Tongass National Forest · Alaska

Beaver Falls

0.4 mi of trail, end to end · Beaver Falls Karst Trailhead Site Trailhead: 1.5 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · other surface · trail No. 54776 · trail class 4 · typical grade 5-8% · tread 48-60 inches wide · hiking, bike · seasonal: hiking 05/15-09/15

Begins at the forest's mile 0, 56.1439, -133.2330 - no trailhead mapped Drive to where the trail begins

Beaver Falls Karst Trailhead Site Trailhead 1.5 mi round trip · the Forest Service's write-up

season May to

This 1.5 mile (round trip) trail provides access to everyone who wants an opportunity to see the karst world up close without entering a cave. At the trailhead you will find a gravel parking area, vault toilet, and garbage cans. Special Features: Beaver Falls is one of the Island's many recreational gems. Surrounded by ancient muskegs and cathedral forests, the falls are relatively small but spectacular to see. Water cascades some 40 feet down to disappear into an adjacent cave. The cave itself is inaccessible and prone to sudden flooding. Before reaching the falls, you walk through muskegs that have taken thousands of years to develop to their present state. Decaying plants build a layer of peat that holds water like a giant sponge and gradually break down the surface of the karst to form caves. Visitors can pause at several points on the tour to see unique plant species including bog laurel, Labrador tea, and diminutive, ultra slow-growing shore pines that might be less than two feet high, yet 150 or more years old. You can also see features such as sinkholes, deep vertical pits, disappearing streams, and collapsed channels from the trail.

This trailhead on fs.usda.gov

Every trail in Tongass National Forest

All 589 trails in Tongass National ForestFind a trailForest on fs.usda.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the US Forest Service's National Forest System trails layer (public domain), read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end, and the class, surface, grade and tread width are the forest's own entries where it publishes them - a forest that publishes the centreline alone has none. The trailheads and the points along the way are the Service's recreation points, and the write-ups its own recarea text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the forest's own site before you go.