Devil’s Creek to Hope (via the Ressurrection Trail) is definitely one of the most classic Kenai peninsula mountain bike rides!  At 31.7 miles, the trail traverses through the mountains, offers some great climbing, fun descending, and an overall lovely day.  

The ride basics:

1. This ride is a solid 4-5 hours of riding and typically turns into a 6 hour ride . . . there are so many nice places to linger as you go!
2. Your car shuttle delivers 500’ of elevation assist!  (Hope TH is at 400’ and Devil’s starts at 900’)
3. The Hope descent doesn’t tend to get overgrown so the ride can be done all summer (once snow is melted in early June) . . . you may have some unpleasant brush on the Devil’s climb mid-summer, but it won’t impact your descending!  
4. I personally prefer using Devil’s Creek to access Resurrection and riding it Devils to Hope or Devils to Cooper Landing, rather than riding the full 38 miles of the Resurrection trail in one go.  With the direct climb of Devil’s, the slog is reduced . . . both entrances to the Resurrection Trail have long flat periods that I don’t love, so it’s nice to only do one in a day!
5. If you don’t have 2 cars, Wildman’s offers shuttle services.

The ride up Devil’s Creek to the cabin is a solid 2 hours and 10 miles, with a climb of about 1900 feet.  The trail starts with a downhill from the parking lot before climbing the steepest section through the trees, and mellowing out as it climbs steadily to Devil’s Pass, then a beautiful lake, and eventually the intersection with the Resurrection Trail.  

Riding by the lake between Devil’s Pass and the cabin/turnoff to Resurrection Pass trail

Turn right on Resurrection Trail toward Hope, and it’s about another 30 min to the actual Resurrection Pass (one option from here is to ride Summit Creek instead!).  Whatever you do, please do not utter the words (or think the thought), “it’s all downhill from here!”  It is not!  And you still have nearly 20 miles to go!  It takes a solid 2-3 hours to get to the trailhead (faster without stops!), which makes this ride a true cross country ride all the way to the end!  That said, you get to lose 2100 feet of elevation as you finish!

From the pass, the trail actually climbs a bit and then starts descending in earnest.  There are periods of true descent, some downhill coasting/pedaling, and some small climbs (especially near drainages).  You’ll pass East Creek Cabin (14.5 miles to go), Fox Creek Cabin (11.5 miles to go), and Caribou Creek Cabin (7 miles to go) as you continue.  

The section right after the pass is super aesthetic!

The width of the trail makes the ride hold up well even mid-summer when other trails are overgrown!

Once you reach Caribou Creek Cabin, you’ve got 7 miles to go and I think this is actually some of my favorite section of trail!  There’s a few fun descents, a few short climbs, you’re riding along the river, and it passes super quickly in my experience.  

If you’re riding mid-summer, a stop at the Sea View for drinks, food, music, and views is a fabulous way to end the ride!

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

Ride Essentials

Trail Snacks