The riding is on singletrack and slickrock of the Morrison Formation from the late Jurassic era. You'll briefly descend to the upper border of the Entrada, but most of the riding will be on Salt Wash sandstone. The Alaska trail is upper-intermediate in tech requirement. Depending on which route you take, there will be some hard climbing.
Riders do Alaska in either direction, about 50:50. You might prefer to climb all the way to the top on Mega Steps (or another climbing route) and hit Alaska in the counterclockwise (downhill) direction.

The Alaska trail itself is 4 miles long, but you have to ride other trails to get to it. The smallest ride is 6.5 miles. This simple loop climbs Mega Steps to Alaska, then makes a loop (either direction) around Alaska and Mega Steps. See the map. This route should be within the capability of an experienced intermediate rider.

The 2013 completion of the Dino Flow trail extension to the Dinosaur Trackway trailhead allows you to reach Alaska via Dino Flow. This is a great option if the Mega Steps trailhead access is muddy. After starting on Dino Flow, you can climb to Alaska via Homer, Nome or Mega Steps as you ride south on Dino Flow.

Two other trails are intimately tied to Alaska. The Homer Trail starts uphill from Dino Flow just south of the Dinosaur Trackway trailhead and climbs uphill 250 vertical feet in 0.8 miles. It reaches Alaska just as that trail begins to get serious about heading uphill. That route is the fastest way uphill.

The Nome Trail also starts on Dino Flow, about half-way from the trackway to Mega Steps. It also climbs quickly to Alaska, but crosses and keeps going uphill for a little loop of technical rock riding. Most riders would probably choose to use upper Nome as a side trip while doing the main Alaska loop. See the ride description below.(You do know that Homer and Nome are towns in Alaska, right? Just checking.)

The Alaska Trail offers a lot of reasons to ride it. There's a lot of tight swooping desert singletrack. There's miles of slickrock. With the other trails in the area -- Mega Steps , EKG , Dino Flow , Baby Steps , and Little Salty -- you can put together a monster ride. Thirty, forty miles? No problem.

Alaska provides solid intermediate riding. It's not as technical and bumpy as, for example, EKG. The slickrock flows well with few tech challenges. The trail is marked with teal-colored paint stripes. Every intersection is well-marked and easy to figure out.

On the way up, you'll be treated to views to the west toward the Blue Hills. But once you reach the ridgeline... Wow.

At the ridge, the trail overlooks Salt Valley to the northeast. The trail undulates along the ridge, returning to the view again and again. The ridgeline ride is fun stuff on superbly well-built trail.

The trail ends where Mega Steps reaches the ridgeline. You can turn and descend Mega Steps , or keep riding the ridgeline toward Baby Steps or Little Salty . Lots of possibilities.

The basic Alaska Loop starts from Mega Steps at the Northern Klondike trailhead. It's 6.5 miles long with 1100 vertical feet of climbing. Top altitude is 5300 feet. It's upper-intermediate in technical requirement.

Climb Mega Steps. As you reach slickrock, keep straight uphill as Dino Flow joins on your left then leaves on your right. Climb another 1/4 mile. At the next intersection, EKG ends on your right as Mega Steps continues straight ahead. (For a counter-clockwise loop, keep straight.) Fork to the right on Alaska for a clockwise loop.

Stay on Alaska as Nome forks away uphill on your right. A bit later, Nome will rejoin on your right for 100 feet, then split downhill to your left. Keep on Alaska. The trail will meander, gaining and losing altitude before you reach the Homer fork. Keep right and begin some serious climbing.

The trail will climb a narrow band of slickrock. Stop to take in the view. Now keep climbing as you again hit dirt and Salt Wash sandstone. At the rim, the trail will turn to the right. Again, take a break as you admire the cliffs across Salt Valley.

There's some fun riding along the ridge until, all too soon, you reach the junction with Mega Steps.

Mega Steps is a fast and fun downhill, interrupted by a brief climb up and over a dirt ridgeline. You'll skirt another broad expanse of Entrada sandstone peeking up through the red dirt. (There are three of these exposed spots, which all tend to look alike. But you're not in the same valley you crossed before.) Now fly back to the trailhead.

This loop follows the basic Alaska Loop, but detours onto Nome. This adds over a mile of technical riding, bringing the distance to 7.7 miles and the climbing total to 1400. The addition of Nome puts the tech level into the advanced level.

You can do the loop either direction. I rode counterclockwise my first ride, then clockwise the next time. I think Nome rides better in the clockwise direction, as it puts some very big rock stunts on the downhill side.
First, get to the Mega Steps/Alaska intersection. You can take Dino Flow to Mega Steps from the Trackway trailhead, or go up Mega Steps from the North Klondike parking. For the clockwise ride, turn left on Alaska.

Watch for a sign "Nome Exit" with blue paint stripes on the rock. If you're doing Nome counterclockwise, turn to the right and follow those blue stripes. The trail will climb up a little dead-end escarpment.
If your plan is to do Nome clockwise, continue up Alaska another half mile, then fork right on Nome. You'll repeat this (relatively easy) half-mile when you finish Nome.

There are some stretches of advanced technical riding here, but nothing too hairy. Plenty of time to see what's coming up and get ready for your move.

After flirting with the cliff edge, Nome turns back downhill and gets easier. After 1.4 miles on Nome, you're back to Alaska, not too far from where you left. Fork to the right, then keep right on Alaska in 100 feet as Nome drops down to Dino Flow.

You're now back on the standard Alaska loop as described above. The trail will meander a bit before it reaches the Homer fork. Keep to the right and begin climbing.

There's some fun stuff on the ridgeline. Some excellent rock-work allows you to ride right along the top with great views in all directions.

When you reach the Mega Steps intersection, turn to the right downhill to complete the loop. Or if your ride was just too short, keep left and ride on.

This ride starts from the Dinosaur Trackway parking. From Dino Flow, it quickly starts uphill on Homer, then connects to Alaska just as it begins its serious climbing. You'll go straight up the mountain in less than two miles. Then on the descent down Mega Steps, you'll veer back onto Alaska, then detour onto Nome to climb back uphill then drop down to Dino Flow. Total distance is 7.7 miles, but it will feel like a significantly harder ride. Total climbing will be 1450 feet.

From the kiosk at the Dinosaur Trackway, look south toward the pit toilet. Dino Flow starts at the far left corner of the gravel area at the trail post. You might not notice the trail if you don't approach the toilet area.

After only 1/10 mile, turn left uphill on Homer. The trail is marked with yellow paint stripes. The route is a fairly steady climb without much meandering.

Homer is almost all slickrock. You'll hit a bit of dirt just before the junction with Alaska. Turn left on Alaska. The trail will curve around to an escarpment, which is your route to the top.

Climb Alaska all the way to the top. Follow the ridge around to the Mega Steps intersection.

Take Mega Steps downhill. The first intersection you come to will be the EKG/Alaska crossing. Fork right on Alaska and climb back uphill about 1/2 mile.

Now fork to the right on Nome. It's climbing time again.

After Nome curves around and returns to Alaska, fork right on the combined route. 100 feet later, fork to the left to stay on Nome to continue the descent.(Or, take another lap by keeping straight on Alaska.)

Nome will descend steadily. As you see the desert approaching, you'll hit Dino Flow. Fork to the right to return to parking.

Northern Klondike TH:  On Highway 191 8.5 miles south of I-70 and 6.5 miles north of the southern Klondike Bluffs road (about 5 miles north of the airport), watch for a "Northern Klondike" sign at N38 49.504 W109 46.893. Turn east (toward the sandstone bluff). Keep to the right as the road winds south around a small hill. 1.2 miles from the highway as the road is heading east toward the bluff, the Chilcoot trailhead is on the right. Now fork right on a fainter jeep road N38 49.103 W109 46.061, as the main road continues to the dinosaur tracks. (Park here if the road is in bad shape.) At mile 1.6, you'll come to the small parking spot for the Jasper and Agate loops (N38 49.087 W109 45.625) on your right. At 2.0 miles, you're at the bottom of Mega Steps at a larger parking area N38 49.179 W109 45.417. To reach Alaska, head uphill on Mega Steps.
Dinosaur Tracks TH:  At the trail fork at mile 1.2, keep left on the main road toward the dinosaur tracks. About 1/2 mile further, turn to the right into the parking area. The Dino Flow trail is up against the mountain, to the left of the pit toilet. It will take you to Homer, then to Nome, then to Mega Steps (which climbs to Alaska).