Ptarmigan Lake: A stunning blue-green lake, but the bears like it too

Ptarmigan Lake is nothing short of stunning, and that’s not a word I use easily: On a good day with the right lighting, the water is a beautiful aquamarine color that you’ll only find in glacier-fed lakes. There’s just one issue: Bears like this trail, too, when the fish are running.

The very first time I hiked here the locals warned us about bears in the area, and sure enough we saw massive brown bear prints in the mud. Point taken, and now I’ll share it with you: Be very bear-aware, or maybe even skip this trail entirely, when the fish are in.

For those of you who want some fish for yourself, there are Dolly Varden and rainbow trout in the lake, and I believe the creek itself is popular for fishing as well. Please see the ADF&G sportfishing guidelines for details.

This is hike 72 in my guidebook Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska.

Hiking Ptarmigan Lake

For all its “beary-ness” in certain seasons, this is a nicely straightforward trail. The first 0.5 miles are an easy forest walk, although the path does get a little brushy soon after. Ptarmigan Creek runs right beside the trail at first, but you’ll quickly hike up onto a rolling hillside that pulls you away from the water.

After about 2 miles of hiking, you’ll see Mother Goose Glacier through the trees, perched on a mountainside in the distance. At 3 miles from the trailhead you’ll hit the modest high point of the hike (a whopping 940 feet high), then start a long, gradual descent to the lakeside. When you do reach the hike, first it feels like walking into a bubble of humidity — then you see the water in front of you.

There are a few primitive campsites here, but don’t miss the backcountry toilet, I mean throne, hidden slightly upslope to your left. It’s just a pit toilet with a very basic cover; bring your own toilet paper and enjoy the view.

The distance I’ve given here is for a round-trip to that near (east) end of the lake, then back again. But there is a primitive, totally unmaintained trail that continues another 3.5 miles around the left (north) side of the lake to another primitive/dispersed camping area. Wading through armpit-deep grass in bear country isn’t my idea of fun, so I’d give that part a skip.

Please do read my note about trail names below, though, because it applies to that overgrown path.

A Quick Note on Trail Names

The trailhead for this hike is signed as Ptarmigan Creek, and technically, the official name of the trail to the lake is the Ptarmigan Creek Trail, with “Ptarmigan Lake Trail” being the primitive, brushy trail that continues on along the side of the lake. But in conversation with other hikers, I’ve only ever heard the trail to the lake called the Ptarmigan Lake Trail. You’ll find it listed by either name in various places on the Internet.

Now you know: Brace for confusion, and don’t be shy about asking for clarification if you’re not sure which trail someone’s talking about!

Pictures of Ptarmigan Lake

This write-up just begs for a few pictures! If you don’t catch the light just right the lake may look fairly ordinary, as you’ll see here. That “drab” image is from a fall visit when the water was peppered with fallen leaves — but it’s still not drab at all, is it?! And of course if you catch the lake with the sun on it, you’ll see that beautiful blue-green color in full bloom.

Avalanche Hazard in Winter

Heads up, winter hikers: There is avalanche hazard on this trail during the winter.