The best MTB trails in Tongass National Forest

At this trail juncture, continuing south will keep you on the East Glacier Trail, although at this point you're on a collision course with the top of a large staircase that turns back most bikers. If you turn sharply east/southeast instead, you'll be setting out on the Nugget Creek Trail, which ends at an old Civilian Conservation Corps shelter, originally built in the early 1930s.

The Nugget Creek Trail ends at the Vista Creek Shelter, originally built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in the early 1930s.

The East Glacier Trail actually forms a loop, but for mountain bikers it makes the best sense to come up this side, then turn back when you hit the top of a long staircase that's really a drag to carry your bike up or down. Expect to ride a mix of singletrack and hardened doubletrack here, and to dodge hikers and even guided hiking groups, especially during cruise ship days.

If you've come up the west side of the East Glacier Trail, the top of this staircase marks the logical place to turn around and retrace your route.

The first 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of this trail is a wide, gravel path through the forest. After that point the trail narrows and becomes a fun mix of entertaining terrain and challenges that'll force you to walk. Some stretches are commonly brushy, eroding into the water, or even completely flooded during periods of heavy rain or snow/ice melt. Watch out for walkers and runners on this trail, in addition to other bikers and the ever-present possibility of surprise wildlife encounters. Toward the end of the trail, there is a steep uphill that you might need to push your bike up. But you'll be rewarded with better views of the glacier if you do so (and if the trail isn't too washed out).

This is a fun, shared-use trail that ends after two miles, at a rocky outcrop that offers fine overlooks of Mendenhall Glacier from the west side and makes a logical turnaround point. There are some social (unmaintained) trails that continue farther, but aren't maintained or well-suited to riding. You should read the Forest Service warnings about off-trail rescues here: fs.usda.gov/recarea/tongass/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=78817&actid=50 As always, you should be alert to the possibility of surprise wildlife encounters too — especially during the early morning and evening hours.

This is a chill ride through temperate rainforest, with only minimal obstacles like boardwalks. You'll be sharing the trail with walkers and runners, but sometimes the views through the trees are just spectacular. As always, be alert to the possibility of unexpected wildlife encounters in this old-growth rainforest, especially because bikes move so quickly and quietly.

The first 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of this trail is a wide, gravel path through the forest. However, after that point the trail narrows considerably, and in some places may be brushy, eroding into the water, or even completely flooded during periods of heavy rain or snow/ice melt. When the trail is passable, it deposits you on the glacier moraine (rock deposits left in the glacier's passage) with clear views of the glacier ice. Watch out for people riding mountain bikes in the first section of trail, or walking them in the more technical sections that follow.