Hiking Lion's Head Trail In Alaska: A Stunning Adventure With Epic Views

Have you ever been to Alaska? If not, I would immediately put it on your traveling bucket list.

A friend of mine said he was going there for a worktrip/long weekend (he’s an engineer). Ironically, he was going back to the same city - Anchorage - where he grew up and spent a large portion of his adult life.

So when he told me about the trip a month ago, I was immediately thinking two things: "I need to go," and "I need to hike something." A mountain. An anthill. Anything to say that I hiked in ALASKA.

My boy Andrew set me up with an absolute home run of hike, at Lion’s Head Trail in Sutton-Alpine.

Here’s my analysis of the hike.

BASIC FACTS ABOUT THE TRAIL

Town: Glacier View, which is 100 miles north of Anchorage, the state’s biggest city.

Distance: Roughly 2.3 miles

Vertical Gain: 1,000 feet

Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

Difficulty: On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe a 6.

Andrew was waxing ad nauseam about how much harder Alaskan mountains are than the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

"You’re going to see real mountains for the first time in your life, nothing like those tine White Mountains."

"You're not going to be ready for the challenge of these peaks."

Turns out, I was ready. I’m proud to say that I completed the hike with little to no difficulty and felt great afterward.

(It might be because this trail was comparatively easy, or because - as the kids say - I’m built different. I’ll go with the latter option).

The Hike In Pictures

A hike like this demands that you bring a camera, so I had my Canon Rebel strapped and ready on the way. Andrew’s 65-year-old dad, Brian, also joined us. Can confirm this dude is a Chad King.

The trail itself was interesting, to say the least. Since you’re gaining so much elevation in such a short amount of time, it feels like you’re on a Stairmaster.

Left: Tree roots rest above the soil of trail. Right: A backwards view of the trail above the tree line. Photo by John Simmons.

Except the steps aren't grooved rubber. It’s a mixture of tree roots and loose rocks, and for a large chunk of the trail, you are wading through thick underbrush.

Before you get scared off by this, there are two things in your favor. 1) The stretches of these difficult footholds don’t last too long, and 2) you have tons of secure branches to pull yourself up as you ascend.

Once you get past the first third of the hike, you’re on far more solid ground.

On the way up, I kept looking around my shoulder and I swear I felt like I was looking at the Misty Mountains (that’s my obligatory Lord of the Rings reference). But seriously, every time I turned to look towards Matanuska Glacier, it felt as though I were looking at the space where heaven and earth touched.

I wish my video could do it justice, but it can’t. You’ll just have to go see for yourself someday.

And that wasn’t even the view from the top. Once you got to the summit, the scenery was somehow even better.

A look at Matanuska Glacier from the summit of Lion's Head. Photo by John Simmons.

Left to right: Me, Brian Gray, and Andrew Gray. Photo by John Simmons.

Me trying to look photogenic. Photo by Andrew Gray.

The craziest part of the whole thing is the dangerous element of the beauty I was looking at. Being the impulsive adventurer I am, I asked if it would be safe to walk on the glacier we were looking at. Both Andrew and Brian said it wasn’t advisable, because if you do, you fall in a crevice and never be seen again.

Lesson learned. Nature can be beautiful, but you better respect it, or else it could kill you.

Speaking of things that could kill you, we did not see a grizzly bear at any point. Apparently, they will run away if you’re loud, but if you run into one by a river during peak salmon run season…you better have your will written.

Thankfully, we didn’t have the same problem Jim Gaffigan had at one point.

Unexpected Beauty 

The glacier is obviously the main selling point, but that doesn’t mean it was the only beautiful thing I saw in Alaska, far from it. Here are a few quick snapshots of other things I saw.

Left: a bee rests on a wildflower. Right: a batch of pinecones that didn't grow that big. (Photo by John Simmons).

Overall Rating: 10/10

If I lived anywhere near this trail, I’d hike it at least twice a month. The ROI for this hike is uncanny. Unfortunately, this trail is closer to Russia than it is my front door, so I’ll have to wait a while before I can go back. 

But my gosh, it was amazing. I’m forever going to remember this trail, and I can’t thank Andrew and Brian enough for making this trip happen.

Until next time, Alaska. I’ll be back as soon as I can.