Alaska’s Mountain Bike Long Trails

THE 300 MILE CHUGACH MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL

Chugach Mountain Bike Riders (CMBR), Singletrack Advocates (STA), and Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers (VMBaH), working together as the Alaska Off-Road Cycling Alliance (ORCA) are proposing the 300-mile Chugach Mountain Bike Trail: starting in Anchorage, continuing to Seward and ending in Hope.

BIKING ON LONG TRAILS (BOLT)

This proposal is a part of the BOLT Act (Biking on Long Trails), which directs federal land management agencies under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service to identify existing and potential long distance biking trails.

Two long-distance bike trails already exist on the Kenai Peninsula: The Kenai 250, and the Southern Trek Iditarod. The Chugach Mountain Bike Trail combines these two existing routes and extends them to Anchorage up the proposed Twenty-mile Trail, the existing Winner Creek Trail, along the Bird to Gird Pathway, and over the proposed Arctic to Indian Traverse to connect to the Moose Loop and downtown Anchorage.

200 MILE KENAI AND 100 MILE IDITAROD MTB TRAILS

Of note: ORCA is also proposing designation for these smaller sections of trail that already exist, a 200 mile Kenai Mountain Bike Trail, inspired by the Kenai 250 route, and a 100 mile Southern Trek Iditarod Trail, although we recommend using the parallel recreational Lost Lake and Primrose Trails, instead of the Bear Creek and Meridian Lakes Trails on the latter.

The Kenai 250 is Alaska’s longest summer ultra-endurance bike ride, and a well-known bikepacking route that includes the well-established Resurrection and Russian Lakes Trails, which then connect via the gravel Snug Harbor Road and the Old Sterling Trail to the Southen Trek Iditarod Trail and Alaska’s Crown Jewel, the Lost Lake – Primrose Trail. The route then loops back to Devil’s Pass and finishes in Hope.

The Southern Trek Iditarod Trail connects Seward to Girdwood, including the IMBA Epic Johnson Pass Trail, and is one of the US Forest’ Service’s 15 trail maintenance prioirity areas per the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act of 2016. This 100+ mile long trail will be completed summer 2026 from the Alaska Railroad station in Seward to the station in Portage, making this a car-free option for riders coming from Anchorage.

NEW AND IMPROVED ROUTES

Please note that the routes ORCA is proposing are slightly different that the existing Kenai 250 and Southern Trek Iditarod routes. New bridges and trail construction along the Moose Pass Trail, Turnagain Pass Trail, and the Portage Curve Mulitimodal Trail, as well as reroutes onto the Lost Lake and Primrose Trails, remove significant portions of road miles and replace them with dozens of miles of newly constructed singletrack and separated pathways.

TRAIL IMPACT AND COMMUNITY

a. Why is this trail special to our cycling community, and the surrounding communities?

Access to the outdoors is quintessential to the Alaskan way of life and the Alaskan brand. The allure of world class backcountry experiences encourages folks to call these rugged landscapes home and for visitors to fuel local economies.

The routes we are proposing build upon the most iconic trails in all of Alaska. These are trails steeped in cultural and historical significance. Any Alaskan can tell you stories and legends around the Iditarod Historic Trail from a young age. Cycling the Resurrection Trail is a coming of age pilgrimage for all Alaskan mountain bikers. These are cherished lands. Seamlessly interconnecting these renowned resources is a natural next step in improving quality of life and economic opportunites in Alaska.

This route also takes advantage of trails that already have a great deal of developmental momentum, and we are hoping to capture synergies under one unifying banner. The Alaska Long Trail and Iditarod Southern Trek Projects are actively rewriting the book on long trail developement in Alaska. Every summer, new trails are added to our vast network. It is up to us to tell the story of how all these incredible resources interconnect and expand upon one another.

b. What local communities benefit from the trail?

Connecting Alaska’s population and economic epicenter, Anchorage, with the communities of the Kenai Peninsula via one continuous trail is the largest opportunity of all recreation development projects in the state. Once the Kenai is tied to Anchorage via a non-motorized route, we vastly expand the base of people who would consider traveling to Alaska to undertake such an adventure. We also ensure a steady flow of year-round local use and related events, helping to boost quality of life and rural economies. As it stands today, the logistical hurdles necessary to bikepack in Alaska keep many from exploring the outstanding trails in the region.

While all communities along the route will benefit from a BOLT designation: Anchorage, Indian, Girdwood, Moose Pass, Seward, Coopers Landing, and Hope; the smaller the community, the greater the opportunity for gain. With such a designation, southcentral Alaska can boast a recreational opportunity to rival that of hiking the Pacific Crest or Appalachian Trail. Patronizing these communities as part of a once in a lifetime adventure should be a part of any avid recreationalists bucket list.

c. What other user groups (aside from bikers) is the trail accessible to?

Hikers (and their impacts to local economies) are just as significant a user group to this route as cyclists. Much of these routes already serve as hotspots for equestrian use, and proposed new sections of trail will further open up access for horseback riding.

Unique to Alaska is our vastly different seasonal recreational opportunities. When it comes to cycling on the snow, the more use a trail gets, the better the cycling becomes. By increasing the draw for these trail segments, we further expand fat biking in southcentral Alaska, already a hotbed for the sport internationally.

This route will also be an excellent resource for those seeking multi-day backcountry and crosscountry ski, snowshoe and dog mushing opportunities.

While most of the route is closed to motorized use in the summer months, there are multiple segments that open to snowmachines/snowmobiles in the winter.

d. local/regional groups that steward all or portions of the long-distance trail:

Alaska Off-Road Cycling Alliance (including Chugach Mountain Bike Riders, Singletrack Advocates and Valley Mountain Bikers and Hikers)
Alaska Trails
Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance
Kenai Mountains-Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area
Anchorage Park Foundation

e. Describe how recognition as a BOLT trail could benefit the stewardship and long-term sustainability of the trail and the communities it connects.

With so many incredible partners, communities, resources, ongoing projects, and trails in the region it can often be difficult to keep all the opportunities straight and refocus our collective vision on the bigger picture. Within Alaska’s wide and complicated map of overlapping land managers and nonprofits, it is not a lack of will to steward or sustainably develop our lands that hinders us, but a lack of glue that keeps us working together towards a shared outcome bigger than any one of us. A BOLT trail designation is the ideal glue to help shepherd all our collective interests and energies in a cohesive and reoccurring manner.

While many incredible trails emblematic of Alaskan grandeur dot this region, there remains a lack of a unifying route tying all our communities together. Unlike locations in the lower 48 states and elsewhere, it is truly possible to interconnect every single population and commerce hub from Anchorage to Seward in this manner. As we knit towns together, everyone stands to benefit.

More than a designation, we are seeking to build a cultural phenomenon around long distance, backcountry cycling in Alaska. A BOLT Trail in southcentral Alaska is the next step in that journey.