What to See and Do
Hiking and Biking
Tiekel Trees Alpine Access Trail
This lightly trafficked trail, which is an hour and 21 minutes southeast of Kimball Pass, features a lake and beautiful panoramic views from the top. The Tiekel Trees Alpine Access Trail is an out-and-back route that is best used from May to October.
Length: 2.6 miles
Intensity: Hard
Thompson Pass
Located an hour and 50 minutes southwest of Kimball Pass, Thompson Pass is a loop-style trail. It offers scenic views and excellent bird-watching opportunities.
Length: 2.4 miles
Intensity: Moderate
Worthington Glacier Loop
The Worthington Glacier Loop, an hour and 48 minutes southwest of Kimball Pass, features a beautiful lake. Expect a large uphill climb going from an elevation of around 2,000 feet to 2,900 feet.
Length: 2.3 miles
Intensity: Hard
Liberty Falls Trail
An hour and 28 minutes northeast of Kimball Pass is Liberty Falls Trail, an out-and-back route that features a lake and a spruce forest. The start of the trail is steep, but it leads to a level ridge that provides stunning views of the mountains.
Length: 2.3 miles
Intensity: Moderate
Fishing and Boating
Kimball Pass offers a variety of fishing opportunities. Pippin Lake, an hour and two minutes northwest of Kimball Pass, and the Squirrel Creek Recreational Site, which is 58 minutes northwest of Kimball Pass, are the most popular. These places are stocked by the state of Alaska with Arctic grayling and rainbow trout. Other options include O'Brien Creek, Eskilida Creek, Second Lake, Tonsina Lake, and the Tonsina River. You can expect to catch trout, sockeye, silver salmon, and chinook.
Climbing
There are various mountain ridges that you can scale throughout this region of Alaska. A couple of the most popular are Wrangell-St. Elias, an hour and 25 minutes northwest of Kimball Pass, and Mt. Tiekel, which is an hour and 25 minutes southwest of Kimball Pass.
Wildlife Viewing
Alaska is home to an abundance of wildlife ranging from birds to land mammals. Some of the most popular land mammals you'll see include brown and black bears, moose, caribou, musk ox, mountain goats, Dall sheep, wolves, and porcupines. Some popular bird species that you may come across include bald eagles, swans, snowy owls, ravens, Arctic warblers, bluethroats, emperor geese, red-faced cormorants, and yellow-billed loons.
Picnicking
If you would like to have a picnic, Liberty Falls State Recreation Site, an hour and 29 minutes northeast of Kimball Pass, has one picnic area. An hour and 53 minutes southwest of Kimball Pass, you will find Blueberry Lake State Recreation Site, which has 25 picnic sites.
Hunting
Hunters around the globe come to this region of Alaska to hunt some of the biggest and most desired game. The animals range from fearsome grizzly bears to the majestic Dall sheep. Some popular animals for hunting are musk ox, grouse, hares, caribou, and moose.
