Considering a Matanuska Glacier tour from Anchorage and wondering what to expect and if it’s worth it? This guide with my experience-based tips and photos will give you a better idea of what it’s like and help you decide. Find out!
No trip to Alaska is complete without seeing glaciers. After all, there are more than 100,000 of them… But while the majority of glacier tours in Alaska are sea-based, it’s also possible to go hiking on a glacier. Matanuska Glacier, 2 hours drive from Anchorage, is the easiest-accessible glacier in Alaska, making it the best choice for a glacier hiking experience.
There are quite a few tours that can bring you to Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage. I recently took this highly-rated guided tour that includes everything – from hotel pick-up and round-trip transportation from Anchorage to a guided glacier hike with safety equipment and even lunch.
In this guide, I share my experience and what you can expect on a Matanuska Glacier tour from Anchorage. I also include practical tips and useful information for your trip, from what to wear to different tour options, how they compare, and how to choose the tour that’s right for you. I also share my honest take on whether it’s worth it (and where to go instead if your time is limited).
TIP: If you have a car and want to go to Matanuska Glacier without a tour, it’s possible to drive there too. Just don’t forget to make reservations for the glacier hike in advance or you won’t be able to get close to it or walk on the glacier.
In this guide:
Why Visit Matanuska Glacier
The Matanuska Glacier is the largest glacier in Alaska that is easily accessible by road (unlike most other glaciers that require a flight or boat to reach) and can be visited year-round.
The hike from the parking to the glacier base is rather flat and easy, and also the glacier hike itself is the easiest I have ever done.
Surrounded by stunning mountain scenery and interesting ice formations, a visit to Matanuska Glacier guarantees an unforgettable soft-adventure and countless photo opportunities. The drive from Anchorage to the glacier is very scenic too, offering scenic views over Matanuska Valley. You may even get lucky and see some wildlife (we saw several moose).
All this makes Matanuska Glacier one of the most popular day-trip destinations from Anchorage
READ ALSO: Best Day Trips from Anchorage
How to Get to Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage
Matanuska Glacier is located a bit less than 100 miles from Anchorage. It’s a scenic 2-hour drive via Palmer and along the Glenn Highway. The route offers stunning views of the Chugach Mountains and Matanuska Valley, with plenty of photo opportunities along the way.
Without a car, the best way to visit Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage is with a guided tour, including round-trip transfers and a glacier hike.
With a car, you can simply drive to Matanuska Glacier – the road is excellent and very scenic.
Good to know: While you can drive to Matanuska yourself, you can’t walk on the glacier without proper equipment and an experienced guide. In that case, you don’t have to take a guided tour from Anchorage, but can simply make reservations for the glacier hike with a local company located near the entrance of the glacier site.
The advantage of driving there is that you can easily add the Matanuska Glacier hike to your road trip itinerary without having to dedicate the whole day to it. Plus, it’s a lot cheaper since you are only paying for the glacier experience itself and not the drive or the meals.
READ ALSO: Alaska Road Trip Itinerary for 2 Weeks
Matanuska Glacier Tours from Anchorage
Since the Matanuska Glacier excursion is so popular (and possible in any season!), there are quite a few tours from Anchorage.
My research shows that most tours are very similar, they all have excellent reviews, and they all spend about 2 hours on the glacier itself. The total duration of these tours is around 8 hours, so if you do this as a day trip from Anchorage, you will need a full day.
The main difference between Matanuska Glacier tours from Anchorage lies in what’s exactly included. (Don’t worry – they all include crampons and safety equipment, what differs is food options and similar).
For example, some tours, like the one I took, include everything – from hotel pick-up/drop-off to a full lunch. Others – like this one – include the sampling of local Alaskan honey and wines. Whereas many of the most popular tours like this one only include a small snack, etc. Some tours pick you up from your accommodation and others have a designated meeting point in the town center. So keep all this in mind when comparing different options and prices!
Good to know: Even if lunch is not included, most tours normally include a lunch stop at a local eatery close to the glacier (after doing the hike). We had lunch at the Long Riffle Lodge overlooking the glacier – the view was spectacular! The food was simple but good, and we could choose one drink and one main meal from the menu.
What to Expect on the Glacier Hike
The glacier is always changing and what it looks like will depend on the season when you visit, the weather, the light, etc. One thing is certain – you will get to see some truly unique scenery including crevasses, ice walls, and other fascinating ice formations.
The Matanuska Glacier hike itself is really easy and perfectly manageable for anyone with a basic fitness level. If you can slowly walk (with lots of stops) for 2 hours, you will be fine. Just beware that you will be walking on ice (with crampons – so it’s not slippery) and on uneven terrain, and you might have to make a big step over a tiny crevasse or so. Don’t worry – you won’t have to cross any deep crevasses on these tours.
From the car park, you walk for about 10-15 minutes to reach the glacier base. In the summer, when a lot of the ice is melted, you might have to cross the glacial lake on a pontoon bridge (they make it really easy to reach the glacier here!). Just before you get on the ice, you make a short stop to put on crampons and helmets.
Geared up with proper equipment, you follow the guide onto the glacier’s surface enjoying the scenery and colorful ice formations around you.
These tours are really easy-going. We spent more time taking pictures and looking around than actually walking. I wouldn’t even call it a hike, more a scenic walk on ice.
You can also visit Matanuska Glacier with children, but tour operators have different minimum age requirements. Often, the age limit is influenced by the equipment they have (small-size crampons and helmets). Most tours don’t allow children under 8 or 9, but, for example, this tour says that kids over 5 are ok (just be sure to double-check before booking, in case anything changes!).
Practical Info & Tips
Here is some practical information and tips for a glacier hike in Alaska.
Glacier tours are subject to weather conditions. That said, the weather at Matanuska Glacier tends to be better and drier than in Anchorage or the surrounding areas. Our guides said that it hardly ever rains here and, indeed, it was pouring in Anchorage on the day we did this tour, but it was dry at the glacier. If the tour gets canceled, you get a refund or the possibility to reschedule if it fits your travel plans.
Appropriate footwear is a must, ideally waterproof shoes or hiking boots. In the winter season (November-April), wear waterproof winter boots. You will have to put on crampons, and your shoes might get dirty and wet, so it’s not the best idea to wear white canvas sneakers.
As for clothing, wear layers and bring gloves. In the summer season (May-September), I recommend bringing a thin beanie hat to wear under the helmet. In the winter months, you may not always be required to wear a helmet and in that case, you will definitely want to wear a very warm winter hat (I would go for a trapper hat with ear flaps).
Don’t forget sunglasses and sunscreen, as the ice reflects sunlight intensely.
For the rest, only bring what you really need – your phone and/or a camera and maybe a water bottle, potentially in a small backpack. Everything else is best left in your hotel or in the car/tour van.
Oh, and have a good breakfast in the morning because the lunch stop is planned after the glacier hike. Our tour stopped for a short coffee/ bathroom break on the way too; I think most tours do this as well.
Is Matanuska Glacier Worth It?
If you are wondering whether the Matanuska Glacier hike is worth it, my short answer is yes, absolutely. The scenery is stunning, and exploring centuries-old ice creations is always a wonderful experience. However, only you can decide if it’s worth the time and the money for you – see my long answer below.
I really enjoyed the Matanuska Glacier hike and the scenery along the way. The guides were good, the lunch was enjoyable, and we had a truly wonderful day. That said, I also found that the time spent on this day tour from Anchorage (8 hours) was really long compared to the time spent on the glacier (2 hours). So here are my thoughts:
- If you are road-tripping in Alaska, have a few hours to spare in the Palmer area, and can drive to Matanuska Glacier yourself (and only book the glacier hike itself), then it’s a no-brainer, Matanuska Glacier hike is totally worth it. It will be a wonderful addition to any Alaska itinerary!
- If you have an extra day in Anchorage and have never hiked on a glacier before, then absolutely, book a guided day tour, and go for it. You will have a blast!
- If, however, your time is limited and you can only do one glacier adventure from Anchorage, then you may want to consider Knik Glacier excursions instead. Knik Glacier is a lot closer to Anchorage (1 hour drive vs 2 hours – each way) and the experience is truly unique. You fly to the glacier in a helicopter and land in the middle of it (so not at the base, as on glacier hiking tours). You are surrounded by a sea of ice with deep crevasses, and – in the summer season – stunning blue melt pools. Helicopters can only take 2-3 passengers, so this is also a much more intimate experience, practically a private tour (if you go with a bigger family/group, they will use a few helicopters and will land at the same spot).
My experience: I did both – the Matanuska Glacier hike and the Knik Glacier ‘grand’ tour (with three landings!), and I really enjoyed them both for different reasons. I had plenty of time for all the best day trips from Anchorage and didn’t have to choose. I am really glad that I did them both because the scenery is very different and each experience is unique in its own way.
Having said that, if I had to pick just one of these two – the Matanuska Glacier hike or the Knik Glacier helicopter tour – I would go for the latter. The helicopter flight is super scenic, the landscapes are phenomenal, and the glacier landing experience is second to none. Plus, you spend a lot less time in the car getting there from Anchorage and back. You can read about this epic tour and see photos via the link below.
LEARN MORE: Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour: Complete Guide
So, this is my guide to the Matanuska Glacier hike and tours. I hope that this gives you a better idea of what to expect and helps you decide which tour is best for you.
Have a great trip!
Oh, and before you go, you may want to take a look at our guides for some of the most popular destinations and experiences in Alaska:
- Denali Flightseeing & Glacier Landing (Alaska’s #1 tour)
- Alaska Itinerary
- Anchorage Day Trips
- Seward
- Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise
- Seward Day Trip from Anchorage
- Homer
- Alaska in September
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