Hope Spur Road
MP 0
| Hope Spur Road
Junction with Seward Highway MP 56.3
| Access: Turn north onto Hope Road; the community of Hope is 16.4 miles from the intersection.
Hope offers camping, cabins, restaurants, music, gift shopping, showers, and hiking. There is a small grocery store, but you should come prepared with everything you need. The gas station is no longer open.
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MP 15.7
| Bear Creek Trail
| Access: Take the Hope Road to mile 15.7 and turn south on Bear Creek Road. You can either park in a turn-out close to the Hope Road, or drive .8 mile more with a relatively high-clearance vehicle and park at the gate (a Subaru would probably make it).
Lat N 60⁰ 55.199’ Long W 149⁰ 37.030’ Elevation 127’
The distance depends on where you park. The information given starts from .132 miles from the Hope Road turnoff. This is NOT maintained as a trail, but is an active ATV/mining road so expect a small amount of ATV traffic and possibly suction dredging noise, though ATV use is limited to miners only. Snowmobiles are allowed in winter. There are avalanche chutes once you get into the alpine valley, so check stability conditions before winter use. The trail does start to fade at 3.5 miles and water was running down the trail in 2018. I hit snow at this point on Memorial Day weekend. Views of Turnagain Arm, Anchorage, and Mt. Susitna.
Distance: 4+ miles Elevation Gain: 1614’+ Difficulty: Moderate grade with more gentle above alpine Best Months: Year-round Valerie’s Rating: ❸ | Links:
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MP 16.1
| Resurrection Pass Trail (North)
| Access: Take Hope Road to mile 16.1 and turn south on Resurrection Creek Road. (Be aware that if you go into Hope first and come back the opposite direction, there is no sign for the trail. Look for the sign to the post office.) On Resurrection Creek Road, drive 3.8 miles to just short of the end of the road, and there is a large parking lot on the right with an outhouse. In winter the last mile of the road is not plowed, but you can park by the side of the road and ski or snowshoe in.
Distance: 39 miles to south end near Cooper Landing (Sterling Hwy MP 53.1) Elevation Gain: 2100’ Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Best Months: Year-round
Turn Off: Trailhead: Lat N 60⁰ 55.053’ Lat N 60⁰ 52.191’ Long W 149⁰ 37.500’ Long W 149⁰ 37.813’ Elevation 92’ Elevation 296’
Most people hike this as a backpacking trip, and many try to get cabins for overnights. Users also bike all 39 miles in one day (to Cooper Landing) and arrange a car shuttle. I often will day hike in-and-out from the Hope end. It’s a beautiful hike along the river, and since the valley runs to the south, it is often sunny. Valerie’s Rating: ❹ | Links:
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MP 16.1
| Coeur D’Alene Campground
| Access: Take Hope Road to mile 16.1 and turn south on Resurrection Creek Road. (Be aware that if you go into Hope first and come back the opposite direction, there is no sign for the trail. Look for the sign to the post office.) On Resurrection Creek Road, drive .6 mile and turn left onto the Palmer Creek Road, then drive 6 miles to the campground. The road is only open for driving in Summer and Fall. Walk-in sites only.
Turn Off (Palmer Creek Rd): Campground: Lat N 60⁰ 54.685’ Lat N 60⁰ 51.026’ Long W 149⁰ 36.860’ Long W 149⁰ 32.094’ Elevation 160’ Elevation 1379’ | Links:
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MP 16.1
| Unnamed Trails
| Access: Take Hope Road to mile 16.1 and turn south on Resurrection Creek Road. (Be aware that if you go into Hope first and come back the opposite direction, there is no sign for the trail. Look for the sign to the post office.) On Resurrection Creek Road, drive .6 mile and turn left onto the Palmer Creek Road, and then continue past the campground. (The road is only open for driving in Summer and Fall.) The road is signed as “not maintained” after this point; it continues about another 5.1 miles (total 11.1 miles to the trailhead parking, but it takes close to an hour to get there from the Resurrection Creek Road).
Turn Off (Palmer Creek Rd): Trail Parking Lot: Lat N 60⁰ 54.685’ Lat N 62⁰ 47.571’ Long W 149⁰ 36.860’ Long W 149⁰ 32.862’ Elevation 160’ Elevation 1898’
The road now ends before a condemned log bridge, so the former parking lot is no longer accessible. Parking is extremely limited now in the new lot, so please be considerate. Also there is a very limited turn-around area, so vehicles over 21 feet are not advisable. (This road is closed in the winter; you can ski or snowshoe on the road, but avalanche potential is extremely high after entering Palmer Creek Valley.) After you cross the bridge, you have at least four choices of trails, none of which are on the Forest Service website.
Just after you cross the bridge, on the left, there are wood posts and a trail up to the old Hirshey Mine and beyond. From the road, the lower part of the trail appears to be alders overgrown on switchbacks, but you pop out into the alpine at .53 mile. The alders aren’t as overgrown as they appear, but feel free to bring some clippers and donate some maintenance. If you stay on the old road, you can visit the old mine (1 mile, 923’ elevation gain) with a memorial plaque to the man who last worked it, and then continue on up the drainage cross-country until you come out above a beautiful lake (1.4 miles, 1360’ elevation gain). If you don’t go to the old mine, stay to the right of the creek, and the climb to the lake is easier on that side. You can easily gain access to the ridge to the north and walk for several miles (2.1 miles to the high point, 2067’ elevation gain).
If you walk straight after crossing the bridge, the trail will split at .65 mile. If you take the fork to the right (with a shallow but wide stream crossing -- be prepared with river shoes), you can hike on old mining roads up into the bowl ahead of you (1.6 miles total to knoll, 1075’ elevation gain). If you take the left fork, the trail leads to Twin Lakes (1.6 miles total, elevation gain 1043’). You will reach the first lake at 1.3 miles, and you can continue along the right side to the second lake, at 1.6 miles.
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous depending on trail Best Months: June-October Valerie’s Rating: ❺ | Links:
Palmer Bowl Area Trails Conditions
Downloads: Palmer Creek Trails GPS-Topo Map
Palmer Creek Twin Lakes Trail GPS Map
Hirshey Mine Ridge Route GPS Map
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MP 17.6
| Hope Point Trail
| Access: Turn onto the Hope Road and drive 17.6 miles, and then turn left into the trailhead parking 500’ before the campground.
Distance: 1.8 miles Elevation Gain: 3630’ Difficulty: Moderate - Difficult Best Months: Summer - Fall
Lat N 60⁰ 55.626’ Long W 149⁰ 39.440’ Elevation 37’
This trail has been reconstructed with a nice wide tread and switchbacks. The old trail is still there, which pretty much goes straight up. The trail climbs in elevation right from the start and you start getting views of Hope and Resurrection Valley almost right away. After a couple of miles the trail climbs to the ridge overlooking Turnagain Arm. You can continue up to the peak, but this is one of those trails that no matter how far you go, it is worthwhile. Note there are steep drop-offs as you get higher up, so this is not the best trail for those afraid of heights, though you can get a lot of nice views even before getting to the first drop-off. Valerie’s Rating: ❺ | Links:
Downloads: Hope Point Trail Info Sheet and Map
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MP 17.6
| Gull Rock Trail
| Access: Turn onto the Hope Road and drive 17.6 miles, and then turn left into the trailhead parking 500’ before the campground.
Distance: 5.7 miles one way Elevation Gain: 620’ Difficulty: Easy Best Months: Spring-Summer-Fall
This is not one of my favorite trails, but to be fair, a lot of other people like it more than I do (so I’m giving it a 3 instead of a 2). It’s mostly in the woods until the end of the trail, and the mountain shades the trail in spring, fall, and winter. But since it is at a low elevation, it is one of the first trails clear of snow in the spring, and the views at the end of the trail are pretty. Valerie’s Rating: ❸ | Links:
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MP 17.8
| Porcupine Campground | Access: Take the Hope Road all the way to the end, 17.8 miles. You’ll drive right into the campground at the end of the road.
Lat N 60⁰ 55.722’ Long W 149⁰ 39.575’ Elevation 62’ | Links:
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