Falls Creek Trail
To find the trailhead, go south on the Seward Highway out of Anchorage.
Just past milepost 106 there is a small parking lot on the left side of the road with a waterfall in front of it.
Blue signs along the right side of the highway help indicate the location
of the trailhead parking lot. The
waterfall is not visible from the highway when one is southbound, so keep a
sharp eye out for the mileposts and blue signs. There are no facilities anywhere along this trail.
There is also no fee to park or use the trail. Parking
is limited to about ten vehicles.
At this point the tall grasses and bushes comprise the majority of flora. The trail becomes muddy and wet, so hiking boots are definitely recommended. The creek forks up into two separate valleys, but the trail crosses the smaller right fork and climbs up to a saddle between the two creek valleys. The top of this saddle is a terrific place to picnic, and even camp if you are tough enough to pack your tent and sleeping bag. I estimate that I covered two to two and a half miles to make it to this point. It took us two hours to climb this high. From the saddle the view down through the valleys is a sight to behold. Above the saddle the trail continues onto
Stegosaurus Ridge. I named it Stegosaurus because it is very narrow and
huge rocks stick up from the top of the spine. This portion of the climb
is dangerous, and not recommended for small children. There are portions
where one must use both hands and feet to scale the rock. The trail also
becomes quite narrow on the top, with steep drop-offs on either side. To
make the heart race a little faster, this ptarmigan started raising a heck of a
fuss when I came too close. During this potion of the climb I had the pleasure of meeting Paul and Sherry. These two are avid climbers who have spend a lot of time exploring the Chugach Mountains. They explained that it was possible to descend from Stegosaurus down the back side and around the lake that feeds Falls Creek. I climbed with them to the top, but turned around to return the direction I had come. Claimjumper had turned back at the saddle and if she was waiting for me along the trail there was the chance that if I took a different route, I would miss her. Paul and Sherry ended up reaching the parking lot just minutes after I did. They are much faster hikers than I am, and had even stopped to gather some incredible blueberries along the way. They were even kind enough to share them with Claimjumper and me! Last Visited: August 2002
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This is a difficult hike but well worth the effort.
I rate this hike as difficult due to steepness.
These birds are so well camoflaged that I did not realize I was right next to it
until it squawked. The descent is even more hair raising since it is
difficult to see where to put toes trying to scale back down. From the
parking lot to the top of Falls Creek Trail on Stegosaraus Ridge is 3.6 miles.
