Albert Loop

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Wildlife

This beautiful loop is a 45-minute drive away from Anchorage to the Eagle River Nature Center. It is arguably one of the most scenic, easy runs in the Anchorage area. You'll head along a well-maintained loop that ducks through beautiful forest, over a couple nice wooden bridges, past beaver dams, and along the fast-flowing glacial waters of the Eagle River.

Don't forget to look up at the exposed mountain walls that tower above you only miles from the trail. The loop is a great introduction to the wilderness for novice and younger explorers. There are interpretive signs along the way, and the entire trail is well-marked.

Visitors frequently stop in at the Eagle River Nature Center before heading out on this route to get advice. The Nature Center also offers guided tours along parts of this trail. The trail is flat almost the entire way, but the bridges over the waterways offer views down the valley as does the section along the river.

The Albert Loop shares its first mile with the historic Iditarod Trail section on the Crow Pass National Historic Trail. It then crosses the Eagle River Valley through beaver habitat and a mixed forest of spruce, birch, and cottonwood. In addition to wildlife, you’ll have good views of Polar Bear, Eagle, Cumulus and Hurdy Gurdy peaks. You’ll also have access to river gravel bars.

Boardwalks and bridges provide for easy travel, but younger visitors will be glad to know that some muddy spots may still need to be negotiated, depending on the weather.

Trail maintenance has been supported through grants gifted by REI.