Authorities have announced the temporary closure of the Mount Edgecumbe trail located on Kruzof Island, about ten miles west of Sitka near the Fred’s Creek cabin. The popular hiking destination will be inaccessible to the public until it reopens on Saturday, April 27.
The U.S. Forest Service has temporarily shut down the trail to facilitate staging of construction materials needed for upcoming maintenance. Throughout this week, a contractor has been using helicopters to transport gravel and lumber to several spots along the initial two-mile stretch of the trail.
Once the materials are delivered and properly positioned, officials do not anticipate further closures related to this phase of the project. The trail maintenance work scheduled for later this summer includes about two weeks of repairs by a dedicated agency crew. Further improvements are planned for next year, aiming for project completion in the summer of 2025.