South Fork Eagle River Trail is a 10.7 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Eagle River, Alaska that features a lake and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
dogs on leash
backpacking
camping
hiking
horseback riding
nature trips
trail running
walking
bird watching
forest
lake
river
views
wild flowers
wildlife
Trail is in great shape. Beautiful hike. Travel wisely, thick bear country. I like to hike this after the leaves have fallen.
Trail-head parking was easy to find, and pretty empty before sunrise. Trail is pretty easy to follow and clearly marked at a few trail intersections, until you come to the moraine field towards the end. There are cairns throughout the boulder field, but its easy to get turned around. When in doubt, keep to the left side of the boulder field and keep your eyes pealed for the cairns. The little hut at the end can provide some cover for extremely windy days. No animal sightings :(. Great hike!
Beautiful hike with lots of beautiful scenery
Beautiful hike in the Fall! Great trail that takes you by lakes, a stream a boulder field at the end. Well maintained and traveled.
Great views of Eagle and Symphony lakes. There are about 3 campsites down towards Eagle lake and 3 or 4 more down near Symphony lake. You cannot camp in or near the shelter because of terrain. There is one tree for shade in the area. If camping there in the summer, bring your own shade. The rock scramble easily adds a few miles worth of effort to the hike.
The trail is reopened after the fatal mauling.
Be bear aware; this trail is part of the bears home area, bring bear spray,make noise, dont hike alone and stay together.
The trail itself is well maintained, easy to follow and clean. The last section you need to cross a boulder field,watch your step,and take your time. The first bridge is roughly half way there. We had no issue with bugs but still brought bug spray.
It is a long walk bring enough water and snacks/lunch. don't forget to bring your trash out with you.
Closed due to brown bear attacks 7/12/18
C C.
Don’t do this hike right now, there was a fatal bear attack weeks ago and Fish and Game was unable to find the bear responsible in this area. They recently reopened the area, but with an increase in bear sightings in the area they closed it and placed traps. Please be safe! (ADN article below for more information)
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2018/07/11/bear-traps-reset-after-new-encounters-in-area-of-fatal-eagle-river-mauling/
Great first hike with my dog. Views aren't the best but still a relaxing hike. The trail leads off into a few other trails to explore next time. We only went as far as the bridge over the creek this time around.
Took the trail back to Symphony and Eagle lakes, it was absolutely beautiful. Well worth the trek!
This was a very beautiful trail. Scenic and easy. There was a yellow bear alert up when we were there. Be safe and alert at all times.
Mimi N.
It’s a great hiking trail. A lot of uphill but it’s not too bad even for a sedentary out-of-shape person like me. I didn’t do the entire trail though, stopped at the bridge with a nice view of the river and the valley. We saw a moose along the trail.
Finished this hike this morning. Trail was dry most of the way but the wet/muddy areas were passable. Lakes are free of ice though there are some patches of snow.
Started around 11am this morning. trail was nice and dry most of the way with very few patches of snow here and there. Both lakes were still partially frozen but still well worth the hike in
Easy hike as far as elevation goes. Beautiful. We saw moose, ptarmigan and sheep. A little busy for my liking, but it was on Memorial Day. We were geocaching, so we put in 12.5 miles, per the Garmin.
Bill T.
Nice easy trip to Symphony and Eagle Lakes. Several good camping spots along shore of Symphony Lake. Trail still a little muddy. Both lakes frozen on 5/27. Many ptarmigan and terns near the lakes.
Very popular day hike. Distance is wrong on trail description. It’s 6.3 miles to the lakes.
Hiked this trail today, started off at 0930 with one other vehicle in the parking lot. It was a rather easy hike however, I only made it out about 3.5 to 4 miles. 95% of the trail is soft slushy snow. The views were amazing the entire way. I can't wait to go back in the next few weeks/months once it thaws out a bit more. Most of the incline is right at the beginning of the trail for maybe .3 miles. After that it was pretty flat with small hills.
just finished this beautiful hike. me and my husband did it in about 2 hours with turn offs to the river a few times.
Fairly easy, fun hike. Brought plenty of water and picnic food. Enjoyed immensely
Tatum Y.
The trail all the way to the lakes and back is more like 13-14 miles but it was a beautiful view! I want to go back and camp next time!
Gorgeous!!!!! Quite the Boulder field leading to the lakes
Awesome experience
Just awesome
This was a beautiful trail! We took two dogs, a seven year old and a 7 week old in a front pack. We are traveled well through out the hike but it was longer than expected. Walking back from the lakes the kiddo decided he wanted to hitch a ride on his dad's back. A little long for little kids but very beautiful and easy to walk, just long.
Beautiful and very long. Next time I attempt I will dress better for the hike. Was around 78 and I decided to wear jeans...bad idea. At the halfway point I was dead. Three bottles of water was not enough. Lots of people and dogs on the trail and everyone was friendly.
Completed this hike with a local friend of mine. The trail was great and the scenery even better. The only negative that I saw was the trash. I'll never understand why people can't pack out what they pack in.
I'm glad we went in on a Sunday as there weren't any crowds, but on our hike out on Monday we passed a few large groups of backpackers on their way to adventure.
Great scenery and a relatively level hike. My 4 year old made it to the end but had to catch a ride on my shoulders on the way back. The boulders were fun and the lakes were beautiful! Make sure to pay attention to time!
Lovely walk/hike! moderately easy, though it is a bit lengthy. Seems pretty busy on the weekends, I'm sure the crowds calm down in weekdays/off-season. if you follow this trail and pass Eagle Lake to the left, it will lead you to Flute Glacier's terminus (this glacier is the reason why Eagle Lake is milky-azure in color). I would recommend Flute Glacier be done in an overnight.
Nice easy hike! Beautiful scenery. Parked on street because parking lot was full we all ended up with tickets.