Indianhouse Peak

Indianhouse is a beautiful and prominent peak I stare at every time I'm heading back to town along Turnagain Arm. Considering its proximity to Anchorage, it's surprising there's not more information about hiking it. The purpose of this post is to provide logistical information for people who want to hike up this nearby peak.

Park at the small, unmarked turnout at Milepost 104 of the Seward Highway. Look for the small, unmarked trail that starts at the east end of the pull-off and heads uphill. After climbing for about a hundred vertical feet, the trail ascends gradually and heads west following an old roadbed from the historic Johnson trail along Turnagain Arm (the same grade on which the Turnagain Arm trail is located, not too far to the west).  This surprisingly well-used trail climbs between cliff bands and emerges in a clearing, where you'll see powerlines and a trail heading uphill to your right. 

Take this trail, which climbs toward the meadowy ridgeline that reaches north toward Indianhouse. The trail is mostly easy to follow except where it briefly descends near a giant spruce tree.  If you find yourself off a trail, go back and find the trail. You should be able to stay on the trail all the way up the ridge, well above brush line, to elevations of more than 2,000 feet.  Once you're on the ridge, it's a lovely walk up tundra, and before long you'll have a view of Indianhouse's summit.  From here, you can look across Indianhouse's southeast flank and plan your approach:

The yellow highlighted marks the approximate route traversing from the ridge, then following a gully to the ridgeline.  This scree gully does not have significant exposure (unless perhaps you catch it with summer snow, in which case you'd want an ice ax for self-arresting), and the primary hazard is rockfall. Bring a helmet, and this is not a great route for large groups. Definitely don't bring a dog.  At no point should you have fall hazard, as this is an easy third-class staircase of rock and scree.  After gaining the summit, look back to make sure you remember the gully you'll descend on the way down; others are much steeper.

Indianhouse's summit has panoramic views, and in clear weather you can scan the horizon from Marcus Baker to Isthmus toward the east.

Prior to hiking Indianhouse, I was unclear if the summit had exposure or required one or more rappels. This route I've described is an easy half-day trip; Billy Finley and Joe Stock have great trip reports on  more challenging routes.