Description

This is an excellent longer hike at Eklutna Lake, which can be expedited by biking the Lakeside Trail to the start of Bold Ridge Trail.

After crossing the bridge about 5 miles into the Lakeside Trail, stash your bike and follow the Bold Ridge Trail uphill.

It's a wide track that climbs fairly efficiently, but may be overgrown in places. The timberline is reached in about a mile and a half, and the trail remains well defined as it heads into the higher tundra.

By this point you'll already have expansive views over the Eklutna basin, but there is more yet to see, either in the valley or on the ridge. The track mapped here is merely the main stem of the Bold Ridge Trail, and you have options for continuing from there.

Where this track turns around is a visible fork in the trail.

Go left to descend into the Bold Peak Valley, where you can camp among scattered boulders beneath the towering peak.

Go right to ascend Bold Ridge, and find one of the ultimate vistas in the Chugach.

You can continue as far as you like along the crest, though it eventually runs into Bold Peak's cliff-clad west ridge.