Summer Hiking in Sitka

Since I’ve decided to stay in Sitka for the summer, I’ve been trying to make the most of small town island living by getting outdoors as much as possible. Usually I do this through hiking since Sitka has a wonderful trail system, maintained by a local nonprofit organization and the U.S. Forest Service.

Here are a few pictures from some of the hikes I’ve been doing with friends and family. Sadly, most of the big hikes we’ve done up the tallest mountains have happened to fall on cloudy, rainy days so the view was less than spectacular. We climbed Mt. Edgecumbe volcano one Saturday (14 miles round trip), but at the top were faced with less than 20 feet of visibility due to heavy fog at the crater. After so much work, it can be very frustrating to not be rewarded with the wonderful view you were waiting for, but I just have to remember that this is Southeast Alaska and rain is the norm…

We also hiked Harbor Mountain on a rare sunny day in Sitka (64 F!!) and I was reminded again how beautiful it is here and how lucky I am to be able to call Sitka home. I’m enjoying the summer here and while I can’t see myself living here long term, I do plan on enjoying all Sitka has to offer in the meantime!







Up the volcanic rock summit of Mt. Edgecumbe





My father and me hiking Mt. Verstovia



Looking down at town from Harbor Mountain