THE MARATHON CONNECTOR TRAIL – 17.9 KM

The Marathon Connector Trail is a moderately-well groomed to well-groomed traverse between the Lookout Mountain Trails and the Baycrest Trails. Be ready for steep descents and long climbs and very steep gullies. Many portions of the trail cross private land, so please be respectful, and stay on the trail!

From Lookout, the preferred direction for a through ski, the trail leaves from the west end of the Spruce Loop. It descends about 450′ in elevation over a little more than 2 km to Twitter Creek. The trail then climbs about 300′ over about 3 km to Crossman Ridge, which it traverses for about 2 km. The trail then descends about 640′ over about 6 km to Bridge Creek. It climbs a little over 500′ out of Bridge Creek for about 5.5 km to Diamond Ridge Road, where it meets with Sunset Loop, about a half-km east of the parking behind the Fire Station. If you are not skiing all the way through, two steep gullies on the climb from Twitter Creek to Crossman Ridge at around km 3.3 might make a good turn-around point. One of the gullies is appropriately named: “The Wall”.

From Baycrest start at the Sunset Loop Trailhead, parking behind the fire station in the designated spaces. The Fire Station is located at mile 2.1 Diamond Ridge Road. From the trail head, ski east on the Sunset Loop. After you cross two driveways watch for the trail turning north across Diamond Ridge Road.  From Sunset Loop, the trail drops a little over 500′ in elevation over about 5.4 km on its way down to Bridge Creek, then it climbs almost 650′ over 7 km to Crossman Ridge, then drops another 300′ to Twitter Creek before climbing 450′ to the Lookout Mountain Trail system. The steepest gully on the trail, named Milktoast, is at around km 4.2 from Sunset Loop. It might make a good turn-around point of you are not skiing all the way to Lookout. The descent to Milktoast is broken by some hill climbing, so the climb back up is not too monotonous. The final descent to Bridge Creek is very steep, with a sharp curve at the valley bottom.

The Marathon Connector is arguably one of the most scenic trails in the state.  Expansive views of Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay, the Kenai Mountains and Glaciers, Mt. Augustine, Mt. Illiamna, Mt. Redoubt, Mt. Spurr, and even Denali (?) on a clear day make for a spectacular tour on a blue-bird sunshine day (Think March). The Connector Trail is groomed for the Kachemak Bay Marathon Ski Race and Tour, the trail is maintained in late February and early March during years when the snow depth is sufficient.