Eklutna Lake

We made a quick trip to Eklutna Lake a couple Sundays ago.  Stephen had that Monday off and the Public Use Cabin had a rare summertime vacancy for that Sunday night only.  So, we snatched it up.  For $50, we had the use of the cabin from noon Sunday to noon Monday. 

Eklutna Lake is about 20 minutes from our house.  But, strangely enough, we don't go there often.  It serves as the main water reservoir for the city of Anchorage.  The lake is 8 miles long and originates at the Eklutna Glacier which spills from the icefield beyond the Chugach Mountains. 

For this trip, we brought our "new" Mule ATV to see how well it would do on the trail.  The Lakeside Trail goes the whole length of the lake and then about 4 miles further up to the glacier.  We ventured just up to the end of the lake which is about 8 miles in.  The trail is open to ATVs on Sun-Thur during the summer months.  There were lots of other ATVs zipping up and down the trail.  Some parts were pretty smooth, while others were super bumpy.  Inside the Mule, the engine noise is pretty loud.  It's similar to riding in a small plane.  Earplugs would've been useful.  But the adventure was fun!

The public use cabin is located 3 miles up the trail on the shore of the lake.  It has a woodstove, table, and sleeping bunks for 5-6 people.  We enjoyed some card games and lots of rock fun at the lake shore.  The beach is almost entirely rocks, with lots of driftwood strewn around.  Stephen and Alicia did lots of rock skipping, while I took lots of pictures of pretty rocks.  Good times!






For more photos from our trip, go here:

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