There are so many reasons that Alaska draws in tourists year after year. From the wildlife viewing, the pristine wilderness, to the hunting and fishing opportunities, Alaska is a true wonderland for the adventure seeker of any type. One of my favorite activities that we have enjoyed in our time here is glacier viewing! I had seen glaciers and ice fields before in my life, but nothing beats getting up close and learning about these spectacular natural wonders and there's no better place to do that than Alaska! First, some facts: There are over 27,000 glaciers in Alaska but only about 664 of these are named. The oldest Alaskan glacier ice ever recovered is 30,000 years old. Most of the ice flowing in an Alaskan glacier valley takes a few hundred years to travel to the face from the time it forms at the top of the glacier. How is a glacier different than ice? The short answer is that ice is formed in water and glaciers are formed on land. Glacier ice is blue because it's so compacted that the red wavelengths of white light are absorbed and the blue (short wavelengths) are the only light reflected out, much like a sapphire. Though all of these glaciers are formed the same way, we have been to enough glaciers to know that no two are alike. We have had such different experiences between the glaciers we have explored that each time we leave a glacier we add more to our bucket list! The following list includes some of the easier accessible glaciers, including guided tours, to help visitors make the most out of their Alaska trip. So let's get started! Knik GlacierOne of the top Alaskan experiences we've had in our time here will go down as taking the Grande Knik Glacier Tour with Alaska Helicopter Tours. Knik Glacier averages 25 miles long and 5 miles across, and 200 feet thick making it one of the largest glaciers in south central Alaska. We opted for the Grande Tour because it included three incredible landings. Our first stop was at Lake George, a glacially fed alpine lake with massive icebergs. Though we didn't see any calving, we heard the ice cracking at times and it was an incredible view. Our second stop was at the peak of the mountain overlooking the spectacular view of the Knik and Colony Glaciers. It was a view that can only be seen from our unique vantage point and was just amazing to take in. Our last stop was probably the most incredible, when we actually landed on Knik Glacier. We were given cramp-ons to fit over our shoes to prevent sliding as we explored the hundreds year old ice and even drank from the blue glacier pool we landed next too. With no better way of putting it, the entire experience gave us a high that will stay with us in our memories forever. We only wish we had remembered our water bottles to bring back some delicious Glacier water to those in our group who hadn’t joined us! Valdez Glacier LakeYou might think that starting out with a helicopter glacier tour would be dumb because, well, what could top that experience? But the point of this post is to show how many epic ways there are to explore glaciers! Exploring Knik Glacier is indeed epic but exploring Valdez Glacier lake is just as incredible! The runoff of Valdez Glacier is so great that it creates a beautiful lake at the foot of the glacier. There are a few different tour companies that offer kayak tours of this gorgeous place but we brought our own kayaks for exploring. This is easily one of the top adventures we've experienced in our time in Alaska and we highly recommend a tour, but if you are able to venture out on your own, please do so with extreme caution! Always wear a life jacket. Valdez Glacier lake is 640 feet deep so this is a given. The lake is filled with giant chunks of ice due to calving of the glacier and conditions in the lake are constantly changing making the ice unstable. You know how they say icebergs only show 10% of their size above water? The icebergs breaking off Valdez glacier can be the size of large buildings to neighborhood blocks so it is important to stay a safe distance (100 meters) away from the icebergs. A few years ago, there was a tourist family venturing out on their own who got stuck between two giant blocks of ice as the glacier calved right in front of them, causing a sudden rise in the water level, flipping them over and unfortunately they didn't survive. Matanuska GlacierSo far we've talked about exploring a glacier by helicopter and kayak, but how about exploring one on foot?? About 7 hours south of Fairbanks (or 2 hours north of Anchorage) sits the largest glacier in the U.S. that is accessible by car. Matanuska Glacier (pronounced Mat-tan-ooska) is 27 miles long, 4 miles wide, and 250 feet thick at the face. This glacier is the most popular roadside attraction between Anchorage and Glenallen, especially in the summer season when tourists flock to the site. I was able to visit this glacier during the off season, when things are just a little more frozen and interesting - and easier to access. While there are a few areas to see the glacier, the only way to get up close and personal is through a guided tour. You can read about my experience more in depth on this post but I will tell you here that this was another thrilling Alaskan glacier adventure that I will recommend to anyone willing to listen. Glacier CruiseThe final way to experience a glacier is by taking a glacier cruise! There are a few different areas and companies you can do this with. Our favorite glacier cruise was one we took out of Whittier through the Prince William Sound. Tide water glaciers are a whole different breed when it comes to glaciers and the calving you can see of these beauties can be an amazing experience! While the biggest draw to a glacier cruise is seeing glaciers (duh), there is also a lot of wildlife to be seen on the route and a very knowledgeable crew to answer all your glacier questions. We were lucky enough to see calving on this particular cruise and it made for a highlight of our trip for sure! Honorable MentionsPortage Glacier - The area outside the tunnel to get to Whittier is home to Portage Glacier. If you don't have time for a glacier cruise out into the bay, you can take a short cruise to this glacier which is also a popular area to view calving. There are also some viewpoints along a hiking trail and hanging glaciers with epic views in the Portage Valley. Exit Glacier - One glacier we still have on our bucket list is Exit Glacier! We have been to Seward a few times and haven't made the time to get to this easily accessible attraction. Exploring this glacier means hiking along a trail but the most interesting thing might be the sign markers of where the glacier extended to in years past. Worthington Glacier - Worthington Glacier is one of Alaska's most accessible glaciers. It can be seen from the road while driving to Valdez just before Keystone Canyon. You can walk a short distance from the parking lot at milepost 29 off the Richardson Highway. This easy mile walk offers incredible close up views to this majestic 5,774 acre glacier. Valdez Glacier Cruise - I mentioned glacier cruises already when I talked about the one we took out of Whittier and have heard great things about glacier cruises out of Seward as well but one thing that has since been added to my bucket list is the glacier cruise out of Valdez on the Lulubelle. I have heard from a few different people that this cruise is the best! So if you're looking for more glaciers to explore out of Valdez beside Worthington and the glacier lake, this might be something to look into! Castner Glacier - Our first experience in getting up close and personal with a glacier here in Alaska was making the hike to Castner Glacier Ice Cave. We had an incredible experience that you can read about here. We have been back one other time and as of August 2022, unfortunately the front of the glacier as now caved in making the cave inaccessible at this point. It is pretty devastating for locals and visitors alike and we count ourselves incredibly lucky to have seen it in it's prime. So why put it on this list of places to visit if it's now inaccessible? To illustrate that no adventure is guaranteed to be there if you put it off for too long!
Are you putting any of these on your bucket list or have you already seen any of these stunning places? There are so many opportunities to visit these incredible natural wonders and so many ways in which to experience them! We have had a blast exploring all that we can in all these unique ways and we hope this inspires you to do the same. If you're interested in a one-on-one chat to help plan a custom trip to Alaska, check out our options here! Comments or questions? We'd love to hear them! Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post! Don't forget to follow us on Instagram for some of our day-to-day adventures and until next time, get out and explore where you live!
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AuthorWe're just a military family enjoying where we live, one PCS at a time. Follow us as we explore our current home, South Carolina, and beyond. The world is our backyard. Archives
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