Petersburg Lake Trail Project
Petersburg Ranger District Project Summary
Project Summary:
Located in the Petersburg Creek—Duncan Salt Chuck Wilderness Area on Kupreanof Island, the Petersburg Lake Trail is frequented by locals, hunters, fishermen, and tourists. This trail spans 11 miles, and most of that length is situated within the designated Wilderness. The Petersburg Lake Trail Project focuses on the Wilderness portion, which extends 6.6 miles from the Forest Service cabin on Petersburg Lake to the high tide trailhead located on Petersburg Creek. The presence of diverse attributes such as old-growth trees, beaver dams, creek drainages, and muskegs demands a variety of trail modifications and upkeep. The Wilderness trail crew performs yearly maintenance when funding and staffing allow, but the trail requires more extensive management.
The goal of the Petersburg Lake Trail Project is to improve the Wilderness trail for ease of use by recreationists. The trail crew will remedy eroded and muddy spots, mitigate exposed roots, improve water drainage, brush back overgrown vegetation, cut out fallen trees, and address other challenges as they arise. All lumber used in trail building will be purchased from local mills. In April 2023, the Forest Service initiated fieldwork efforts for this project. Trail improvements are estimated to be completed in 2025.
Fiscal Year 2023 Accomplishments:
Wilderness Ranger Tyler Shaw oversaw field operations for the Petersburg Lake Trail Project. The project workforce consisted of Student Conservation Association (SCA) interns as well as members of the Forest Service recreation staff.
The crew cleared roughly 4 miles of trail by removing 73 fallen trees, brushing 1555 feet of overgrown vegetation, and installing 90 feet of lateral drains. To improve trail quality, the crew constructed 470 feet of raised or ground-level boardwalk (Puncheon) over 1.5 miles of the trail. The establishment of these puncheon boardwalk features required felling of 35 small-diameter trees for supporting logs. The 2023 field season was a great kickoff for the project. Many thanks to the Petersburg Ranger District Wilderness Trail Crew for the hard work and dedication.
Click each trail point to see photos of various trail work accomplishments.
FY 2023 Trail Work Map
Pre-Season Trail Conditions:
This Wilderness trail requires substantial maintenance. Vast portions of the trail are overgrown, flooded, or obstructed. Heavy rainfall and frequent wind events contribute to trail degradation. The presence of beaver dams on the southernmost section requires strategic trail reconstruction efforts.
Click map locations for details on major trail hazards that were documented prior to the start of the project.
Wilderness Trail Stewardship:
Because Petersburg Lake Trail is in a designated Wilderness area, there are unique management practices and legal restrictions that the crew must observe. For example, use of motorized and mechanized equipment, like chainsaws and powered wheelbarrows, is prohibited; work must be accomplished using hand tools such as cross-cut saws and axes. These regulations are in place to protect the integrity of the Wilderness:
"...managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable[.]" - Wilderness Act, P.L. 88-577, 16 U.S.C. §§1131 et seq
Trail Improvements:
Trail modifications included brushing vegetation, digging drainages, and installing minor trail features. Puncheon features are constructed in particularly swampy sections of the trail. The top boards are made of cedar sections. The bottom supporting logs, also known as stringers, are felled from the surrounding area. Puncheon is a term referring to primitive boardwalk constructed by hand in boggy environments for a more stable tread for recreational users.
Getting There:
One factor that complicates Wilderness trail work is the remoteness of the worksites, which creates more logistical challenges regarding supply drops than other non-Wilderness trail projects. This season, the crew drew from supplies of puncheon that had been stashed in prior years near Petersburg Lake Cabin. Additional wood was delivered by floatplane later in the season. The Forest Service hired local vendors offering Otter and Beaver floatplane services to complete these runs.
Future Trail Work:
The Petersburg Lake Trail Project is funded by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). Funding is available for 3 years and applies only to trail improvements within the Wilderness area. The Forest Service aims to restore one third, or approximately 2 miles, of Petersburg Lake Trail each season, completing work in the fall of 2025.
