Discover Tranquil Glacial Landscapes at South Fork Valley Trailhead
Located just 30 minutes from downtown Anchorage in Eagle River, AK, the South Fork Valley Trailhead offers hikers an accessible yet stunning hiking area through a beautiful glacial valley. This approximately 12-mile round-trip hike provides 4 to 5 hours of scenic exploration without overly taxing the legs.
Locals and visitors alike appreciate this trail for its peaceful environment and dog-friendly appeal. Recent improvements include wooden walkways that eliminate muddy sections, enhancing the hiking experience. Along the path, Symphony Lake offers the chance to see fish, adding to the trail’s natural charm.
Winter hikers also enjoy the packed snow trail, with snow spikes recommended for safety. For an easy-to-moderate hike with breathtaking vistas close to the city, South Fork Valley Trailhead is an excellent choice.
Add Review
Read More Reviews
Jared Garrett
7 months agoIf you're looking for a trailhead that's only 30 minutes from downtown Anchorage in Eagle River that takes you on a fairly easy hike into a beautiful glacial valley and which is about 6 miles in and 6 miles out so you can plan on 4 to 5 hours of awesome, stunning vistas and not overly tired legs-- then you have found it in the South Fork Valley Trailhead. A popular location for the locals and a delightful place for their dogs, you'll have a great time. Just bring dramamine for the curvy and up-and-down road to the parking lot.
ArtificialCheeseBro
2 years agoGreat hike, a June 2024 update though. First off, the mud is no more. There are now VERY nice wooden walkways over the mud on middle and last parts of the trail. We went after a 5+ day dry period, minimal wet areas, easily dealt with. There were fish visible near shore on Symphony Lake, opens July 1st, check regulations. We took about 5 hours for the round trip, spent 30 minutes on site.
Michael
6 months agoSmall parking lot with a broken parking meter. Lots of blueberries up the trail! People park along the road outside. The homeowners around have signs asking for no parking in front of their property’s so be courteous.
Melissa Rappleye
3 years agoAbsolutely love this hike, one of my favorites in the area. I've gone there in the fall several times, but finally hiked it in the winter and it's great. It was a little hard to find the trail out of the parking lot... Will you leave the parking lot just fine but then so many people have forked off to go skiing, snowshoeing, or hiking.. We didn't quite know which trail was the correct trail. We were able to get to the correct trail very easily. The winter trail is pretty narrow because people have packed it down single file. I would highly recommend snow spikes, but most of our group didn't have them and did just fine.
Mike Sage
7 years agoGreat hike near town. A near 12 mile round trip. The boulder field is a bit large but I mean, it’s a boulder field resulting from a Glacier so it’s to be expected. But it has a beautiful view and the hike has very little elevation gain when doing the Eagle/Symphony lake trail. There are other hikes that start from this point as well that have some serious elevation gain but the main trail does not. Great hike.