Parking
The trail leaves Denali Highway at MP 40. The official map marks the access on the highway but does not identify a separate parking lot.
Overview
About Old Sevenmile Lake Trail
Why go
- Reaches Sevenmile Lake's west side and the Maclaren River valley
Heads up
- About 17 miles round-trip
- Many muddy holes and swampy sections slow the going
The route reaches Sevenmile Lake's west side, with views across the Maclaren River valley. For photos, leave a little tundra or shore in the foreground so the long lake and mountain valley have scale. Follow the Old Sevenmile line from MP 40: the Glacier Gap and Maclaren Summit routes begin at different highway mileposts and are separate trails, even though they also reach the lake area. Plan your return to the same access before setting out.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe lake is the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Denali Highway map
Full mapElevation3,071–3,885 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 Old Sevenmile 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
Why Tundra Plants Hug the Ground0:00 / 0:31
“There's a warmer place for a tundra plant to grow: right against the ground. Wind is weaker near the surface, and the air can be warmer than it is just a little higher up.”
Plays on the road 0.4 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Denali Highway Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Pika's Summer Hay Harvest
- Why Moving Ice Cracks
- Maclaren River: Valley View and a Roadhouse Meal
- Maclaren Summit: A Short Walk Above the Valley
- 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 Old Sevenmile Lake Trail
Set aside the dayOld Sevenmile Lake Trail is the older route from Denali Highway MP 40 to the west side of…
Old Sevenmile Lake Trail is the older route from Denali Highway MP 40 to the west side of Sevenmile Lake. The route is about 8.5 miles one way, so walking to the lake and back is roughly 17 miles round-trip. It is an out-and-back, not a quick lakeside stop. With the wet ground underfoot, allow 10 to 12 hours; this is a full-day commitment.
Expect slow, wet goingAlaska DNR describes many mud holes and swampy terrain and calls the route very difficult to…
Alaska DNR describes many mud holes and swampy terrain and calls the route very difficult to travel. It is listed as a multi-use trail, so hikers share the corridor with other users, including OHVs. Waterproof boots and dry socks are practical here. The route climbs about 800 feet overall from the highway toward the lake, though the mapped line has small ups and downs along the way.
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.
