Ptarmigan Valley Trail is a 10.8 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Chugiak, Alaska and is rated as difficult. The trail is primarily used for hiking and cross country skiing and is best used from June until August. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Chugach State Park charges a $5 daily parking fee. You can also purchase an annual parking pass for $60.
January 15, 2021
October 3, 2020Little muddy but otherwise awesome! There is a summer and winter trail route. The winter trail is the route you follow based on the All Trails app.
August 31, 2020Awesome trail. Little over grown towards the end and had to do some bush wacking. We ended up going over the mountain to meet up with Black Tail trail to Mount Baldy in Eagle River. 11 ish miles and beautiful!
July 10, 2020I did this trail one way from Baldy/Blacktail Rocks then followed Ptarmagin Valley to TH. Need to have a shuttle vehicle this way. Nice views higher up.
May 12, 2020It wasn’t terrible, but it was muddy at the beginning. There’s still a lot of snow towards the middle of the trail.
October 19, 2019Hiked it today and was crunchy ice where mud puddles were but no snow yet. The best part is when we get to the top. Views are awesome.
August 9, 2019Great trail but overgrown in late summer. We only got about 2.5 miles in when we decided to turn back because of the overgrowth. We found the Summer Trail mentioned in previous reviews and that became impassable after a short distance. We'll put it on our list for June next year!
July 16, 2019Very overgrown, bushy and buggy. No bear scat but definitely bear country. No good views . Will maybe do in winter but not summertime
May 29, 2019Gorgeous. Recommend ice cleats, would have had to go much slower without them, def mud trail. I only went in for an hourish. If you can take longer, do. Just got more lovely every step after hitting the “summer trail”
February 19, 2019Great trail, definitely not an easy one. Especially in the winter. Bring poles and snowshoes if you plan on going all the way up. My phone tracked that I climbed 110 flights of stairs while on this trail. It’s a lot longer than listed.
October 5, 2018Nice jeep trail that eventually turns into a snowmobile track at about 2 miles. Easy trail, with a few steeper parts, but totally do-able.
July 31, 2018This trails goes so much further that listed. The forest is so lush don't expect to get any good views until you get much higher
July 23, 2018agree with other reviewers, moderate difficulty at least.
June 12, 2018Not “easy”. Some steep inclines and it never ends. Very thick wooded trail made me very cautious. At the clearing before the trail head is a party/dump spot, lots of broken bottles, trash, needles. Do not let kids and dogs run around there
June 10, 2018Not a beginner trail- was a lot of uphill hiking - It is hard to determine where the trail ends unless you have the app - we hiked 2 miles in and went to the left up the summer trail - there is a beautiful viewpoint there.
June 5, 2018Good hike, uphill most of the way there. The trail doesn’t really end, and by the time I checked back with the app I had overshot what it said was the end by over a mile. And that was totally worth it!! Amazing views. But wasn’t expecting to hike that long.
May 31, 2018Great hike, had some spots that were steeper than expected. Carried my almost 3 year old, so it felt more intense. Made it 1.5 miles in and turned back, it was a great workout. My 5 year old hiked it too, and did great!
May 29, 2018Great trail with lots of nice views. Really pretty in the spring.
January 14, 2018Easy walk/jog
August 28, 2017The trail is nice though the markings are not necessarily clear when it comes to the fork to go left unless you are familiar with the trail.
June 10, 2017Quite an enjoyable hike. Was able to go all the way to Baldy and down it from this trail. Though if you ever decide to the same go the other direction. Baldy to Ptarmigan. Would have been much easier going downhill instead of up the whole time.
September 16, 2016great trail with a good incline when you get to the look out point option to go to three different mtn ranges! great day hike!
May 8, 2015This Is a great trail that starts in Chugiak. The trail map says it goes 6 miles back but this trail can connect all the way to Baldy or black tail which ever you prefer. The first mile of trail is up and down with steep to gradual inclines. Once you get a mile back you get into the valley flat and easy going another mile for this bit. Once you reach the large water crossing with a bridge you'll start climbing elevation slowly. You'll come to a flatter area when your up in the mountains if you look to the North (directly behind you) you'll see the valley and mountains, to your left (east) you'll see round top. Continue on the trail to baldy after that. I would recommend mapping out the last bit of the trail portions of the trail might be difficult to find. We Hiked this one last night after work and it took us about 4 hrs to the top before you keep going on to baldy.
April 5, 2015
First to ReviewI led a hike here once a week for several months (September/October/November) with hike it baby anchorage (mommy/baby hiking group) and it is one of my favorites. Small hills through dense trees and high grass for the first .75miles then goes into a semi-deep fault line. After that it starts to ascend up for about 2 miles then it clears and there are beautiful views of the inlet. I've only made it 3 miles out on the trail but i plan on doing the whole trail this summer. If done at a good pace you could make it a workout if you wanted to. The solitude is the best part, in the trees it has a very peaceful feeling to it
January 24, 2021
