Bison Gulch… Not a Rookie Hike

by Emma Corby

Emma’s Rating: 😎😎😎😎😎

This past summer I hiked Bison Gulch four times, and while it never got easier, it also never disappointed. This hike is no joke! Bison Gulch is right outside of Denali National Park, just about an hour and a half away from Fairbanks. It is a seven mile out-and-back hike with about 4,000 feet of elevation gain reaching about 5,600 feet at its top, and on a clear day the views are even more incredible. Even when it’s foggy or a day with poor visibility, there are mountains nearby in all directions, and the view of the Denali highway from 5,000 feet up is unbeatable.

The view from Bison Gulch.

This may be the most challenging hike I have ever done. In just the first mile, there are about 1,200 feet of elevation gain, and the trail consists mostly of rocks that were slipping and rolling underneath my feet. With a few friends, the first mile took about 55 minutes, and with just Ben and I (who are both former college athletes), it still took about 35 minutes. AllTrails rates this hike as “hard,” and if there was an option for “very hard”, this hike would definitely make it. For the entire seven miles, it took Ben and I about four and a half hours, but AllTrails advises planning for at least six hours. The longer you’re hiking for, the longer you get to enjoy the views!

Emma Corby rock climbing at Bison Gulch.

There are a couple of spots on this hike that reach a 63% grade incline –63% is steep. My first time attempting the hike, I was completely unprepared. A few years ago, Ben and I had hiked a few mountains in the White Mountain range in New Hampshire, and those had been my most difficult hikes to date. When we hiked Bison Gulch, I was entirely in my comfort zone until about 2.5 miles in when I looked at a wall of rocks, looked at Ben, and contemplated if his nod could possibly mean anything other than yes, we are going rock climbing. The section in the photo above took us almost half an hour to complete, and it was less than a tenth of a mile. 

A steep section like this can be overwhelming for a rookie hiker. When I had a couple of friends visiting from Los Angeles (with not much hiking experience under their belt), we turned around at the 2.5 mile mark. This made the hike easier for them, although they said it was still a challenge (albeit a fun challenge). Plus, it’s a completely open area, so if there is any wildlife nearby, it’s easy to spot it… arctic ground squirrels will be the curious little noses sticking out from some of the rocks, and I was even lucky enough to see a band of almost a dozen mountain goats once! Whether it’s the five mile, shortened version of the hike, or the full seven hours, both routes at Bison Gulch pose incredible challenges that serve some of the best views in the country.