Alaska Glacier Tour- Alaska Wilderness Trip Featuring Alaska’s Glaciers

Wildland Glacier Tour (7 days)

This is a great trip for those looking for an active, off the beaten path adventure. One of our guides’ favorite trips!

Columbia Glacier, Prince William Sound

Highlights Include:

4 nights camping

2 nights at a historic hotel or cabins

Visit 5 National Parks and protected areas (including our nations largest National Park)

Walk on the Matanuska Glacier

Explore an abandoned ghost town

Scenic ferry across Prince William Sound past the impressive Columbia Glacier

Explore the best preserved gold rush community in South Central Alaska

Excellent hiking opportunities throughout

Additional optional day trip adventures:

Sea kayaking, whitewater river rafting, glacier/ wildlife cruises, glacier hiking, ice climbing, hike-in fishing, flight seeing and more!

2008 Wildland Glacier Tour Itinerary and Dates

Please Note: This itinerary may operate in a slightly different order depending on 2008 ferry schedules and local conditions. All features of the itinerary will be the same, only the destination order will be altered.

Grand Tour Combo - 14 days
Wildland Glacier / Arctic Adventure Combo - 14 days
Classic Alaskan / Wildland Glacier / Arctic Adventure Combo - 21 days

Wildland Glacier Tour Highlights:

We’ll camp near the base of the Matanuska Glacier and have the opportunity to walk on its immense snout. Next we’ll travel deep within Wrangell St. Elias National Park to experience the area’s fascinating human and geological history. For the next 2 nights we’ll stay at either a local historic hotel or in local cabins amidst a backdrop of immense glaciers and ice falls and one of Alaska’s most unique locations.  Next we’re off to explore the temperate rainforest and glaciers in Prince William Sound and Valdez. A half day scenic ferry trip across Prince William Sound will bring us back to the Kenai Peninsula and Hope, the best preserved gold rush town in South Central Alaska.

What's Included:

A full time Alaska Outdoors guide, 2 nights cabins or hotel, top of the line camping equipment, all but 2 meals (taken at restaurants), transportation throughout, park entrance fees and specified included activities.

Glacier hiking, Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Included Activities:

• Walk on Alaska's largest accessible glacier
• Explore the impressive turn of the century ghost town Kennicott
• ½ day scenic ferry trip across Prince William Sound past the impressive Columbia Glacier
• Explore a well preserved gold rush town
• Excellent hiking opportunities throughout
  

For the Adventurous:

Additional optional adventure tours will be available throughout your trip and little or no prior experience is needed to enjoy them.

The Wildland Glacier Tour offers the opportunity for whitewater river rafting, sea kayaking, glacier hiking, ice climbing, flight seeing, wildlife/glacier cruises and more!

These activities can generally be arranged during your trip with the local area experts at the places we visit. Your guide will make all of the arrangements and will recommend our favorite activities. See detailed itinerary description for optional trip descriptions (all prices are approximate and subject to change).  If you have any questions concerning these activities please contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss them with you.

Detailed Itinerary Description

Matanuska Glacier

Day 1: Matanuska River Valley

We’ll depart Anchorage in the morning for a beautiful trip to the Matanuska Glacier, the largest accessible glacier in Alaska. En route we’ll visit the Hatcher Pass Recreation area and Independence Mine State Historic Park.  This afternoon we’ll walk out onto the Matanuska glacial ice and moraine and explore a variety of unique glacial features.

Days 2 and 3: Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Wrangell St. Elias National Park is the largest national park in the U.S. (13.2 million acres) and is part of one of the largest protected areas in the world (a world heritage site). Four major mountain ranges can be found here; the Chugach, St. Elias, Alaska, and the Wrangell Mountains, containing some of North America's highest peaks.

Stairway ice fall, Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Our destination within the park is the old copper mining towns of McCarthy and Kennicott. En route we'll cross the mighty Copper River and travel the old railway path to McCarthy.

The Kennecott mines (different spelling then the town) were developed starting in 1907 and were, for awhile, the most productive copper mines in the U.S. Today they remain as a national historic landmark and an excellent example of early 20th century Alaskan history.

Located nearby are the massive Kennicott and Root Glaciers. They converge here and are overshadowed by the 5000 foot Stairway Icefall. This is a truly unique location not accessible to the average tourist.

For the next 2 nights we will stay at either a historic hotel or in cabins.

You will have a full day here to participate in a variety of recreational activities. We recommend taking advantage of the great hiking in the area. Hike along the side of the Root glacier or climb up to Bonanza Mine for sweeping views.

Ice climbing, Wrangell St. Elias National Park

Other popular activities in the area include:

Glacier hiking with crampons- This is one of the best places for glacier hiking in Alaska (from $55)

Ice climbing- Expert guides will show you “the ropes” of glacier climbing ($100)

Flight seeing- View immense ice fields from the air (from $90)

Historic mine tours- Take a guided tour of Kennicott and learn about the area’s fascinating human history ($25)

Days 4 and 5: Valdez and Prince William Sound

En route to Valdez we’ll view the Alaska Pipeline and stop at the road accessible Worthington Glacier for a short hike. Later, we’ll cross scenic Thompson Pass and arrive in Valdez in time to explore the harbor or go on a short hike.

Often referred to as the 'Little Switzerland" of Alaska, Valdez is beautifully situated at the base of the towering Chugach Mountains on the shores of Prince William Sound. Made famous by the Alaska Pipeline, and later the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Valdez has since become a popular tourist destination. Visitors are attracted to the lush landscape, high concentration of glaciers, and great outdoor recreation.

You will have a full day here to participate in a variety of recreational activities. We recommend taking advantage of the great hiking in the area or consider our other favorite activity: the sea kayak trip to Shoup Glacier.

Glacier Tours in Alaska: Sea Kayaking near Valdez

Other popular activities in the area include:

Sea kayaking- An outstanding trip to the face of Shoup Glacier to view wildlife and a tidewater glacier, perfectly suitable for beginners ($145)

River rafting- Splash through the waves of the nearby Lowe River (from $50)

Glacier/wildlife cruises- Look for wildlife and enjoy the outstanding glacial scenery ($90-130)

Ocean fishing- Fish for halibut and/or salmon ($185-$200)

Day 6: Prince William Sound

Today we’ll cross Prince William Sound on the Alaska State Ferry. We'll look for bears, humpback and killer whales, Dall porpoises, sea lions, harbor seals, and mountain goats as we relax and enjoy the scenery. En route we'll pass the Columbia Glacier, one of the largest and most magnificent tidewater glaciers in the state. The Columbia Glacier covers an area the size of Los Angeles and casts thousands of tons of ice into the sea each year.

Our destination this afternoon is the small, end of the road town of Hope.

Whitewater rafting, 6 mile creek

Day 7: Hope to Anchorage

Today we’ll explore the fascinating gold rush town of Hope (population about 200). Walking among the narrow roads lined with well preserved log cabins is like going back in time to turn of the century Alaska. There is great hiking in the area as well as outstanding whitewater rafting on one of Alaska’s premier whitewater rivers.

We will begin our casual drive to Anchorage this afternoon with time to stop for sightseeing and day hikes. We will arrive in Anchorage by 5:00-5:30 pm and will bring you to the Anchorage location of your choice.

Other popular activities in the area include:

Six Mile Creek whitewater rafting- Class V ($145).  Class IV ($95)

Granite Creek scenic float- Class II ($75)

Reserve this trip!

Grand Tour Combo - 14 days
Wildland Glacier / Arctic Adventure Combo - 14 days
Classic Alaskan / Wildland Glacier / Arctic Adventure Combo - 21 days

References

We believe that our trips are outstanding, but we don’t expect you to take our word for it. Many of our past guests have offered to act as references for us. If you would like to contact our past guests we encourage you to. Get in touch with our office and we’ll be happy to send you their info.

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