Falls Creek is a 5 mile out and back trail located near Indian, Alaska that features a waterfall. The trail is rated as difficult and primarily used for hiking and camping.
First it was a steep ascent through the woods. Then it was a buggy but peaceful stroll along the falls. Then it was snowy with grand views of the mountains.
Make sure you know your friends. If they’re triathletes and tell you this is an “easy” hike; don’t listen. It’s hard. It’s steep. It’s harder coming down. But it’s well worth it. If you have climbing experience skip the lake and keep scrambling up to the right, left of the southern valley. It is beeeautiful up there especially when the clouds roll in. But bring poles for the way back if you’re not super experienced. And be careful. Wear really grippy shoes. P.S. There are a couple places you have to cross the stream; if you can jump 5 feet across bring waterproof footwear.
A little hard at the beginning but it’s absolutely gorgeous especially once you get to the flatter part of the valley. Fall is really starting to show her colors!
First off, let me just say: if you are not an experienced hiker, you may want to reconsider going to the top of this bad boy. This was tough! Challenging! Maybe it’s because I work in an office 8-5 and don’t do this enough, but wow, this was brutal. I read some of the reviews and for the most part people made it sound capable. It is SO steep the entire way up, there’s no break, you climb 3000ft over 2.5 miles. It took us over 6 hours up and down, that’s including taking multiple breaks and stopping to pick blueberries. I saw men, women, children, dogs, etc, and I don’t understand how they made it up to the top and back. Maybe I’m a wuss, definitely thought working out often would have prepared me for that but sike. Anyways, if you DO decide to go, you can get some pretty cool views from the top, see some wildlife like goats and prairie dogs, and pick some wild blueberries. Would I do it again? Absolutely not. Honestly a bit underwhelmed for what I expected, just mostly hard work.
This hike was okay, there are so many incredible hikes in Alaska that set the bar so high so I was a little disappointed. The trail wasn’t too strenuous. The first part was steeper, but I was surprised how many flatter parts there were. It takes a while to get above tree line.
Continual up all the way to lake. Went early and seemed to be less bugs. I continued past the lake to grab both summits on the suicide peaks. Saw an ewe, multiple ptarmigans, and a million marmots. There was also some sort of sea monkey life in the lake. Trail looked like it could become very slick with just a little rain.
This hike kicked my ass. It was an especially hot day and after the first couple of miles you lose your cover. That said, it's an absolutely beautiful hike to either the ridge or the lake. Saw mountain goats and lots of marmots along the way. I'm not an expert hiker but after lots of sweat and a couple screams of frustration I made it. Wear bug dope.
Bugs were really bad! The views made up for it but we had to turn around at 2000’ because my kiddo couldn’t take the bugs anymore.
Dont be a fool like me. Bring bug spray. If you have knee probs, bring your braces and your poles. Nicely kept trail, it is on the narrow side. View of the arm if you keep going up!
The first hour of the hike was pretty steep, but not too bad. I loved the sound of the creek. I am a little sad that the lake wasn’t thawed out, I was hoping to jump in. Definitely will come back at the end of the summer.
soft, deep snow was a real problem above the treeline! view was awe inspiring at the frozen lake though!