Seven Lakes Trail: Actually there are four lakes, but who’s counting?

Seven Lakes trail is an easy hike through a spruce-forested section of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Despite the trail’s name, it only passes four lakes — the rest were cut off from it by road construction. The trees here are mostly tall, spindly black spruce, and walking the soft ground at their feet is a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

The forested sections of the trail occupy a shallow trench worn by the passage of many feet, and the roots of the plants around you are so interconnected, it sometimes feels like the entire forest heaves a breath with every footstep.

This is hike 96 in my guidebook Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska.

Thru-hike or Out and Back?

Seven Lakes trail is actually a tiny thru-hike, measuring 5.5 miles between the trailheads at each end, and if you set up a car shuttle to do it as a thru hike, I recommend starting at the Engineer Lake trailhead so that you’re walking toward the majority of the lakeshore trail, instead of away from it. If you’re doing it as an out-and-back hike, I recommend starting (and finishing) at the Kelly Lake trailhead to maximize the time you spend walking along the lakeshore.

Which Lakes Will You Pass on the Seven Lakes Trail?

If you’re doing the Seven Lakes trail as a thru-hike from the Engineer Lake trailhead, here are the lakes — and other major landmarks — you’ll pass along the way:

• Mile 0: Engineer Lake;
• Mile 1: Right fork leads to the Engineer Lake public use cabin;
• Mile 2.6: Signed 0.6-mile side trail leads to Hidden Lake;
• Mile 3.6: Signed access trail for the pretty but marshy Hikers Lake, which you glimpsed at mile 3.3;
• Just before mile 5: The trail passes Kelly Lake public use cabin, and of course Kelly Lake.

The Rowboats Go With the Public Use Cabins

You might have noticed the rowboat in the picture for this post — and in fact, you’re likely to see two of them along the Seven Lakes trail. However, you can’t just jump in and use them. Each rowboat is paired with one of the public use cabins along the trail, so they belong to whomever is currently renting the relevant cabin.

The good news is that with a minimum of forethought you can reserve the cabins too, in which case the rowboats are all yours:

• Kelly Lake Cabin
• Engineer Lake Cabin

A note about trail access via Skilak Lake Road

Although the Seven Lakes trail is theoretically open year-round, the Engineer Lake trailhead is only accessible when Skilak Lake Road is passable — and Skilak Lake Road is not plowed during the winter. So, unless you’re planning to ski in, that trailhead is summer-only.

Skilak Lake Road is usually manageable by most passenger vehicles during the summer, but even that access can be a little dubious sometimes, especially if the weather’s been wet and it’s been some time since the last pass by a road grader.

One last note for those of you traveling by rental car: Because Skilak Lake Road is unpaved, most rental car companies won’t let you take a rental vehicle on it — so the Engineer Lake trailhead is a no-go for you. You can still drive to the Kelly Lake trailhead, though!