McHugh Peak is a 5.4 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Anchorage, Alaska that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
A great ridge walk, but can get cold and windy. There is very limited parking at the trailhead.
February 28, 2021Windy definitely needs micro spikes
February 8, 2021Great day, not much wind. Trail pretty easy to follow- lots of wind blown parts. Micro spikes very helpful!
February 1, 2021Did this one on 31 Jan. First time doing it in the winter, and it was excellent! Clearly this area is heavily windswept, so much of the trail was free of snow and bare right down to the rock. The last half was covered in snow, but since it was windswept, the trail was very hard-packed and easy to walk on/easy to follow. I’d say always be prepared for wind on this trail. Bring a balaclava to protect your face, and expect that the snow will shift constantly.
January 9, 2021January 2, 2021Perfect day on 01/02/2021. Micro spikes needed. The review below says it all- same goes for today.
January 1, 20211/1/21 Was a perfect way to kick off the new year. Trail conditions were prime, the snow you walked on was all very solid, but plenty of bare areas for January. Glad I did this trail on this day, because it was a super clear and you could see Mount Iliamna and Mount Redoubt, Denali and Foraker were out and glorious. The Turnagain Arm and the Kenai Mountains were all super visable, but the arm had some low hanging fog which added to the visuals. Great day to take pictures. This is a pretty long hike even for 5.6 miles or whatever. It is tiring. I got it done in about 2 hour and 45 minutes or so, but took longer to take pictures and video at the top and along the way, so somewhere in the 3 hour mark total I suppose. Highly recommend in the winter if the the weather is nice all day and clear, and you have enough daylight
December 25, 2020pretty easy to find trail till you hit the ridge and then it disappears.
November 27, 2020First half mile was steep but on ridge line so beautiful and worth it.
November 24, 2020Nice beautiful view get chill easy when the wind pick up.
November 11, 2020Nice trail. Late, late add. Hiked trail when stationed at Elmendorf.
October 11, 2020We got lucky with no wind and just a light snow drizzle. Amazing hike 4hr out and back.
October 10, 2020Great day- snow up top!
October 4, 2020First half mile was very muddy and slippery. Got really windy once on the ridge and had to turn around at the second saddle due to winds that were too intense- couldn’t walk without fear of being blown off ridge - ended up going off trail down the side of ridge for some wind cover. We could see the peak and it has snow. Overall the views were beautiful and I can’t wait to try this hike again.
September 23, 2020September 19, 2020
September 13, 2020Swell
September 12, 2020September 7, 2020Beautiful hike but I’d rate this more as difficult. It was straight up from the beginning, but beautiful view once you get to the top. Parking is extremely limited due to private property in the area. We had to park around 1/2 away from the trailhead
September 6, 2020This is a great trail. Will come again. There are 5 designated parking spots so keep that in mind if you come here.
September 4, 2020Flurries near the peak tonight!
August 26, 2020Muddy and slippery - incline is somewhat difficult especially after rainfall
August 21, 2020I'm out of shape, but it's steep man. Turned around halfway through, still got some really nice views at that point.
August 16, 2020Expect to park in the overflow area and walk .6 miles to the trailhead. Be careful on way down due to lose rock.
August 12, 2020Pretty steep on your way up. Very slippery in the rain. Beautiful views and worth the climb. Wasn’t able to finish the last half mile due to sheep hanging out on the trail.
