Windfall Lake Trail

Windfall Lake - still a bit iced over

Up to now, I've only done the short trails but I am now eager to do longer ones.  Unfortunately I don't have the right equipment to do any 'climbing' in early Spring conditions.  Even the low elevation ones can be icy and a bit difficult to traverse.  So another easy low elevation trail here is the Windfall Lake Trail.

The trailhead is at the end of a gravel road to the right of Egan just South of Herbert River.  My Corolla didn't have enough bottom clearance to go over the snow covered road in places so instead of chancing it, we left our car at the lot on the corner of Egan and the gravel road.  The walk to the trailhead there was about .5 miles, so that added about 15 minutes to our walk each way. 

I was a little disappointed the trail was entirely through the forest.  I had hoped for some clearing to get views of the peaks you get a glimpse of towards beginning of the trail.  The whole way is shaded though and you don't get a view until you get to the lake... and it's 3.5 miles to the lake from the trailhead.  The trail is again planked and icy.  It took us an hour longer to do the hike than expected.  We saw a family of four coming back from the lake though, with their bicycles.  It can't imagine walking that trail with a bike.  Or even riding on it.  Either they thought it sucked bad too or we are just wusses. 

Parts of the trail crosses rivers so there are several foot bridges along the way.  It's still icy at parts, and silly Millie fell in as she went on the ice to get closer to water.  I think she was a bit shocked too but she managed to swim and make her way towards us at which point we helped her out.  Once at the lake, we decided to keep her on the leash since we didn't want her falling through the thin ice over the lake. 

The last little bit of the trail splits into two and one path leads to a cabin maintained by the Forest Service.  The other supposedly goes to the lake but there is also lake access at the cabin.  It was our first visit to one of these hyped cabins.  For $35/night, you can rent one of these through recreation.gov.  This one was a pretty nice cabin.  There's a bunk in there where about 4 people can probably sleep (must bring own sleeping bags).  A table inside and outside, and a propane heater.  There's a solar powered outhouse outside the cabin.  There's no running water, but there's a canoe you can use to go out on the lake.

We didn't stay the night at the cabin, but it is available as a warming hut for the public during hours of 10-5.  We had our lunch on the outside deck and turned around.  I suppose it would be very nice though in the summer to just relax out there on the canoe, away from everything. 

Lena Point Trail

The trailhead for this trail was tricky to find.  From Egan Drive, turn left towards the Lena Beach picnic area.  Maybe about a mile down, there is a sign facing the road (not down or up the road) that says "Lena Point Trail".  It's difficult to see ahead of time but you might notice it as you drive by.  If you end up at the turnoff to the radio tower or the NOAA building, both which will be on your right, you went too far.  There's a big empty parking lot used by the government right next to the trailhead. We parked by the trailhead because we weren't sure parking in the lot was allowed. 

The trail is mostly on planks through the woods.  Seems a lot of the trails here in Juneau have planks laid down.  This makes it a bit tricky because it can get slippery.  Or you could fall off it.  There is a slight (~230 ft) elevation gain on the trail, and once up top and out the woods, about a mile out, you get a fantastic view from Lena Point overlooking Lena Cove and the sea.  There's even a bench up there from which to enjoy the view. 

Most people go back the same way they came, but supposedly there's a shorter route back "along an undeveloped route, next to the fence, down to the parking area."  Btw, my husband thinks he saw a bear out near the trailhead.  I saw something too but am not sure what I saw.  It's that time when they all start coming out....

Boy Scout/Crow Point Trails

To get to the trailhead, turn left from Egan just before the Herbert River and then turn right at the T.  It's only about a mile or so away from Egan.  The trail starts off in the woods, and there are still icy patches in the early Spring time.  I've come to realize that clamp ons or some sort of traction on your boots are really necessary if you want to enjoy some of these trails in Juneau before the summer.  Once out of the woods, you come out on the meadow and you see Eagle Beach across the river.  A little further down and you hit the beach.  There are multiple ways you can get to either Crow Point or the Boy Scout Camp.  We went to neither this time around because it was raining.  The walk along the beach is really nice though, since there was no one else out there.  It sounds like a popular trail though, so I reckon it's a bit more crowded when the weather is nice.  The book I have says the trail is a 1.5 miles one way, but it seemed like it was a little longer than that.  Bit hard to tell.  There's amost no elevation gain so should be doable in the winter if it's groomed.

Shrine of St. Therese

One of the stops on the tourist route is the Shrine of St. Therese.  Since I'm not Catholic, I can't really comment on it from a religious aspect.  You can refer to their website for details on service information, etc.  It is a nice place to go by for a stroll though.  It's peaceful (when tourists aren't around), and the shrine is a beautiful structure.  There are gardens and various memorials, as well as a gift shop, on-site.  I've always liked visiting churches, temples, etc.  This is the one to visit in Juneau.