that spreads up the mountainside. Once you gut it through that steep and dusty climb, though, the following ridgewalk (seen in the picture above) is truly lovely.

2. April Bowl/Hatch Peak

• Total distance: 2.7 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 980 feet

Arguably the crowning glory of hikes in Hatcher Pass, this trail is enormously popular with hikers of all ages. Park at the summit of the pass itself (marked by a sign) and look across the road for switchbacks leading up the mountainside.

Most people hike up into the bowl itself, which contains several pretty little lakes. However, if you don’t mind a somewhat narrow ridgewalk and loose footing, you can continue all the way up to Hatch Peak (overlooking the bowl). Once you’ve done that, either retrace your steps to descend or complete a scree-sliding loop all the way around the ridge overlooking the bowl.

3. Summit Lake

• Total distance: 0.5-mile loop
• Total elevation gain: 75 feet

You’ll see this pretty, deep-blue lake on the left side of the road as you descend the far side of the pass. The walk around it is more of a stroll than a hike, but it still has some really lovely viewpoints overlooking the Willow (west) side of the pass. If the other hikes are too big or you just need a chance for people of varied mobility levels to stretch their legs, this is a good place to pull over and walk.

Please note: This trail is sometimes confused with April Bowl, because people sometimes call one of the lakes inside April Bowl “Summit Lake.”

4. Craigie Creek/Dogsled Pass/Schroff Lake

• Total distance: 9 miles round-trip (to the pass)
• Total elevation gain: 1500 ft (to the pass)

Many of the hikes in Hatcher Pass have something to do with mining; the connection here is more obvious than usual, because the first part of the trail is actually an old mining road. If you continue on a footpath past the end of the actual road, you’ll eventually work your way up to Dogsled Pass, which contains pretty boulder-lined Schroff Lake.

As you drive down out of the pass toward Willow, you’ll pass two obvious mining roads on the right side of the road. Each of them has a small (unpaved, unmarked) pullout where people tend to park. The first of those road/pullout combos leads to private, gated-off land that is actively being mined. The second is the start of the Craigie Creek trail.

(Note: I’m not counting an obvious ATV/off-road track that you’ll pass before reaching those mining roads.)

Hikes near Hatcher Pass (okay for rental cars)

The following hikes in Hatcher Pass (the region, not the pass itself) are all accessed from the paved portion of Hatcher Pass Road, which is great news for rental car drivers who’ve signed a promise not to take the car on gravel roads. Or if you’re of the bicycling persuasion, they’re much nicer to bike to. These trails are listed in the order you’ll encounter them as you drive into the Hatcher Pass region from Wasilla or Palmer:

5. Blueberry Knoll

• Total distance: 3.2 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 1,450 feet

Blueberry Knoll is a lovely viewpoint on the flanks of Government Peak. In point of fact, the above photo is looking out from the knoll). To reach the trailhead take Hatcher Pass Road toward the pass, then left onto Edgerton Parks Road and right onto Mountain Trails Drive. Or just follow signs for the Government Peak State Recreation Area.

If you so desire, you can continue from the knoll to the summit of Government Peak via “the long way” — a mostly doable hiker’s trail, as opposed to the gravity-defying runner’s trail that takes a much more direct route up the face of the mountain and bypasses Blueberry Knoll entirely.

6. Government Peak

• Total distance: 6.5 miles round trip
• Total elevation gain: 3,800 feet

Government Peak is no small undertaking! Make sure you’re taking the hiker’s trail up, not the death-defying runner’s trail that is eerily reminiscent of the Mount Marathon runner’s trail in Seward. I will admit to an unpopular opinion that the upper reaches of the hiker trail get pretty monotonous — but on a pretty day, there’s no denying the sweeping views for miles in every direction, and hitting the summit feels like an achievement.

Like Blueberry Knoll, you’ll access the trailhead by taking Hatcher Pass Road to a left onto Edgerton Parks Road, then right onto Mountain Trails Drive.

7. Gold Mint

• Total distance: 16.6 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 2530 feet

This is the longest of the established hikes in Hatcher Pass, and you’ll find the trailhead just off Hatcher Pass Road between miles 13 and 14. Most people who hike this trail’s entire distance are either staying overnight in the Mountaineering Club of Alaska’s Mint Hut, or looking for one of the few flat spots to tent camp in that area. Day hikers are more likely to walk the first few miles along the valley floor, enjoying the company of the rushing, winding little Susitna River, before turning around.

8. Marmot Mountain/Fish Peak

• Total distance: 3.2 miles round-trip (to Marmot Mountain)
• Total elevation gain: 2170 feet (to Marmot Mountain)

This hike feels like two mountains in one: the first prominence is Fish Peak, but you should absolutely keep going to Marmot Peak at the top.

The trailhead for this hike is just off Hatcher Pass Road at approximately mile 16.5, but is named neither Fish nor Marmot. Instead, look for the signed “Fishhook Trailhead,” then start trekking up the obvious mountain right in front of you.

9. Gold Cord Lake

• Total distance: 1.6 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 580 feet

Gold Cord Lake is one of the shortest, sweetest hikes in Hatcher Pass, with a brief but steep stretch of “bouldery” hiking and a ramshackle mining shack to keep things interesting. The actual trailhead is just opposite the entrance to Independence Mine State Historical Park. You can pay a small parking fee (usually about $5) to park at the mine, or park about a mile down the road at an Alaska State Parks parking area.

Bonus: Independence Mine is worth a visit

Independence Mine State Historical Park sits at the end of the paved portion of Hatcher Pass Road. Although this isn’t actually a hike, as such, exploring the different mine buildings is still a nice walk, and the trip gives you an interesting glimpse into the recent history of this region. You can easily pair an outing here with one of the shorter hikes in Hatcher Pass.

Hikes near Hatcher Pass via Archangel Road (not okay for rental cars)

Archangel Road is an unpaved offshoot from the paved section of Hatcher Pass Road — rental car drivers beware! If you’re driving a rental car that requires you to stay off gravel roads, I suggest sticking to hikes 5 through 9 in this list.

The following hikes in Hatcher Pass (again, the general region as opposed to the pass itself) are listed in the order you encounter them along Archangel Road, which starts at approximately mile 14.4 of Hatcher Pass Road. Nowadays the first part of the road (to a short distance before the Reed Lakes Trailhead) is relatively civilized and drivable by most passenger vehicles. The rest of Archangel Road, however, remains an adventure that not all vehicles (or drivers) can manage without losing an oil pan.

10. Reed Lakes

• Total distance: 6.6 miles round-trip to Lower Reed Lake, or 8.8 miles round-trip to Upper Reed Lake
• Total elevation gain: 2160 feet

Arguably one of the most famous hikes in Hatcher Pass, the first lake (Lower Reed Lake) is a worthy destination in its own right. But if weather permits and you have the stamina, it’s well worth the hike to the second lake (Upper Reed Lake) and the waterfall that spills out of it. The stretch between the two lakes is a popular backpacking destination, but most people do this as a day hike.

Aside from the lakes, one of the most distinctive features of this hike is a lengthy stretch of car-sized granite boulders that you must scramble over and between.

Note: Although the drive to this trailhead isn’t too bad nowadays, the trailhead parking area itself is horrible! There is a much flatter, less-pockmarked trailhead a short distance back toward the entrance to the road.

11. Snowbird Mine/Snowbird Hut

• Total distance: 4.7 miles round-trip (to the mine)
• Total elevation gain: 1640 feet

The Snowbird Mine trail shares its first couple of miles with the Reed Lakes trail, then shoots left and up a steep, often muddy hill. Keep an eye out for old mining equipment, and do not enter old mining shafts. Hikers in search of an overnight stay might arrange to use the American Alpine Club’s Snowbird Hut, up in the pass.

12. Fairangel Lakes

• Total distance: 2.6 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 1180 feet

If Reed Lakes is one of the most famous hikes in Hatcher Pass, Fairangel Lakes is the much shorter, little-known cousin. It’s an idyllic getaway if you don’t mind the lack of signage, a small creek crossing and some steep, often-muddy inclines. Finding the start of the trail isn’t the easiest thing in the world, so please click on the hike name for more detailed instructions.

13. Lane Hut/Fern Mine

• Total distance: 4.2 miles round-trip
• Total elevation gain: 910 feet

This trail is sometimes known as the Lane Hut trail, because of the hut that used to sit at the end of the footpath. However, the hut was removed due to an unsafe level of partying. As a result the trail seems to be slowly taking on the name of Fern Mine trail, after the privately owned mine that sits near its start. It’s arguably one of the less-spectacular hikes in Hatcher Pass, but still a very nice stroll worth doing at least once.

A note for rental car users

Most rental car companies prohibit you from taking your car on unpaved roads, including the unpaved section of Hatcher Pass Road and all of Archangel Road (which you must use to access hikes 1-4 and 10-13 on this list). If you’re renting a car, you can either focus on hikes 5 through 9 on this list, which are all accessed from paved stretches of road, or use one of the few rental car companies that do allow travel on gravel roads.