MCNEIL – EVELINE – WOLF RIDGE TRAILS – (26.2 km)

McNeil Trails (~13 km)

The trailhead starts at the McNeil Canyon Elementary School, located at mile 12 East End Road, please park in the lower lot. 

McNeil Canyon Elementary will enforce the district-wide policy of NOT ALLOWING DOGS on the school property. School property extends to the top of the first climb from the trailhead; where the powerline crosses and includes the shed loop and school loops. You will still be able to ski on most of the trail system with your dog. However, you will not be able to access the system from the school parking lot with a dog, on a leash or not. You can access those trails from a newly created dog access parking lot above the KESA station on Big Dipper Ranch Road (via Ashwood Ave), if conditions allow. The road is privately maintained and gets pretty rutted and beat up at certain times. Remember do NOT ski down on to school property from there (go left, not right!). You can also access the McNeil trails from Eveline State Recreation Site but remember that State Parks property does require dogs to be on a leash.
Please be courteous, control your dogs at all times, and pick up after them at trailheads and on the trails.

The McNeil trails are covered by a Community Trails Agreement with the Kenai Peninsula Borough. They are also adjacent to many private landowners.

A trail cam, on the maintenance shed, on a side trail, records conditions hourly between 9 AM and 5 PM. In winter, the McNeil trails are connected to the trails at Eveline State Recreation Area and to the Wolf Ridge trails on Cook Inlet Region, Inc. lands.  The McNeil trails are for winter use only due to the very wet summer conditions there.

A popular trail at McNeil is a 5-km loop to an overlook that has great views of mountains, glaciers, and Kachemak Bay. On the 5-km loop, there are cut-off trails at 2 km and 3 km. An extra 2.8 km extension loop dives down a fun run from the overlook with a corresponding long climb back up.

School loops intersect the main trail 0.24 km from the McNeil trailhead. To the left is a 0.4 km trail that loops past the maintenance shed and returns to the trailhead; and to the right is a pair of 0.5 km loops to the west and east of the school, connected by a 0.2 km trail north of the school, behind the playground. These loops are fun for kids because they have cool hills.

A short 1-2km loop off of the shed loop circles through a “christmas tree farm” and circulates through the neighborhood.

A 2.5km trail named Big Dipper Flats connects the 5km McNeil loop with the Wolf Ridge System. It is a flat winding trail through spruce between the McNeil trails and the powerline. Big Dipper Flats is mostly on Kenai Borough land, but crosses onto CIRI land near the junction with the Wolf Ridge system.

After the school loops, and about 0.4 km from the trailhead, but before the small road crossing, there are two more choices on the right. The first is a 1.6 km trail that connects to the trails at Eveline State Recreation Site. The second heads up to Wolf Ridge.

EVELINE STATE RECREATION SITE – (4 km)

Trailhead parking is located 1.5 miles past McNeil Canyon Elementary School, off Alpine Meadows Drive. The 80-acre SRS boasts a developing network of scenic trails traversing mostly gentle terrain.  In winter, the Eveline system is connected to the McNeil Canyon School system by a 1.6 km trail at the SW corner of the perimeter loop; and to the Wolf Ridge system with a 0.5 km trail at the NW corner of the perimeter loop. The 2 km Alpine Meadows Loop around the perimeter provides scenic views of rolling hills, Kachemak Bay, the Kenai Mountains and some of the very best views of Doroshin and Portlock Glaciers you will find anywhere.  An outhouse and picnic tables are available. A separate signed snowshoe trail and a small sledding hill are being developed.  Snowshoers and dogs are welcome, However, please do not walk on the groomed ski trails, and be aware of fast approaching skiers, especially on hills and around blind corners.

Eveline SRS is part of the Alaska State Parks system, but is managed by KNSC. It is adjacent to private land, so please do not venture off the trails without permission from the neighbors.  Sections are maintained for spectacular wildflower hiking in the summer.  Also in the summer, a short loop to the viewing platform and picnic table has been developed as a wheelchair accessible trail.