The classic short hike in Girdwood. The Winner Creek Trail starts behind the Hotel Alyeska and runs three flat miles through old-growth Sitka spruce and hemlock to the gorge of Winner Creek. The route is well maintained, mostly on boardwalks over the perennially muddy forest floor.
The destination is a small steel-cage tram suspended across the gorge — visitors pull themselves across by hand for a swinging mid-gorge view of the river thundering below. The tram was closed for repairs after a 2021 cable failure and has reopened periodically; check Forest Service status before relying on it. Even if it is closed, the walk to the lookout is worth doing.