Girdwood Area Bike Trails

With­out hes­i­ta­tion, the Bird to Gird is the most beau­ti­ful bike path in West­ern Alas­ka. This trail is 6 miles one way or 12 miles round trip; either way, the paved ride hugs Tur­na­gain Arm and con­nects three com­mu­ni­ties (Gird­wood, Bird and Indi­an). It’s per­fect for any lev­el bik­er — whether you just want to just cruise, go fast on a moun­tain bike, or expe­ri­ence the trail as a tourist (or even as a curi­ous local). It’s a shared trail, so you’ll  ...more

If you have the abil­i­ty to trans­port bicy­cles, this trail makes for a great after­noon trip. The dirt path winds through the Portage Val­ley, pass­ing glacial lakes and end­ing at Portage Lake (this part of the trip is 5 miles each way). Make sure to bring your cam­era: you’ll see hang­ing glac­i­ers and, very like­ly, some wildlife.

Win­ner Creek Trail in Gird­wood (45 min­utes south of Anchor­age) is one of our favorite trails to take vis­it­ing friends and fam­i­ly. It’s an easy 3‑mile hike or bike ride on a wide, well-devel­oped trail with a gen­tle ele­va­tion gain that winds through America’s north­ern­most rain­for­est, cross­es a wood­en bridge over a thun­der­ing blue-water gorge. 2022: Hand tram cur­rent­ly closed, may replace with bridge. Local weigh­ing in.)

Take this trail from the Gird-Bird Trail or from the Crow Creek entrance: You’ll enter at Cal­i­for­nia Creek Trail­head and take a left at the mark­ing onto Beaver Pond Trail. The trail then runs approx­i­mate­ly 2.5 miles along the base of Pen­guin Ridge. Although the trail can be a bit over­grown, crews have improved it immense­ly in recent years, and it’s now more acces­si­ble, all sea­son. Hike or bike. 

This bike ride takes you along a pret­ty flat and mel­low sin­gle track, and through the heart of Gird­wood. Run­ning along Glac­i­er Creek, the trail con­nects the new and old town sites. This is a great ride for any­one new to moun­tain bik­ing, but it’s also an effi­cient way to get from one end of town to the other.