wellness
Anchorage's Top Walking Trails Rated by Distance and Difficulty
The city's Parks and Recreation Department updated its summer trail guide this week with new distance and difficulty rankings for local routes.
How we reported this
Anchorage Parks and Recreation released its 2026 trail rankings on July 7, listing the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail as the top easy option at 11 miles round trip and the Flattop Mountain Trail as the leading difficult route at 3.4 miles with 1,350 feet of elevation gain.
Residents have turned to these paths in larger numbers this summer as daylight stretches past 10 p.m. and local wellness programs push daily movement targets. The department tracks usage through trail counters and reports steady growth tied to neighborhood walking groups that meet weekly in downtown and midtown.
Coastal and Creek Routes for Steady Distance
The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs from downtown along the Knik Arm waterfront to Kincaid Park, with flat gravel sections popular for timed walks. Chester Creek Trail offers a 4-mile option through the Rogers Park neighborhood and connects to the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, where the Anchorage Trail Alliance maintains signage and benches installed in 2024. Both routes carry zero entry fees and stay open year-round except during heavy winter snow.
Department counters recorded 187,000 passes on the Tony Knowles route between January and June 2025, a 14 percent increase from the same period in 2024. The city charges $5 for daily parking at the Westchester Lagoon lot that serves the southern end of the coastal trail, while street parking remains free along the Chester Creek greenbelt.
Steep Mountain Options for Higher Intensity
Flattop Mountain Trail starts at the Glen Alps trailhead in the Chugach foothills and requires hikers to budget two to three hours for the out-and-back. The nearby Powerline Trail adds a 5-mile moderate alternative that branches off the same parking area and reaches Blueberry Hill without the full summit scramble. Both sites fall under Chugach State Park rules, which limit group size to 12 people to reduce trail wear.
Walkers new to the rankings should begin with the 2-mile loop at Campbell Creek Trail in south Anchorage before attempting steeper grades. The Parks and Recreation website lists current trail conditions and suggests checking with a local medical professional before starting any new routine.