Approximately five percent of Alaska's landscape is covered by icefields and 100,000 glaciers, but most of them are in regions which cannot be reached easily. However, there are some very impressive glaciers along the roads and on the coast of Southeast Alaska, which are accessible by car, boat or canoe or on foot and offer great views for anybody. They are perfect travel destinations for drivers, hikers, canoeists and those who like to go out by boat and view the most impressive sights of Alaska's glaciers.
The Best Glaciers to View from the Road:
Bear Glacier
The Bear Glacier can be found on the access road from the Cassiar Highway to Seward, Alaska, and is in British Columbia, Canada.
Matanuska Glacier
A very impressive sight indeed is offered by the Matanuska Glacier from the Glenn Highway west of Palmer. The glacier is 27 miles long, and it is only a two-hour drive from Anchorage to get there. It is possible to get up close to the glacier over a wooden bridge crossing the Matanuska River.
Exit Glacier
A few miles before the Seward Highway reaches Seward there is a side road to Exit Glacier, which leads straight up to the glacier.
Worthington Glacier
This glacier can be seen from the Richardson Highway shortly before the highway crosses the last mountain pass before Valdez. There is a side road that leads up to a parking lot with interpretive displays and a viewing platform of the glacier. A trail leads to the foot of the glacier.
Mendenhall Glacier
The Mendenhall Glacier can be reached by road from Juneau. There is a visitor center which informs about glaciers and glacial ice. Footpaths are available for those who want to get up close to the ice.
Kennicott Glacier
The best way to visit the Kennicott Glacier is a stay at Kennicott Glacier Lodge which is located close to the glacier's edge. During the night the cracking of the ice can be heard from your bed. There are footpaths that lead up to the glacier's ice. Kennicott Glacier can be reached by the Chitina-McCarthy Road. Better and more impressive, however, is a flight over the Wrangell Mountains from Chitina - fantastic glacier views included.
The Best Glaciers to View by Boat:
Columbia Glacier
This is one of the largest tidewater glaciers in Alaska and can easily be viewed from the ferry between Valdez and Whittier. There are also glacier cruises from Valdez offering different tours to view Columbia Glacier.
The Harding Icefield
Boat tours of different length are offered from Seward to the Kenai Fjords National Park. An additional bonus is the wildlife which can be watched on the way: this includes sea otters, puffins, and sometimes whales.
Glacier Bay National Park
From Glacier Bay Lodge daily tours into the glacially carved bays of Glacier Bay National Park offer great views of some tidewater glaciers. The chances to see them calve are good as well. More adventurous travellers can rent a kayak at the lodge and spend a few days in the national park getting up close to the glacier.
Sawyer Glacier
Not as famous as other glaciers but nonetheless very impressive is a boat tour to the Sawyer Glacier south of Juneau. The boat has to travel south for about two hours before it heads into the tight fjord that was carved by Sawyer Glacier through an impressive landscape which leads up to the glacier itself. The boat also transports kayakers into the fjord. Thus anybody who wants to reach the glacier by kayak can do so.
Portage Glacier
About an hours drive from Anchorage is the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center on Portage Lake. A visit there offers very informative displays on glacial ice and the local icefield. Following the road for a few miles more takes visitors to the boat launch where the boat cruise leaves for a closeup view of Portage Glacier.
Blackstone Glacier and Surprise Glacier in Prince William Sound
These two glaciers are not so well known. They can easily be reached on a cruise from Whittier into the Prince William Sound. And on the way whale watching may be an additional bonus.
There are certainly more glaciers than these to be seen in Alaska, but none are more easily accessed than the ones introduced here.
