The areas around Girdwood and Turnagain Arm offer gorgeous mountain scenery, lakes, creeks, and a variety wildlife—as well as plenty of bicycle trails that make it easy to absorb it all at your own pace. Need a bicycle? You can rent them at Powder Hound Ski and Bike Shop, located in the heart of Girdwood at the base of Alyeska Resort.

For each trail, we’ve recommended the best bicycle type, based on its terrain and difficulty level.

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Bike Trail Points

Difficulty: Easy Distance: 13 miles

With­out hes­i­ta­tion, the Bird to Gird is the most beau­ti­ful bike path in West­ern Alas­ka. This trail is 6 miles one way or 12 miles round trip; either way, the paved ride hugs Tur­na­gain Arm and con­nects three com­mu­ni­ties (Gird­wood, Bird and Indi­an). It’s per­fect for any lev­el bik­er — whether you just want to just cruise, go fast on a moun­tain bike, or expe­ri­ence the trail as a tourist (or even as a curi­ous local). It’s a shared trail, so you’ll  ...more

Difficulty: Moderate

If you have the abil­i­ty to trans­port bicy­cles, this trail makes for a great after­noon trip. The dirt path winds through the Portage Val­ley, pass­ing glacial lakes and end­ing at Portage Lake (this part of the trip is 5 miles each way). Make sure to bring your cam­era: you’ll see hang­ing glac­i­ers and, very like­ly, some wildlife.

Difficulty: Easy

Win­ner Creek Trail in Gird­wood (45 min­utes south of Anchor­age) is one of our favorite trails to take vis­it­ing friends and fam­i­ly. It’s an easy 3‑mile hike or bike ride on a wide, well-devel­oped trail with a gen­tle ele­va­tion gain that winds through America’s north­ern­most rain­for­est, cross­es a wood­en bridge over a thun­der­ing blue-water gorge. 2022: Hand tram cur­rent­ly closed, may replace with bridge. Local weigh­ing in.)

Difficulty: Moderate

Take this trail from the Gird-Bird Trail or from the Crow Creek entrance: You’ll enter at Cal­i­for­nia Creek Trail­head and take a left at the mark­ing onto Beaver Pond Trail. The trail then runs approx­i­mate­ly 2.5 miles along the base of Pen­guin Ridge. Although the trail can be a bit over­grown, crews have improved it immense­ly in recent years, and it’s now more acces­si­ble, all sea­son. Hike or bike. 

Difficulty: Moderate

This bike ride takes you along a pret­ty flat and mel­low sin­gle track, and through the heart of Gird­wood. Run­ning along Glac­i­er Creek, the trail con­nects the new and old town sites. This is a great ride for any­one new to moun­tain bik­ing, but it’s also an effi­cient way to get from one end of town to the other.