Scenic Trails to Explore at Triple Lakes Trailhead

We did just the first 2 lakes, an easy route, it starts with a little elevation, but then it's flat. We only saw the 2 lakes, because in my opinion, they seemed similar, that's according to opinions. We did the route for entertainment and we had nothing else to do.

BOTH TRAILS START FROM THE BACK LEFT OF THE PARKING LOT. Early morning I did the first part of Triple Lakes to Lake 2, and later in the morning we did Oxbow loop. For a National Park I can rate them no better than 4 stars. Both are long walks through the trees for occasional glimpses of water and vistas. If you have bad knees then Oxbow is your friend. Very gradually slopes and level surfaces. Triple Lakes not so much.

A nice wayside with good signage and clean outhouses.

We only walked to the three lakes and back. Took us 4 hours cuz we stopped a lot to enjoy the view and take pictures. There are some incline but not too much. The trail was pretty much empty when we went, saw only 1 couple hiking out as we were hiking in.

7-18-24 This is an out and back trail, 9.5 miles one way, and AllTrails and Denali signage list this with about 1000 feet elevation gain. It can be accessed at two places: 1) The northernmost point is at the Denali Park visitor center and moves south to... 2)The southernmost point at the Tsenesdghaas Na Trailhead on Parks Highway (Highway 3). There is an access point at the Nenana River bridge on Parks Highway near Denali Village/Denali Grizzly Bear as well. I didn't have time to complete the trail and back in one go, so I did this trail in segments. The first day, I started at the aforementioned trailhead on Parks Highway and hiked to the third lake moving north (then back). This was scenic with the Nenana River and the three lakes. It's a narrower part of the trail but well maintained. Mostly dirt gravel with high spruce canopy. Consider it easy to moderate even though AllTrails labels this as strenuous, perhaps because of the length. I found this section of the trail had significantly less traffic and was more remote. The second day, I started at the Denali Park visitor center and hiked south to the third aforementioned lake (and back). This was a lot longer than the first day. The first mile or so moving south has several bridges, including a suspension bridge and a view of a rail bridge for the Alaska Railroad, with the path along Riley Creek. A lot more foot traffic within this part probably due to its proximity to the visitor center and folks just wanting to walk on the suspension bridge. The trail is wider and well formed here. The trail slowly moves away from the creek and becomes more remote with less traffic. It also becomes narrower and more scenery with the spruce and ferns. There is a nice hill close to the first bridge with decent elevation change. In general, the trail has some unevenness and has some elevation change at parts, but I never found it super strenuous at any point. I do like this trail as the scenery is varied, and the trail itself varies as you progress through it. A bonus mention is that the trail connects to the Oxbow Trail and the Nenana River Trail at the southernmost end. Both of these are similar in scenery with the Nenana River as the highlight, and both are just as good, in my opinion. Enjoyed it.