Fourmile Hill, Bluff Cabin Trail
Summer Short Walks
Distance: about 2 miles
Elevation gain: about 200 feet (mostly flat with a steep hill at the end)
Trail type: Hiking
Considerations: Trail is very muddy in spring and after rain
This recommended walk follows the initial portion of Bluff Cabin Ridge Trail, which is more fully described later on. This trail follows a thinly forested easement through privately owned farm fields. At the back of the fields, Fourmile Hill rises abruptly out of the flat landscape, and its sagebrush covered south facing slopes offer a great place to sit in the sun and admire the view out over the trees and fields, to the Alaska Range in the distance.
Drive the Richardson Highway north about 5.5 miles from the center of town, and take a right onto Tanana Loop Road. In 1.25 miles, take a right onto Tanana Loop Extension. In a little over 2 miles, the signed trailhead will be on your left.
The initial portion of the trail is dry and good walking, but quickly devolves into a mud bog, though there are drier, alternate trails through the woods. After almost .75 mile, take a left at a junction. Very soon, the steep hill will rear up on your right. In one spot the trail skirts up against the open sage of the bluff. You can scramble up here, or walk a little further and take a steep 4-wheeler trail up the hill.
ATV Trails
Distance: 4 miles round trip to overlook, 6 miles round trip to Bluff Cabin, 7 miles to lakes
Considerations: Very muddy trail. Please don’t cut it up any worse than you have to.
The Bluff Cabin Trails provide some of the closest backcountry recreation to the town of Delta. Attractions include a couple lakes, some nice viewpoints along a low, forested ridge, and a fairly spectacular open bluff looking out over the Tanana, Delta lowlands, and the mountain range. Unfortunately, heavy use and less than ideal soil conditions have made much of the trail a muddy, rutted mess. For this reason, I didn’t include it in the hiking section. Unless conditions are ideal, it’s just not any fun on foot. It’s still enjoyable on a 4-wheeler, though many will be annoyed at how much this trail is cutting up the landscape.
After .75 mile, after the first set of farm fields, take a right through some more fields, and then through a very rutted and braided section of trail. At 1.3 miles is a junction. Keeping straight will send you on another 1.6 miles of largely flat, rutted trail to Bluff Cabin (which has long since collapsed) on the bank of the Tanana River. The last section of the trail passes along a pretty wetland area with a lot of wildlife. A foot trail climbs steeply up the bluff for a fantastic view over the river. Taking a left at the 1.3 mile junction, the trail climbs steeply onto a forested ridge which affords much drier trail conditions and more enjoyable riding than the lower trail. About 2 miles from the road is a nice view at a rocky outcrop. A little further on, where the main trail takes a sharp turn to the left, away from the ridge crest, there is a minor trail leading off to the right, which makes for some nice, hilly riding with great views, but unfortunately ends abruptly about a half mile before Bluff Cabin. If extended, this would be a great alternative to the muddy lower trail. Back on the main trail, some seriously wet and eroded areas are encountered before the trail ends at Bluff Cabin Lake at 3.5 miles from the road.
Winter
Fourmile Hill
Trail Type: Snowshoeing
Considerations: Trail usually sees heavy use in winter
For those of us on foot, winter is certainly the best time to visit the Bluff Cabin Trail System, with the mud and ruts frozen and covered with packed snow. Since the trail to Bluff Cabin itself is flat and usually well packed by snowmachine traffic, it makes one of the best cross country ski trips in the area. The hilly trails to Bluff Cabin Lake make for an enjoyable outing on snowshoes or a more challenging one on skis.
Bluff Cabin Trail
Distance: 4 miles round trip to overlook, 6 miles round trip to Bluff Cabin, 7 miles to lakes
Elevation Gain: 0-200 feet
Trail Type: Snowshoeing, skiing, snowmachining
Considerations: Trail usually sees heavy use in winter
For those of us on foot, winter is certainly the best time to visit the Bluff Cabin Trail System, with the mud and ruts frozen and covered with packed snow. Since the trail to Bluff Cabin itself is flat and usually well packed by snowmachine traffic, it makes one of the best cross country ski trips in the area. The hilly trails to Bluff Cabin Lake make for an enjoyable outing on snowshoes or a more challenging one on skis.
