Trailhead
Deer Mountain Trailhead
- Access modes
- Road
- Nearest town
- Ketchikan
Half a mile up Ketchikan Lakes Rd, past the Nordstrom Dr junction.
Trail
Deer Mountain Trail
The landmark climb straight out of downtown, with alpine views over Tongass Narrows.
Ketchikan, Tongass Narrows and Gravina Island from the ridge between Deer Mountain and Blue Lake. · Ben Limle / USDA Forest Service, Alaska Region (public domain) · Public domain · Photo source
Tongass National Forest · USFS
- Distance
- 2.8 mi[1]
- Elevation gain
- 2600 ft[2]
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- Route type
- Out and back
- Access modes
- Road · Hike
- Has cabin or shelter
- Yes
RoadHike
About 2.75 mi one way to the summit and 2.5 mi to the shelter, gaining about 2,600 ft. Trailhead is half a mile up Ketchikan Lakes Rd, past the Nordstrom Dr junction.
- [1]Distance: ~2.75 mi one way (USFS Ketchikan Area Trails Guide (2024)); also reported as ~5 mi round trip (Southeast regional overview). All footnotes
- [2]Elevation gain: ~2,600 ft (USFS Ketchikan trail guide (older PDF)); also reported as 2,000 ft in the first 2 mi (USFS Deer Mountain Trailhead page (partial figure)). All footnotes
In pictures
Connected places & operators
Hiking
Sources
- USDA Forest Service: Ketchikan Area Trails Guide (R10-RG-258, April 2024)USDA Forest Service
- USDA Forest Service: Deer Mountain TrailheadUSDA Forest Service
Last updated 2026-11-03