During our most recent visit to Alaska we had the opportunity to explore the Mantanuska Glacier. It’s located about 2 hours from Anchorage—around 1 hour from Palmer— on the Glenn Highway Scenic Byway. The Glacier moves ice from the Chugach Mountains and forms the headwaters of the Matanuska River. It moves at a rate of about one foot every day so some of the ice you’ll see is very old. Mantanuska is the largest glacier accessible by car in the USA.
(Aerial view of the Manatanuska Glacier, courtesy Wikimedia and Spitfireap)
You can see some of the glacier from the road, but the terminus is located on tribal land so you’ll need to pay a hefty price to explore it. When we visited the fee was about $50.00 a person and that was to do a self-guided tour. Today self-guided tours are no longer permitted, and you are required to do a guided glacier tour if you wish to walk on the Glacier, at a cost of $125.00 a person for about a two hour tour. Discounts are available for Alaska Residents, members of the military and children. If you are interested in that option, please click on this link for more information. Tours operate year-round.
Our trip out onto the terminus of the glacier was interesting. The glacier is much broader than it looks — measuring 4 miles wide and 27 miles long — as much of it is covered in dust and rock debris. Still, even when walking on these surfaces you are basically walking on ice. You’ll pass cervices, moulins and melt pools as you approach the face of the glacier’s terminus and its lagoon.
When we visited wildfires were rampant in Alaska, and there was a lot of haze in the air, as you can see from my photos. Still, the views of the glacier face were most impressive.
If I had one bit of advice to give myself before going on this walk it would have been to bring along my microspikes. The trail was very slippery and I fell several times, not causing any personal injury but definitely making me cautious about how far up the glacier I would walk. As the guided hikes you must now take provide spikes, that is not an issue.
Even in summer the wind off the glacier is quite cool so dress appropriately. It’s a fun experience. Enjoy it if you choose to go.
