This is a great trail for AK. I would not recommend it for beginner riders however. It has varied terrain as described by the other reviews. It is a good climb for the weekend warrior getting up to the lake. I put bear bells on my bike, brought a .40 S&W, and my black lab. My dog definitely out climbed me, but coming back from the lake is mostly downhill and I left her in the dust!! I didn't see any wildlife. I did run into another biker while enjoying the scenery at the lake. Be careful of hikers when bombing back down. The trail has nice flow in some areas going back down, along with the rocks, roots, bridges, creeks, etc. I will plan on riding this one anytime I will be in the area.

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Haven't tried any yet.

Moderate trail with a few steep sections. Well worn throughout. Well maintained. Beautiful trail with great views. A very nice mountain bike ride.

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Up to Crescent Lake and back.

The trail is a tedious ride up and an exhilirating rush down, with an occasional hairpin turn to stall your pace either way. It begins steep and steady, a smooth organic-cushioned trail in a windless black forest. The trail assumes river grade, then tightens and challenges with occasional tree roots and slicing shale rock. A scenic bridge crosses the river to begin another steep ascent until high above the river. A few snow-fed creeks splash across the trail while gliding into open mountain views, flowered meadows, and a gentle rolling ascent. The trail and river culminate at their source across another scenic bridge and rewarding view of Crescent Lake.

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Quartz Creek entrance. Offers grayling fishing, camping space, and two Forest Service Cabins with rowboats. Be aware of Brown Bears, safest in groups of 3 or more.

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Russian River, Resurrection Pass (Park a car at Sterling Hwy, and bike form Hope to Sterling Hwy entrance.)

Rode this trail on Sept 1. Wasn't badly overgrown at all and most of the bugs were gone. Quite fun and a good easy to intermediate ride. Went with a group of 5 riders. One found it to be quite challenging and had some impressive crashes. Watch out where the trail is eroded on the hill side above the water.

Cresent Lake trail is one of the better trails that I ride on the Kenai Pensinsula, Alaska. Providing a scenic 6.4 mile climb to Cresent Lake (which turns into an excellent, fast 6.4 mile descent on the way out), the Cresent Lake trail proves technical, stimulating, and quite rewarding. While this single track isn't overly technical, several switchbacks, narrow shale passes, and lots of rocks, roots, and small drops make it fun and tricky nonetheless. The first half or so is usually on hillside, giving the rider a great view and the incentive not to fall! The trail later opens up in a few fields and open-hill areas, often placing the rider in the midst of thick vegetation. Be on the lookout for several small bridges and riverside locations.
A warning for the wise: the Cresent Lake trail is at its prime in mid to late June, but quickly becomes overgrown in mid to late July. August finds the devil's club (cow parsnip) too thick to have an uneventful, painless ride. Falling into a patch of devil's club is a nasty occurance, leaving welts and rashes reminescent of wasp stings. Even in June the devil's club is trailside, daring you to venture off trail or fall.
Other than the malicious vegetation, there are few thing to worry about on the Cresent Lake trail. As always in Alaska, be mindful of bears. Make plenty of noise... Carrying bear spray or an air horn isn't a terrible idea, especially if soloing this trail. Also, keep hydrated. The trail is a bit challenging on the ride in, climbing up 1000 or so feet.
All in all, this trail is solid mountain biking fun. Not too rough, but technical enough to keep you entertained, Cresent Lake trail offers a great route to spend your afternoon on, grinding away.

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Resurrection Pass, Russian Lake Trail, Devil's Pass

Beautiful ride up in the mountains of the Kenai mountains. Six miles up and six miles down. Not a relativly hard trail but it is six miles up. Super fast coming down. Lets be respectful to other trail users folks. The forest service gets enough reports of obnoxious mountian bikers. One of the most rides on the Kenai Peninsula. My type of riding

I was pretty tired from fighting rocks and bushes on a previous trail the day we rode this one, but it still wasn't a hard ride. We passed a father and his two boys hiking in with their fishing equipment. They were sitting on the side of the trail talking about how hot it was (low to mid 80’s). We laughed because we were enjoying a really nice, COOL ride from our Texas perspective! As with all the Alaska trails we did on this trip, going in was up, coming back was down. The ride down was awesome. It took us a little longer to get up the trail than it did Ryan (previous reviewer) - an hour and 17 minutes - but we made the same 45 minute flight down that he did. We actually got tired of standing and breaking! Special thanks to Ryan in Sodolta & John in Wasilla for their advice on good trails for us to ride during our visit to Alaska.

I agree with the trail description. This is a great trail, intermediate in dificulty. I took my 10 year old boy last year on his rigid bike and he did fine.

It is an out and back trail, so if you get tired, you can just turn around anytime. Also, returning is downhill, so if you get too tired on the way up, the return is faster, and easier.

Do this trail. You will not be disappointed.

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Same as trail description

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Lower/upper Russian Lakes trail starting from the Forest Service Russian River Campground trail head.

Quality trail, an easy round trip day ride, or a very relaxing overnight, whether you can reserve the cabin or not. Don't forget to hike over to the glacier that is slightly north and east of the cabin (can be a good place to spot a bear or two - but keep your distance from all wild animals). The grayling fishing is good, but the larger fish seem to head to the deep parts of the lake when the season has opened up. Enjoy.

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See description.

I first rode this trail in 1986. Nobody. Now it's quite crowded on weekends. Muddy too at certain times due to traffic. It's pretty much a beginner ride. My kid first did it when she was 10. It's a nice place to take out of towners who aren't hard core.

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see prev. reviews very accurate

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Johnson Pass