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+ 75

Hemlock Burn Loop

Mountain Biking Trail

Moderate
15.86 mi
2,093 ft
A superb XC loop with a fair amount of climbing.

The Hemlock Burn trail is an entertaining and downright gorgeous mountain bike ride! At the time of this writing in 2022, Hemlock Burn is a brand-new machine-built singletrack trail descending from the Glen Alps Trailhead. It then connects very easily to the top of Jeff's Whoop Whoop for a fantastic flow trail finish.

Hemlock Burn stands out as a truly beginner-friendly singletrack descent. This non-technical trail is fast and flowy, and there are no major obstacles or challenges to be found. In fact, there are barely even any jumps along its route. This is still a fun trail offering beautiful views of the city below, but advanced mountain bikers might find it a bit boring.

Hemlock Burn was originally conceptualized as a true mountain bike flow trail, but the HOHAs had a problem with it. Due to political maneuvering and compromises, the trail was dumbed down substantially during construction, as compared to the original vision. There are still some good berms and some fun bits, but you can easily see where it would have been easy to add a sweet tabletop jump with just a bit more of a lip on a roller... but you can tell the lips were just shaved off and eliminated.

Thankfully, the trail still got built and didn't get completely nixed in committee, and it's already proving to be a popular addition to the Anchorage trail system.

The best way to finish this downhill run is on Jeff's Whoop Whoop. Jeff's is the most popular trail in the Hillside Park trail system. This intermediate-friendly flow trail is filled with beautifully-sculpted jumps and delightful berms. The professional trail construction has created superb flow between the features, allowing the riders to link up hits and keep the trail speed high.

On Jeff's, you'll find all manner of tabletop jumps, hips, step downs, a few optional doubles, and more. There's a berm in every corner, but the berms vary in size and shape from small and narrow to absolutely massive walls of dirt. Everything on this trail is easily navigable, and the most challenging hits are all avoidable, so it's a true crowd-pleaser.

Do note, however, that compared to Hemlock Burn, Jeff's does include some bigger features and faster speeds, warranting an Intermediate rating. However, most riders will still be able to negotiate this trail, even if they can't clear all the jumps.

**Getting to the Top**

While it's possible to shuttle Hemlock Burn, if you choose to pedal to the top, this trail provides a fantastic cross country loop with a respectable amount of climbing.

In the lower section of the Hillside Park trail system, there are a couple of different uphill options, but this route follows one of the best climbing trails: Ticket to Ride. From there, the climb connects through Llama to Upper Llama, then follows the South Fork Rim Trail for its two-mile length. After that, the climb concludes on a direct but steep grunt up the Powerline Trail to reach the Glen Alps parking lot and the top of Hemlock Burn.

One alternative option is to skip the steep Powerline climb and connect straight into Hemlock Burn at what's roughly the midpoint of the trail. While you'll miss some great singletrack and beautiful views up top, you'll also eliminate some of the pain of the climb! Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
Gas Line Northbound0.36 mi-43 ft-2.2%
Ticket to Ride0.89 mi331 ft7.0%
TTR Climb to Hive from DD and Eh-Line Jct0.83 mi282 ft6.4%
TTR Climb From Spencer0.54 mi161 ft5.6%
Yellow Jacket Up0.84 mi230 ft5.0%
🦙2🐺0.33 mi98 ft5.5%
Uphill to Wolverine Trail0.20 mi89 ft5.9%
South Fork Rim Climb1.40 mi358 ft4.8%
Full South Fork Rim Climb2.32 mi584 ft4.8%
Shred the Gnar9.71 mi1,053 ft0.0%
New SFR doesn't end back there!1.94 mi472 ft4.6%
Bottoms up!0.34 mi92 ft4.7%
Powerline - South Fork Rim to The Post1.38 mi489 ft6.7%
Powerline Final Climb to Glen Alps0.82 mi305 ft7.0%
Hemlock Burn - Full Downhill6.33 mi-1,102 ft-3.3%
HBURN DOWN JEFFS8.42 mi-1,677 ft-3.8%
Hemlock Pump Track2.63 mi-554 ft-4.0%
Strong Bad0.66 mi141 ft4.1%
Lower HBT2.69 mi-666 ft-4.7%
Trogdor the Burninator1.79 mi-489 ft-5.2%
Burn it Down1.14 mi-328 ft-5.4%
Bombing Booters0.47 mi-138 ft-5.5%
Summit to Sea Connector Down0.22 mi-72 ft-5.4%
The Hive, Upper Llama0.32 mi26 ft0.2%
Upper Jeff's Whoop Whoop0.65 mi-217 ft-6.2%
Jeff's Whoop Whoop1.42 mi-489 ft-6.5%
Nate's Revised Whoop Whoop1.43 mi-502 ft-6.6%
(Official) Lower Jeff's Whoop Whoop0.75 mi-279 ft-6.6%
Lower Jeff's Whoop Whoop0.68 mi-240 ft-6.6%
Low Down Flow Town0.56 mi-226 ft-7.7%
Gambler Enduro Lower Jeff's0.60 mi-276 ft-8.5%