Pillar Mountain Trail

One of the area’s more popular hikes (or drives, as there’s a road to the top), Pillar Mountain offers a moderate, 2.5-mile climb to an alpine summit overlooking town. Your heart, lungs, and legs may burn, but you’ll have great views and see excellent wildflowers, as most of the trail is above treeline. You’ll recognize the peak, since it dominates the sky over Kodiak. And if you get winded on this hike, consider the runners who race up here in the annual Pillar Mountain Trail Race; the winners go up and back in just under an hour! There are three wind turbines on the mountain, and another three are scheduled for construction in 2013. The “Pillar Mountain Wind Project” is part of Kodiak’s goal of having 100% renewable energy; they hope to be at 95% in 2020. This energy will not only power homes and businesses, but the large fish processing plants in town as well.