Switchback Trail, Alaska, United States

4Michael M 5:00 PM Aug 5, 2018

This is beyond the end of the road. Respect locals.
I used to travel this trail almost daily when I worked at the bottom in a Russian Village of Kachemak Selo. The trail is a good incline and goes from Voznesenka Village down to the beach. It is beautiful there. I recommend not driving down but you may see locals driving up and down the switchback - they are used to it and live there - don't get in their way. Walking down is fun and walking back will get your heart pumping. Take your time and enjoy the views. The villages are private - not tourist spots so respect that and people's privacy. Sometimes you will see Mark leading riders up or down on horseback. He takes people out to the Fox River further down the beach.

3AlaskaDave 5:00 PM Jan 11, 2014

Quite a ride, quite a view
I have traveled this trail both by walking and driving on many occasions during my 30 years in Homer and as previous reviewer Lisa B. points out, there is a beautiful view of the head of Kachemak Bay from the top. However, it isn't in Anchor Point as her review suggests but at the extreme end of East End Road about 23 miles from Homer. The original trail was cut into the steep side of Kachemak bay many years ago as a way to move cattle from their summer range in the salt flats below to the farms at above sea level. Lately, Russian Old Believers living in the town of Kachemak Selo and Vosnesenka have improved the road enough so that you can drive on it with a conventional car. But be forewarned, this drive is not for the faint hearted. Sheer drops to the ocean below, no guardrails, and a surface of gravel & clay make this road quite scary. 4x4 is strongly recommended. If it's raining, walking would be your best bet. The trail itself from the end of East Road to the bay below is not very long, only about half a mile, but what it lacks in length it makes up in elevation, gaining around of height in that distance. Explore the bayside below, have a picnic, make a driftwood campfire, find some fossils in the red clay littered everywhere. You could walk up the beach to the Russian village of Kachemak Selo but don't expect to be welcomed there though as the Old Believers there prefer to keep to the old ways as much as possible. They're hard working people who take great pains to live away from the mainstream. There are no facilities available. Bring your own water and food if desired.