Lake Clark National Park Hiking Trails

This trail makes a loop around a small beaver pond and con­nects back via the Tana­lian Falls trail. It’s espe­cial­ly beau­ti­ful in fall, fall, when gold­en birch trees explode in col­or. This is the gen­tlest of the avail­able hikes in Port Alsworth.

This rel­a­tive­ly lev­el, mod­er­ate­ly intense trail mean­ders through the for­est, with inter­mit­tent views of Lake Clark to the North, Tana­lian Moun­tain to the east, and Holey and Martha’s Moun­tains to the south. It ends at the impres­sive­ly pow­er­ful Tana­lian Falls. Make it a loop by return­ing via the Beaver Pond Loop.

Begin this hike on the Tana­lian Falls trail; con­tin­ue past the falls to the shores of Kon­trashi­buna Lake. This long, nar­row lake is nes­tled between steep moun­tains on either shore. The offi­cial trail ends at the lake, but a brushed, unmain­tained social trail con­tin­ues along the lake’s north shore. 

This is the most stren­u­ous of the hik­ing options in Port Alsworth, but the views are worth the effort. From the sum­mit of Tana­lian Moun­tain, you’ll enjoy a 360-degree view of Lake Clark, Kon­trashi­buna Lake, and the Chig­mit Mountains.

Climb the only main­tained trail out­side of Port Alsworth. Fol­low the trail for one mile to cross Portage Creek. Con­tin­ue anoth­er two miles into the alpine tun­dra. From the end of the trail, you can explore for miles along an alpine ridge over­look­ing Lake Clark. 

This out-and-back trail leaves from the His­toric Proen­neke Cab­in site and ascends to a promi­nent point ½‑mile behind the cab­in to the north of Hope Creek. A unique­ly bal­anced rock marks the end of this trail and makes a great spot to take in the view of Upper Twin Lake. 

This trail leaves from the prim­i­tive camp­ground at Hope Creek. The trail fol­lows the south side of Hope Creek ascend­ing the creek’s val­ley for miles. This is a great val­ley for catch­ing a glimpse of black or brown bears or Dall sheep. 

This trail leaves from the Emer­son Creek delta, on the north side of Upper Twin Lakes, just east of the stream that con­nects the Upper and Low­er Twin Lakes. A good end­ing point is a large water­fall, 1.75 miles up the trail. You can stop at the bot­tom of the falls or climb a steep trail to the bluff above the falls. The trail con­tin­ues into the alpine, but even­tu­al­ly dis­ap­pears into the tundra.

This 12-plus-mile back­pack­ing route lets you see the park’s most icon­ic lakes: the alpine Turquoise Lake and the bore­al Twin Lakes. Wildlife is com­mon along this route, espe­cial­ly Dall sheep in the alpine val­leys between the lakes.

Choose this trip if you want to com­mit to few­er miles and don’t mind a lit­tle bushwack­ing. The flights for this trip are typ­i­cal­ly the least expen­sive of the trips list­ed here; since it’s the clos­est to Port Alsworth it requires less flight time.

Choose this trip if you def­i­nite­ly want to vis­it Richard Proenneke’s cab­in and you want a chal­leng­ing hike. Of the main three Lake Clark back­pack­ing trips, this trip offers the most chal­leng­ing ter­rain and requires the most back­coun­try nav­i­ga­tion skills.