Crescent Lake is definitely a classic mountain bike ride of southcentral Alaska!  It’s one of the first to melt out, doesn’t get too overgrown, is a quick hit of fun, and a good entry ride for kids intro to cross country riding!  It takes me about 2 hours round trip . . . just about an hour climbing to the lake, some chill time there, and a quick 40 minutes back to the parking lot.  Perhaps what I love most about this ride is that there’s very little uphill in the downhill and vice versa!  It’s a climb and a descent.  And the climb is actually a pedal (no hike-a-bike!).

The most similar trail to this one is probably Ptarmigan Lakes (also mostly uphill to mostly downhill forest ride to a lake), though Crescent is far more rideable and less technical.

A few words of caution:

• Near the end of the downhill, it’s super fun (and easy) to carry speed . . . there’s one little micro corner/trail jog that will come up on you fast and it’s hard to make if you’ve got too much speed.  You’ll see where others have gone into the bushes, so stay vigilant and in control!
• This trail is super popular with hikers, so please remember to yield!
• Near the lake, there’s an unimproved trail that will take you around to Cooper Lake – I’ve never ridden it, but have gone far enough to realize I’m not super interested . . . looks like a miserable push to me!

chill time at the lake in early May sunshine!

mid-summer lake swim . . . amazing color change from early May!

Not technical, but super fun to ride . . . one can see how vegetation growth will change the sight picture of this ride throughout the summer!

This bridge is about 20 minutes from the lake on the climb and one of my favorite spots to watch water flow 🙂

This is about as tech as it gets . . . some of these corners can come as a surprise if you’re carrying speed on the downhill!

Tacky forest riding at its finest

For more mountain biking trail reports, check out the whole guide to Alaska biking!!!  Ride on and enjoy 🙂

Ride Essentials

Trail Snacks