Parking
South side of the Denali Highway near milepost 68.2, just beyond Alpine Creek Lodge; the exact pull-off and formal parking were not confirmed.
Overview
About Hatchet Lake Trail
Hatchet Lake Trail follows a remote gravel track from the Denali Highway toward Hatchet Lake. Planning records identify a year-round multi-use trail here, but do not specify permitted modes; present-day foot access has not been independently confirmed. The mapped corridor is approximate.
Why go
- Remote route from the Denali Highway toward Hatchet Lake.
Heads up
- Rough gravel track; vehicle approach is described as 4x4-only.
- Mapped route stops short of the lake; final access is uncertain.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Denali Highway map
Full mapElevation2,552–2,966 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Denali Highway Tour Guide
Your drive to Hatchet Lake Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Denali Highway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Denali Highway audio tourRecorded for this area
Alpine Creek Lodge: Burgers and a Valley View0:00 / 0:29
“You're coming up on Alpine Creek Lodge, roughly halfway between Paxson and Cantwell. If you want a meal break, passing visitors can order from a menu of homemade brisket burgers, fries, barbecue and pies.”
Plays on the road 0.2 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Denali Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Buzz Behind a Blueberry
- The Songbird with a Hooked Bill
- A Beaver's Underwater Pantry
- The Pipeline That Had Room to Move
- 96 audio storiesacross Denali Highway’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Moose, Caribou, Bald Eagle, and 10 more
- Works offlinemaps, 18 trails, 27 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Hatchet Lake Trail
Route and distanceThe stored route follows about 3.
The stored route follows about 3.8 miles of mapped track toward the lake, then returns the same way for about 7.6 miles round trip. The mapped line comes within roughly 70 meters of the lake’s mapped shoreline and stops short; the final approach and shoreline access are unverified. Treat it as a rough track rather than a waymarked hiking path.
AccessThe access is on the south side of the Denali Highway near milepost 68.
The access is on the south side of the Denali Highway near milepost 68.2, just beyond Alpine Creek Lodge. The stored starting point is an approximate mapped track junction. A travel account describes the vehicle approach as 4x4-only. The exact pull-off and formal parking have not been confirmed.
Before setting outConfirm that the corridor is open to public foot travel, where to park, and whether pets are…
Confirm that the corridor is open to public foot travel, where to park, and whether pets are permitted. No trailhead facilities were confirmed. Conditions on this remote gravel route and the short final approach to the lake are not documented, so carry navigation and be prepared to turn around before reaching the shore.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Denali Highway
56 sightingsMooseMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
37 sightingsCaribouMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
26 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
33 sightingsTrumpeter SwanMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
25 sightingsBeaverMost seen around 9 PMSighting map
17 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 10 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Denali Highway. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
