McHugh Peak

Overview

McHugh Peak anchors the southern terminus of the “front range” of Chugach Mountains that form the backdrop for Anchorage, Alaska. Beyond McHugh, Turnagain Arm slices through the mountains and the margin of the range turns eastward along the water’s edge. Though it is not among the higher Chugach peaks, the unbroken 4300-foot rise from tidewater gives it a dramatic summit that is well worth seeking out. The popular hiking guides for the Chugach Mountains either ignore McHugh or contain a good deal of outdated and wrong information about it. This page is an attempt to get some better information out there.

Getting There

There are currently two main trailheads for climbing McHugh that have completely independent approaches by road. They’ll be describes separately with their respective routes below.

Summit Views

Eastward to the Suicide Peaks

Southward across Rainbow Peak and Turnagain Arm to the Kenai Peninsula.

Regular Route

Parking for N Ridge

North Ridge—the McHugh Peak Trail: This trail offers the easiest ascent of McHugh. It is mostly a ridge walk, with fantastic views of the Suicide Peaks on one side and across Cook Inlet to the Aleutian Range on the other. Because parking is extremely limited, you'd better have a backup plan whenever you set out to do this route. If the weather is decent and it's a weekend day, your chances of scoring a parking place are slim to none.

To reach the trailhead, drive east on Rabbit Creek Road (this road is the last exit from the Seward Highway as it leaves the south end of Anchorage). When the road bends left after three miles, turn right onto Clarks Road and immediately right again, still following Clarks Road. Follow this road into Bear Valley, continuing past where it turns to dirt and crosses a stream. Turn left on Snowbear, right on Black Bear, and left on Honey Bear. Follow Honey Bear all the way to the T junction at its end, passing through a large, always open gate with “no outlet” and “no trespassing” signs (don’t worry about the signs—there is a legal right of way for trail users).

At the T junction, turn right and drive 100 yards to a turnaround circle. The trailhead is here. Be very careful parking in the circle. Legal parking is marked. Although there was originally room for six vehicles, the parking zone has been constricted and "striped" (perhaps by nearby residents), and now it accommodates only four to five. Do not park anywhere else nearby; your car will be ticketed, towed, or vandalized, or maybe all three. Because parking is so limited, try to park carefully so that none of the legal space is wasted. If you find that there is no room at the circle, there is legal, official overflow parking available one-half mile back the way you came, on the north shoulder of Honey Bear below the big gate. Starting from the overflow parking adds 350 feet to the total ascent.

A well marked and constructed trail leaves from the circle and climbs 1100 feet on switchbacks to the crest of McHugh’s north ridge, at 3200 feet. Continue southward along the ridge crest, always heading for the prominent rock tor, shaped like a cockscomb, on the summit of McHugh. The tor itself requires a very short class 2-3 scramble on its north side or east end.

The net climb from the trailhead to the summit is 2200 feet. With the ups and downs of the ridge, however, you will have climbed about 2450 feet to gain the summit and 2700 feet by the time you complete a round trip. The six mile round trip requires three to five hours of hiking time.

 

Once on the north ridge, the McHugh Peak Trail is a wide-open ramble

 

Southwest toward the Kenai Peninsula from the north ridge

Other Routes

South Flank: This is much more arduous than the regular route up McHugh, involving a 4300-foot elevation gain. Park at McHugh Creek wayside at Mile 112 on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage. Follow the Turnagain Arm Trail half a mile west (toward Potter Marsh) and turn right at the marked junction onto the McHugh Lake Trail. Follow this pleasant trail on switchbacks through the woods for about a mile and a half to elevation 1300 feet and turn left on a rubble-filled scar of a trail heading straight uphill.

   

Just beyond brushline on the Northwest Ridge, January.

The Municipality of Anchorage claimed that there was indeed and easement, explained its claim in detail, and asked the Pughs to remove their signs. The Pughs refused, and became confrontational with people crossing the property. On September 1, 2022, Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby ruled that there is indeed an easement for hikers to traverse the Stewart Homestead Road. View the order here.

East Peak

McHugh has a second summit about a mile to the east. Only a few feet lower than the main summit, and with a prominence of about 300 feet, it deserves a separate identity but doesn't have one. It is best climbed up spongy tundra slopes from the end of the Echo Canyon Trail or via an easy tundra stroll from the plateau below the main peak. If you choose the long, pretty east ridge from Rabbit Lake (class 2), be aware that it is slow going--allow a couple of hours or more, each way.

Red Tape

There is a $5 fee to park at McHugh Creek trailhead (the trailhead for the South Flank route), unless you have an annual pass. You will need exact change. There’s no fee at the other trailhead. Overnight parking at the Honey Bear/North Ridge trailhead is forbidden. At the south flank trailhead, the gate locks (no joking) at 9:00 p.m. hours before summer sunset times, and you'll be locked in unless you have parked outside of it.

Camping

 

Final objective--the summit tor

Though not significantly restricted, camping is not very practical on this mountain.

Bears

Two people have been killed in surprise grizzly bear encounters on McHugh Peak. Take full bear precautions until clear of the brush, particulary on the south flank and northwest ridge routes. The north ridge route has only a few hundred yards in the brush, so surprise bear encounters are less of a concern.