Alaska Hiking Trips
Guided wilderness hiking in Alaska’s national parks – basecamp, traverse, and boat-supported itineraries since 1998.
Alaska Alpine Adventures is, first and foremost, a hiking company. Since 1998, every itinerary we have built has been designed around what it feels like to walk through Alaska’s most remote country – open tundra ridges, river bars, glacial moraines, and alpine bowls reachable only by bush plane. The other things we do on trip – paddling a glacial lake, floating an Arctic river – exist because they make our hiking better, not because we are a kayaking or rafting outfit.
We offer three styles of guided Alaska hiking trips, all built on the same foundation: basecamp hiking (floatplane in to a fixed wilderness camp, daypack out each day, return each evening), traverse hiking (backpacking) (carry everything between a series of moving camps, featured at /activity/backpacking/), and boat-supported hiking (kayaks or inflatable canoes carry your gear between hiking camps that are not connected by walkable terrain).
All three styles run in the same parks: Denali, Katmai, Lake Clark, Aniakchak, Wrangell-St. Elias, Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley, and the Noatak. Reach those parks through our Alaska destinations guide. Group sizes are capped at 8 guests with a 4:1 guest-to-guide ratio. Lead guides are Wilderness First Responder certified.
Many of our Alaska hiking trips fill months in advance – some of them full seasons ahead. If you have a specific park, style, or travel window in mind, early booking is strongly recommended.
Why Choose Our Guided Alaska Hiking Trips
28 Years as a Hiking-First Outfitter
Alaska Alpine Adventures has been guiding wilderness hiking trips in Alaska’s national parks since 1998. Our founder is an Explorers Club member with credit for pioneering routes – including the Turquoise Glacier High Route – that did not exist before we mapped them.
Three Hiking Styles, One Standard
Whether you are booked on a basecamp hiking trip in Denali, a traverse through Lake Clark’s high country, or a kayak-supported hiking expedition on Twin Lakes, the foundations stay the same: 4:1 guest-to-guide ratio, max 8 guests, WFR-certified lead guides, all-inclusive logistics, and floatplane access.
Floatplane Access to Country Few People Reach
Our trailheads are not at trailheads. Each itinerary begins with a floatplane or bush aircraft flight from a regional staging town to a put-in deep inside a national park or refuge. Over 25 years we have built lasting partnerships with more than 14 premier air taxi services across Alaska.
Small Groups. WFR-Certified Guides
Every Alaska hiking trip caps at 8 guests, with a 4:1 guest-to-guide ratio. Lead guides hold Wilderness First Responder certification at minimum, and river-based itineraries add Swiftwater Rescue certification. Browse the team at /guides/.
All-Inclusive. Real Camp Cooking
Floatplane transport, all group equipment, all trip food, and pre-trip lodging coordination are included. Trip meals are hearty, hot, and prepared in camp on backcountry stoves – well beyond freeze-dried fare. Read more about our trip meals at /food/.
Built for First-Time Backcountry Travelers
Most of our hiking trips sit at Intensity Level 2 – accessible to active adults who exercise regularly but do not need to be elite athletes. Basecamp and kayak-supported itineraries are particularly well-suited to first-time backcountry travelers; traverse trips ask more. See the full intensity scale at /intensity-levels/.
What to Expect on a Guided Alaska Hiking Trip
Across all three styles of guided Alaska hiking trip, the day looks more similar than you would expect. A hot breakfast in camp. A daypack departure into open tundra or along a river bench. Five to nine miles of off-trail travel through country where no maintained paths exist. Camp choice based on weather, wildlife activity, and the day’s objective. Lunch on a gravel bar or a high ridge. An afternoon push, often with a wildlife stop. A return to camp before dinner.
Wildlife is the second-best reason to come. Expect brown bears in Katmai and Lake Clark, Dall sheep and moose throughout, caribou in the Western Arctic, golden eagle and ground squirrel everywhere, and – if you are lucky and quiet – wolves. Most of our hiking stays below 6,000 feet, so altitude is never the limiting factor.
Long Arctic and sub-Arctic daylight means evenings stretch. See /alaska-weather/ for seasonal context, and our destinations guide for park-by-park detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Three styles, all built around hiking as the focus: basecamp hiking (fly into a fixed camp, daypack-only hiking out from camp each day), traverse hiking or backpacking (carry your gear between a series of moving camps), and boat-supported hiking (kayaks on Lake Clark or inflatable canoes in the Brooks Range carry your gear and move you between hiking camps that are not connected by walkable terrain).
Most of our hiking trips sit at Intensity Level 2 – designed for active adults who exercise regularly but do not need to be elite athletes. Expect 5-9 miles of off-trail hiking per day with moderate elevation gain. Basecamp and kayak-supported itineraries are the most accessible for first-time backcountry travelers.
We provide all group camp equipment: tents (sleeping and gathering), kitchen setup, stoves, cookware, and shared safety gear. On boat-supported trips, we provide kayaks or inflatable canoes, paddles, PFDs, and dry bags. We also provide all trip food and pre-trip lodging coordination. Personal items – sleeping bag, sleeping pad, hiking boots, layers, daypack – are yours to bring.
Our guided Alaska hiking trips run in Denali National Park, Katmai National Park, Lake Clark National Park, Aniakchak National Monument, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and the Western Arctic park complex (Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley, and Noatak National Preserve). Each itinerary is reached by floatplane or bush aircraft from a regional staging town.
Ready to book a guided Alaska hiking trip – basecamp, traverse, or boat-supported? Call us at 907-351-4193 or use our Alaska Trip Consulting service. We have been guiding Alaska hiking trips for nearly three decades.
