Moderate hiking trails in Alaska
31 trails rated moderate across Alaska state parks, national forests, and recreation areas.
Moderate hiking trails in Alaska typically run between three and seven miles with meaningful but manageable elevation gain. They reward reasonable fitness with real views — overlooks, lakes, ridge sections, and signature features of the subarctic Alaska wilderness.
Trail Compass currently indexes 31 moderate-rated routes in Alaska, totalling roughly 141 trail miles. The average moderate trail in this state is about 4.6 miles long, which is a useful starting point when you are sketching a weekend.
Across the subarctic Alaska wilderness, the most reliable hiking season is mid-June through early September; outside that window, daylight, snowpack, and river crossings become serious limiters. Shoulder-season visits can deliver beautiful empty trails but tilt the difficulty upward — short days, possible snow, and unstaffed entry stations all add friction.
Expect wildlife typical of the subarctic Alaska wilderness: grizzly and black bears, moose along the river bottoms, Dall sheep on the high ridges, caribou herds, and bald eagles overhead. The risk of a serious encounter is low, but the cost of getting it wrong is high — give animals space, store food correctly, and never approach a young animal even if no parent is visible.
How to use this page: every trail listed below links through to a full guide with distance, elevation gain, route type, best-season notes, wildlife expectations, parking guidance, and nearby attractions. Combine this filter with the Trail Compass park pages to plan a trip around a specific Alaska destination.