Photo by ANNE RAUP / Anchorage Daily News
Whether your hobby is hiking, biking, climbing or camping, Eklutna Lake offers a variety of options to pass the waning summer days. The lake's beautiful aquamarine waters, the source of most of Anchorage's drinking water, attract kayakers, canoeists and electric-motor boat operators as well.
Every opportunity for enjoying Eklutna Lake
Head Out
Published: August 10, 2006
Last Modified: August 14, 2006 at 03:45 AM
A rotund pile of berry-filled scat greeted Colleen and I at about Mile 10 of the Eklutna Lakeside Trail last weekend. As we rounded a bend in the trail and saw it there like a big red warning sign, we kept pedaling.
No big deal.
Then we noticed the fresh prints in the dust, right on top of the tire tracks of the mountain biker who had passed us just a few minutes before.
We slowed.
"This is where Jon would say it's time to turn around," Colleen said of her husband.
We looked at each other for about a nanosecond, smiled and went, "Naah, let's keep going."
Because, really now, who would turn around when there are only three short miles to go?
Eklutna Lake is one of those places that never fails to impress me. Sure, it is not as exciting to tell someone, "Oh, this weekend we packed up our bikes and traversed Kesugi Ridge" or "We spent the past two days hiking the Chilkoot Pass Trail."
But that's not the point, is it?
Eklutna Lake is close by, inexpensive and packed with things to do. You can go there as an afterthought and still come back with fun memories of the experiences had there.
Kayakers take to the water and paddle around the lake; anglers cast for Dolly Varden; mountain bikers ride the 26-mile round-trip Lakeside Trail; hikers explore trails such as Twin Peaks, Bold Ridge, East Fork and more. Even technical climbers can busy themselves on such surrounding mountains as Bashful and Bold peaks.
Our three-family group spent two nights at Eklutna's Yuditna Creek public-use cabin, set three miles up the trail, packing in our gear with mountain bikes. We rode bikes, explored the woods and lounged by a campfire. We listened to bad '70s rock music (long live Peter Frampton!) and drank pot after pot of what Jon referred to as "church coffee." We listened to the rain fall and eventually stripped down to nothing and skinny-dipped in the lake just to say we had.
See? There's always a good time to be had at Eklutna Lake.
For starters, Eklutna Lake is just plain beautiful. Even on a rainy day, the mist hanging low over the six-mile-long lake gives the place an air of mystery. But on sunny days, it is simply spectacular. The aquamarine waters of the lake -- which is the source of most of Anchorage's drinking water, by the way -- glisten, beckoning kayakers, canoeists and electric-motor boat operators.
Lifetime Adventures, a local concessionaire based at the park, offers kayak rentals and lessons for beginners. It also rents bikes for those who want to stay on dry ground and explore this state recreation site along the Lakeside Trail. It's a wide, 13-mile one-way trail that ends unceremoniously along the west fork of the Eklutna River.
Most of it is easy riding, but the last three miles contain deep river rock through which you have to pedal furiously to keep upright. Experienced hikers can continue on to Eklutna Glacier, which is quite technical and best left to experts.
Back at the Eklutna campground, there is plenty to do, too. The Twin Peaks Trail is the most obvious of the marked trails, just beyond the campground, where Lifetime Adventures has its visitor center cabin set up. At 2.5 miles, it is a steep trail that will get your heart rate up. The views, however, are incredible. Some years, there is great berry picking toward the top, but you'll have to explore off trail for those opportunities.
When I first visited Eklutna Lake in 1995, it was still a narrow, gravel 10-mile haul to reach the campground, which was a crude place, at best. Today, the entire road is paved. This includes the campground road, where you have to watch out for people -- especially children -- on bikes.
I'm not sure how I feel about the improvements. While it does give the place a more groomed look and surely has reduced the amount of maintenance required to keep the road in good driving condition, it has lost some of its "Alaskan" feel.
Now, instead of knowing there will be a campsite available if you drive up after work on a Friday, you often have to sneak out a day early, or drive in by lunchtime to secure yourself a spot among the RVs and Coleman camp stoves that are likely to be set up all over.
Regardless, it's still a great place. I love it.
• Daily News reporter Melissa DeVaughn can be reached at mdevaughn@adn.com.
Biking, camping
Where: Eklutna Lake
When: Year-round
How much: $50 for the Yuditna Creek cabin, $10 to camp at campground
Contact: 345-5014, www.alaska stateparks.org; Lifetime Adventures, 1-800-9KATMAI, www.lifetimeadventures.net
