Alaska trails · Swan Lake Canoe Trail
Swan Lake Canoe Trail
A 43.4-mile network in Alaska, with 95 ft of climbing. Reaches Trout Lake and other lake destinations. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the final third: 54% of the ascent falls between mile 29.0 and mile 43.4. It gives back about 236 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Trout Lake (lake)
- Otter Lake (lake)
- Canoe Lake (lake)
- Weasel Lake (lake)
- Canoe Lake Chain (lake)
- Martin Lake (lake)
- Contact Lake (lake)
- Big Mink Lake (lake)
- Duckbill Lake (lake)
- Cygnet Lake (lake)
Getting there
Swan Lake Canoe Trail access — parking nearby. About 4 h 57 min drive (184 mi, 20 of them unpaved) from Anchorage. 60.72280, -150.69950 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:58 a.m., the sun rises at 8:41 a.m. and sets at 6:54 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:38 p.m. (AKDT) — 10 h 14 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 43.4-mile route works out to roughly 16 h 08 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.
Nearby trails
- Swanson River Canoe Trail — 7.0 mi
- Skyline Traverse Trail — 26.7 mi