South Side Flat Top Trail and Peak 3 Trail Loop(edit)

Overview

Great hike if you are looking for a relatively quick and easy way to gain some elevation and get a view of Anchorage and Turnagain Arm. Popular with locals for a quick hike or mountain running training route.

Getting Started

From Hillside drive turn towards the mountains onto upper Dearmoun Road. Keep right to continue onto Canyon Road. Stay on the main road - it becomes Upper Canyon road at some point. After about 2 miles you will come to a gate and the first of a series of small parking lots. The road deteriorates after the gate. A truck or car with above average clearance will be fine. If you have a low rider park at the gate and walk up the road to the trail head. It's not far.

There are two trail heads people use to go up Flat Top, Peak 2 and Peak 3. The route shown here is often called the back side or South side of Flattop. If you search on Peak 2 some mapping software will take you up to Glen Alps, the traditional trail. Google maps will reliably take you to this trail head if you search on Rabbit Lakes Trailhead. (Another fine hike by the way.) Just make sure you are going up Upper Dearmoun and Canyon Road, not Upper Huffman, Toilsome and Glen Alps road.

Taking Children

Good hike for kids that like to hike. Some loose rocks/gravel on the way down. You can "bag" Flat top at the same time. Flat top is easily identified from Anchorage so kids might like being able to point to it and say "I climbed that."