Harlequin Lake Trail

This short forested trail punches way above its weight class. Starting about 30 miles outside Yakutat on the remote coastal side of Wrangell-St. Elias, you'll wind through dense Sitka spruce and hemlock before the trees part to reveal something genuinely jaw-dropping: a glacial lake studded with actual icebergs calved from the Yakutat Glacier. The trail itself is relatively flat and follows a straightforward path through temperate rainforest, with roots and muddy patches keeping things interesting underfoot. The payoff — standing at the shore of Harlequin Lake watching house-sized chunks of blue-white ice drift past in eerie silence — feels like something you should have suffered more to earn. This is the kind of trail that rewards the adventurous souls willing to make the long drive out to one of America's least-visited national parks.