Exploring the Majesty of Alaskan Glaciers

Alaska boasts the most glaciers in the world, with over 100,000 glaciers covering nearly 30,000 square miles. They are a major tourist attraction and a vital part of the Alaskan ecosystem. Flightseeing is a popular way to get a bird's-eye view of Alaska's glaciers. You can see the glaciers up close and get a sense of their size and scale. Glacier cruises take you through the fjords and see the glaciers from the water. You may even see calving, where a piece of ice breaks off the glacier and falls into the water. Hike on top of a glacier for an up-close look. This is a great way to learn about glaciers and how they move. Be sure to go with a guide, as there are crevasses (deep cracks in the ice) that can be dangerous. There are several visitor centers located near glaciers. These centers offer exhibits on glaciers, as well as information on how to safely explore them. Seeing icy glaciers is a quintessential Alaskan experience. Here are the most popular glaciers and the best ways to see them.

History Behind Alaska’s Most Famous Glaciers 

Alaska wouldn’t be Alaska without its glaciers. These massive rivers of ice are responsible for the shape of the landscape—and that’s just the beginning. Learn the history behind the state’s most famous glaciers. A cruise through Glacier Bay is a journey through natural and human history, back to the Little Ice Age. Truly a remarkable place, it has acted as a living laboratory for scientists, such as botanist William S. Cooper, who studied how plants react to glacial retreat. It is the muse for poets and a beloved wild playground of naturalists, like John Muir. It’s the ancestral homeland of the Huna Tlingit, who called it S’e Shuyee or “edge of the glacial silt.” Glacier Bay’s Most Popular Glaciers are John Hopkins Glacier and Margerie Glacier; John Hopkins Glacier was named after Harry Feilding Reid, a glaciologist, seismologist and professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1893. Margerie Glacier was named after French geographer Emmanuel de Margerie, who visited in 1913. On cruises to Glacier Bay, rangers and Huna Tlingit guides bring the history of this extraordinary place to life with engaging talks. 

College Fjord

College Fjord is a stunning fjord located in the northern sector of Prince William Sound, Alaska.  It's known for its dramatic scenery, abundant wildlife, and particularly the numerous glaciers lining its shores.  These glaciers are the main reason the fjord got its name. As you cruise College Fjord, you’re traveling in the path of the 1899 Harriman Expedition that rounded up the world’s leading naturalists, botanists, photographers and nature writers on a two-month voyage from Seattle to Alaska and Siberia. You’ll notice that many of the glaciers are named after prestigious universities. Glaciers on the left are women’s colleges and the ones on the right are men’s colleges. Some of the more famous glaciers in the College Fjord are Amherst, Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Harvard, Smith, Vassar and Yale.

College Fjord boasts five tidewater glaciers, five large valley glaciers, and dozens of smaller glaciers. The most impressive is Harvard Glacier, the largest glacier in the fjord and the second-largest tidewater glacier in Prince William Sound. Tidewater glaciers are particularly interesting because they calve, which means large chunks of ice break off the face of the glacier and crash into the water. This process is dramatic to witness and a constant reminder of the dynamic nature of glaciers. College Fjord is a popular destination for cruises traveling through Prince William Sound. Visitors can enjoy the breathtaking scenery, spot marine wildlife like whales and seals, and witness the calving of glaciers.  Some smaller boat tours are also available from nearby Alaskan towns.

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier is a unique glacier for a couple reasons. Unlike many glaciers that are retreating due to climate change, Hubbard Glacier is actually advancing. It's the longest tidewater glacier in North America, stretching 76 miles long and 6 miles wide at its terminus. Located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in eastern Alaska and Kluane National Park and Reserve in Yukon, Canada, Hubbard Glacier is named after Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society. Even at 400 years old, Hubbard Glacier manages to stay active. As many glaciers thin and retreat, Hubbard Glacier is advancing at a rate so fast it’s nicknamed, “the Galloping Glacier.” Hubbard’s massive ice chunks regularly calve off and thunder into the sea. It also caused the largest glacial lake outburst flood in recent history.

It is an advancing glacier, meaning the terminus or the end of the glacier is moving forward. This is in contrast to most glaciers which are retreating. In the past 30 years, it has surged twice, blocking the entrance to Russell Fiord and temporarily turning it into a lake. The glacier face can be up to 400 feet tall, and icebergs 3 to 4 stories in height are not uncommon. Calving, or the breaking off of large pieces of ice, is a frequent occurrence at Hubbard Glacier. The reasons why Hubbard Glacier is advancing while most glaciers are retreating are not fully understood by scientists. Hubbard Glacier is a popular destination for cruises in Alaska's Inside Passage. Visitors can marvel at the glacier's size and beauty, and witness calving events firsthand.

Tracy Arm & Twin Sawyer Glaciers

The Tracy Arm Fjord and the Twin Sawyer Glaciers are located near Juneau, Alaska. It's a popular destination for boat tours because of the stunning scenery, wildlife viewing, and the opportunity to see the twin glaciers up close. Tracy Arm is a 30-mile-long fjord, accessed through Stephens Passage and part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. It was named after the Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Franklin Tracy. At the fjord’s end lies the Sawyer Glacier, a glacier with two separate parts, North and South. See the Twin Sawyer Glaciers on the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer shore excursion. The Twin Sawyer Glaciers are the highlight of any Tracy Arm Fjord tour. These two massive glaciers, North Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier, originate in Canada and flow down into the Tracy Arm Fjord.

South Sawyer Glacier is the larger and more accessible glacier of the two. It's a tidewater glacier, meaning it calves (breaks off large chunks of ice) directly into the saltwater of the fjord. This calving can sometimes be quite dramatic and is a highlight of many Tracy Arm Fjord tours. North Sawyer Glacier is smaller and less accessible than South Sawyer Glacier. In recent years, the retreat of North Sawyer Glacier has made it difficult for larger cruise ships to navigate close to the glacier. In addition to the glaciers, Tracy Arm Fjord is a great place to see wildlife.  Keep your eyes peeled for whales, harbor seals, mountain goats, bears, and a variety of bird species. If you're looking for a truly Alaskan adventure, a Tracy Arm Fjord cruise is a great option.  The combination of stunning scenery, wildlife viewing, and the chance to see the Twin Sawyer Glaciers up close is an unforgettable experience.

Valdez Glacier

Valdez Glacier is a 20-mile valley glacier located in the Chugach Mountains near Valdez, Alaska.  The runoff from this glacier creates a lake in front of its terminus called Valdez Glacier Lake. Valdez Glacier is a winter wonderland with a storied past. Prospectors came to Valdez in the late 1800s to follow the “All-American Route” to the goldfields over the glaciers. However, the gold seekers were misled. There was no town or real trail. Between 1897-98, thousands of stampeders came to the new city. During the Gold Rush of 1898, gold seekers traveled over Valdez Glacier into the interior of Alaska.  Some set up shop and some braved the harrowing journey over the glacier. In the summer, Valdez Glacier Lake is a popular destination for kayaking and offers stunning views of the glacier and the surrounding mountains. 

In the winter, the lake freezes over and becomes a wonderland for ice skating, snowshoeing, skiing, and snowmobiling. However, it's important to make sure the lake is completely frozen before venturing out on it. While you can't see the glacier itself from the roadside, there are hiking trails that lead to viewpoints with stunning vistas. Kayaking or taking a boat tour on Valdez Glacier Lake is the best way to get a close-up look at the glacier. Like many tidewater glaciers, Valdez Glacier calves, or sheds large chunks of ice, that float around in Valdez Glacier Lake. These icebergs are a fascinating sight and add to the beauty of the area.

Mendenhall Glacier

Mendenhall Glacier is a 13.6-mile-long glacier located in Mendenhall Valley, about 12 miles from downtown Juneau, Alaska. It's one of the most accessible glaciers in North America and is a popular tourist destination. John Muir originally named this glacier Auke (Auk) for the Tlingit Auk Kwaan. In 1891, it was renamed for Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, an American physicist and meteorologist. Sadly, the Mendenhall Glacier has receded 1.5 miles since 1929. A stop into the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center is the best way to learn more about its history. Or view the glacier and enjoy a salmon feast on the Mendenhall Glacier & Salmon Bake excursion. Mendenhall Glacier is a beautiful place to visit any time of year. However, the best time to visit is during the summer months (May/September) when the weather is mild and there are more daylight hours. Winter offers a different kind of beauty, with snow-capped mountains and a frozen lake.  However, some of the amenities and facilities, like the visitor center, have limited hours during the winter.

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center offers stunning views of the glacier, as well as exhibits on glaciers and the surrounding ecosystem. There are also several trails in the area that lead to viewpoints with even better views of the glacier. The most popular trail is the East Glacier Loop, which is a 3.5-mile loop trail that takes you to the top of a moraine (a pile of rocks and dirt left behind by a glacier) with panoramic views of the glacier and the surrounding valley. Mendenhall Lake is a great place to go kayaking. You can paddle around the lake and get a close-up look at the glacier. Be sure to go with a guided tour, as the lake can be quite cold and there are strong currents in some areas. If you want to get a truly unique perspective of Mendenhall Glacier, take a helicopter tour. You'll be able to see the glacier from above and get a sense of its size and scale.

Matanuska Glacier

Being able to walk up to any glacier is a stunning experience, and this big boy is the biggest, and perhaps most impressive roadside glacier, in part because you can easily touch it. Just a 2.5-hour drive from Anchorage, the Matanuska Glacier sits off the scenic but less-traveled Glenn Highway. More than four miles wide at its terminus, Matanuska is so massive that the water flowing out of its snout forms the roaring Matanuska River. To see the glacier, you can just take one of the pullouts all along the highway —each with great photo ops—or you can drive near the glacier’s edge for up-close photos. One qualifier: Access to the glacier is on private land, so to get on the glacier you must join a guided tour. Options include a glacier walk / hike or ice climbing class. The sheer ice walls, deep blue holes (called moulins) and creaking ice make it an unforgettable experience. At the very least, it’s a great excuse to drive the Glenn Highway. This road trip gives you a feel for the colorful adventurers, guides and backcountry Alaskans who live in these remote corners of the state. It’s easy to spend a couple days out here, thanks to the great lodges—not the big, cruise-circuit lodges, but intimate, family-run places that attract independent-minded travelers

Prince William Sound: Day Cruise

You’ve likely seen those iconic glacier images, with hunks of ice crashing into the ocean. But to experience that humbling sight in person, your best bet is to go to Prince William Sound. Tidewater glaciers originate high in the mountains and cover dozens of miles before plunging into the sea. Only 90 minutes from Anchorage by car or train, Prince William Sound has more tidewater glaciers than anywhere on earth, and it’s one of the easiest places to take a glacier cruise. Most day cruises take between four and five hours, but there are two distinct types of cruises, and they offer different experiences: You’ll see more glaciers on the high-speed catamarans—such as the Surprise Glacier in Harriman Fjord, which some people think is the best calving glacier in the sound. The slower cruising boats, on the other hand, spend more time at the glaciers they visit, and those trips often include Blackstone Bay, where you can listen to the creaking and cracking ice while eating prime rib and king crab. Or, totally immerse yourself in the sound on a multi-day small ship cruise or private yacht charter.

Knik Glacier: Flightseeing, ATV Tour, or Hike for View

The 25-mile-long Knik Glacier snakes out of the Chugach Mountains before tumbling dramatically into an iceberg-studded lake that feeds the Knik River. With a five-mile-wide face and daily calving, the glacier’s an impressive sight: Its 400-foot-tall ice walls rise up from the lake where those icebergs are floating, turning, and breaking apart. Even better, the Knik Glacier is close to both Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, and some great tours can get you up close. Flights are as short as 90 minutes round-trip (and up to 2.5 hours if you’d like to land on the glacier); heli-tours from the Palmer area get you to the glacier a little faster. Soar over the ice, touch town for a landing, and explore the ice with grippers on your shoes. You can also go ice climbing, paddleboarding in the blue melt pools, or dogsledding up on the glacier’s snowfield. Or take an exciting all-day ATV adventure to experience the shimmering lake at the glacier’s face. If you're ok with a view from afar, the West Butte Trail offers a great view (first picture) of the Knik Glacier tucked into the valley.

Exit Glacier

There are some glaciers you can drive to, but very few that you can stroll to. Just 15 miles from Seward—where many cruises embark and disembark—Exit Glacier is one of the most popular road-accessible glaciers in the state. In fact, you can walk almost right up to the face of it in 30 minutes, by way of the Edge of the Glacier Trail. Exit Glacier is not huge, but it looks big up close, so it makes a great place for photos. It’s also a good spot to learn about glacial movement since it’s receding quickly; there's even a guide marking its recession over the past 120 years. The well-developed trails here have good footing and interpretive signs, explaining the return of plant life after the ice. There’s also a self-guided audio tour on The Alaska App, narrated by the Park Service’s chief interpretive ranger. If you’re looking for more of an adventure, take the Harding Icefield Trail, which climbs 3,500 feet in 4 miles, and gives great views of the glacier. There are also guided hikes on the glacier if you want to strap on crampons and walk on the ice.

Take the Railroad to Spencer Glacier

Robustly colorful and relaxing to reach. Set between Anchorage and Denali, Spencer bends the road-accessible glacier definition just a little: the only way to see it is by rail. Spencer Glacier ends in a glacial lake, and such lakes are gorgeous sights themselves. When the ice rolls, it reveals deep, dark blue ice that’s saturated by fresh water. Spencer Lake is filled with blue icebergs—which, in fresh water, are called growlers. When you get off the Alaska Railroad, you can float next to the ice on a raft trip across the lake with Spencer Glacier Rail and Raft. Or, you can hike to the glacier. You can hike on your own or join a Forest Service employee for an interpretive hike; there are two trails, both gravel-surfaced, which are 2.6 and 6.8 miles round trip. You’ll have two hours to explore the area before you have to catch the train heading southbound. If you opt for the longer trail, you’ll just have to hustle to get back in time. But the bonus with the latter trail is that you’ll get to within 100 feet of the glacier’s terminus.

Glacier Bay National Park

Dozens of glaciers, calving action, and wildlife galore: this National Park and Preserve is popular because it offers a greatest hits collection of Alaskan sights and is boat-accessible. Glacier Bay has more than 50 named glaciers, as well as two major arms: East Arm and West Arm. Most people who come to the Park—and there can be 400,000 of them a year—come by way of a cruise ship, and most of those ships head up the West Arm, towards the Margerie Glacier. The reason? It's the most impressive glacier, which is advancing 12 to 14 feet a day and calves frequently. You’ll often see seals hauled out on the ice chunks, here; if you’re in front of the Margerie Glacier, you’ll also be within sight of the Grand Pacific Glacier. This glacier once filled the entire bay, reaching Icy Strait in the late 1700s. Receding rapidly, its face is now covered with rocky moraine. Other well-known glaciers in the Park include Johns Hopkins, Reid, Carroll and Lamplugh glaciers.

Just as impressive as the glaciers, however, is the land exposed by the ice’s recession. You’ll see sculpted rock, eroded hillsides, and scraped granite. The Park is also filled with wildlife, with bears foraging the tide line, mountain goats grazing near sea level, and seals, sea lions, and whales bustling about in the water. If you're not cruising, stay a few days at Glacier Bay Lodge, the only lodging within the National Park boundaries. Take a catamaran tour for a close-up look at the bay’s massive, tidewater glaciers, a much more intimate experience than the typical visitor gets from the deck of a multi-story cruise ship. You may also see whales, bears, and mountain goats. You can also book excursions for kayaking, fishing, flightseeing, and more.

Flightsee Ruth Glacier

With a gorge deeper than the Grand Canyon, and glacial ice 3,800 feet deep, it’s hard to find a more impressive alpine glacier environment than this in Alaska. And while this mind-blogging spot near Mt. McKinley is famous among mountaineers, you don’t have to be one of them to make your way there. Alpine glaciers form on the peaks or slopes of mountains and are higher in elevation than valley or tidewater glaciers. The Great Gorge of the Ruth Glacier has 5,000-foot sheer granite walls rising up on either side of the ice, making them some of the highest granite walls on earth. The glacier ice drops 2,000 feet in ten miles— and if the ice melted away, the remaining gorge would be deeper than the Grand Canyon. Your best bet for seeing it is to take one of the flightseeing tours from Talkeetna that fly over the Ruth. Some of these tours make glacier landings, of a half hour or so, in the Ruth Amphitheatre, a wide-open section of the Ruth Glacier surrounded by mile-high peaks and views of Mt. McKinley (which is just 6 miles away). If you want to spend a whole morning or afternoon near the Ruth Glacier, K2 Aviation offers a guided hiking experience to Moraine Lake: You’ll land on a floatplane on a glacial lake on the edge of the Ruth Glacier, and then take a guided hike with the massive Ruth Glacier as your backdrop.

Drive to Worthington Glacier

If you can’t get enough snow, this spot is for you: Just 28 miles from Valdez, the Worthington Glacier is fed by the snows of the Chugach Mountains around Thompson Pass—and in fact, it's the snowiest place in the state. How snowy can it get here? During its peak winter, 1951-52, the area got more than 80 feet of snow. Because of the steady snows, Worthington Glacier is not retreating as quickly as most. It’s also one of the most studied glaciers in the state: a National Science Foundation project is three-dimensionally mapping its flow. Plus, it’s one of the easiest “walk-up” glaciers in the state, with a short paved hike to a viewing platform. Motorcoach tours visit the glacier, which has a large parking area, covered viewing shelter and interpretive signs. But if you’re traveling on your own, you can rent a car for the quick drive from Valdez, or join a guiding company for a glacier trek or ice climbing trips.

Childs Glacier: Float

Talk about natural drama: This is probably Alaska’s best roadside glacier, because it's the only one where you are almost guaranteed to see calving. The Copper River flows into and past the Childs, undercutting the face and causing continuous calving—and we mean continuous: during the summer, it happens about every 15 minutes. The only issue here is access. You have to fly or ferry to Cordova, a small fishing town, and from there you drive an hour along a road that was once the route of the Copper River Railway. The glacier is across the river, ¼ mile away, so you can’t walk up to it, but the view is great and the calving is intense. There’s even a viewing platform, since big calvings send waves across the river that scour the beach. Indeed, there is some comfort in the fact that you can’t get any closer. There are stories of people finding salmon stranded in the forest, washed 20 to 30 feet from the river by these glacier tsunamis. Nearby, too, is the famous Million Dollar Bridge.

Columbia Glacier: Day Cruise or Kayak

Want some dramatic scenery? This glacier in the eastern part of Prince William Sound has been in a “catastrophic” retreat since 1982, a phenomenon predicted to stop by 2020. Indeed, every day, 13 million tons of ice break off the face of it, leaving chunks in the water that are often twice as big as the boat you’re riding. That means that just getting close to this glacier can be tricky. Tour boats leave from Valdez to see the Columbia, and tours tend to be about seven hours long, with wildlife viewing along the way. If the boat can get close to the glacier, you’ll be within one mile of its face, and you’ll get a 270-degree view of glacier ice that’s 200 to 400 feet tall. (Otherwise, you might be no closer than 12 miles.)

Why Visit Alaska's Glaciers?

Alaska's glaciers are some of the most majestic natural wonders in the world. Their immense size, towering ice walls, and brilliant blue hues create a breathtaking landscape you won't find anywhere else. Glaciers are constantly moving and changing. You might see calving, where chunks of ice break off the glacier, or hear the creaking and groaning of the ice as it moves. Glaciers are sensitive to changes in climate. By visiting Alaska's glaciers, you can see firsthand the impact that climate change is having on these natural wonders. Many Alaskan animals make their home near glaciers. You might see whales, seals, bears, mountain goats, and a variety of bird species on your trip. There are many ways to explore Alaska's glaciers. You can hike on top of a glacier, kayak on a glacier lake, or take a boat tour to see them from the water. There are glaciers all over Alaska, from easily accessible ones near Juneau to more remote locations that require a longer journey. There's a glacier experience out there for almost any traveler.