Lost Lake: Seward’s best backpacking trail, and a great day hike too

Seward, Alaska lays claim to several fantastic backpacking trails. But when I have to choose just one to send people on, it’s always Lost Lake. The trail is long enough to be interesting, moderate enough to be imminently doable for most people with some hiking experience under their belts and, without fail, the one trail where people who stayed for one night come back saying “I wish I’d stayed longer.” (Me too!)

Lost Lake is also part of the Iditarod National Historic Trail — how’s that for getting some interesting points? It’s very popular with mountain bikers and trail runners, too, so be ready to share the trail.

This is hike 74 in Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska.

A Note About Trail Names

This trail is on US Forest Service land, and the USFS actually divides it up into two trails: Lost Lake and Primrose. Each of these trails starts from a trailhead of the same name, and they converge in the middle at Lost Lake itself.

But the lake itself is the highlight here, and it’s very common for either of the trails approaching it to be referred to as “Lost Lake.” Also, while some do hike out and back from one trailhead, it’s very common for backpackers, mountain bikers, runners and even sturdy day hikers to start at one trailhead and end at the other, piecing both of the official trails together into one 15.6-mile thru-hike.

Should I Hike North or South?

The directions below address this trail as a thru-hike, starting from the Primrose trailhead and heading south, because this gives you lovely views of Resurrection Bay on the horizon as you hike closer to Seward. It also puts the steepest part of the hike first, leaving a milder, knee-saving descent at the end for those carrying heavy packs. With that said, some do prefer hiking in the other direction to put a milder ascent first, and the lake itself is a wonderful destination no matter where you start.

Hiking Lost Lake

For all its grandeur and beauty, this is actually quite a straightforward trail. If you’re starting from the Primrose trailhead, you’ll hike uphill for about 4.6 miles before cresting out of treeline. Along the way you’ll pass a left fork that leads off to the rolling Meridian Lake trail, and an unmarked right fork (about two miles from the trailhead) that leads to a lookout point over a waterfall that’s just visible in the distance.

Your first glimpse of Lost Lake itself comes about a mile after you hit treeline, and as you near the lake you’ll pass a series of small poles, each incised with a “tent” glyph. Those poles mark designated backcountry campsites that each have a bear locker and, somewhere nearby, a backcountry throne… ahem, toilet. You can also camp in the tundra, using your very best Leave No Trace ethics.

I tend to see a small bridge, crossing the outflow from Lost Lake, as the midway point for this trail. The footpath continues along past the lake, with one more notable fork about 11.5 miles from your starting point. The left fork leads to the Dale Clemens public use cabin (reservations required), while the right fork leads you eventually down into the hemlocks and on to the Lost Lake trailhead, which is practically in the middle of a small neighborhood near Seward.

Most hikers will set up a car shuttle, staging a second vehicle to get them back to their starting point. If you only have one vehicle to work with, you could park it at the Lost Lake trailhead and arrange a taxi ride from Seward out to the Primrose trailhead — or park at Primrose and arrange a taxi ride back from the Lost Lake trailhead to collect your car. However, take the time to confirm that you’ll have cell service at the Lost Lake trailhead; mobile coverage there can be quite patchy.

Of course you can also hike out and back from either trailhead. In that case, you’re looking at roughly the same round-trip distance as a thru hike, or a bit more if you hike to the far end of the lake from whichever side of the trail you started.

Pictures From the Lost Lake Trail

This trail is so beautiful, I had to include more than just one picture.

Not a Winter Hiking Trail

As wonderful as the Lost Lake trail is, it’s not suited to winter hiking, because you’re likely to run afoul of motorized users (snowmachiners).

Heads up in spring: Lost Lake often has deep snow cover at its higher elevations, even when sea-level trails have dried out.