Matanuska Glacier Tour

About This Experience

This is the original guided trip on the Matanuska Glacier — NOVA has been walking guests onto this ice for more than 35 years, and it shows in how the day is run. You check in at their camp at Mile 96.5 of the Glenn Highway, get fitted with hiking boots, micro spikes and a helmet, and then ride a vehicle down to the glacier's terminus at the edge of the park.

From the drop-off your guide leads the group across the rock fields of the terminal moraine and up into the Ice Falls — the section where the glacier's dense ice pours over submerged bedrock and freezes into spires. These are the seracs the Matanuska is known for, and standing underneath them is the moment most people remember. At their base sits a meltwater lake that feeds the Matanuska River running down the valley behind you.

The pace is deliberately unhurried and the terrain is easy by glacier standards, so this works for anyone comfortable on uneven ground. Guides talk as you go — how the ice moves, what a moulin is, why the surface is grey in one place and blue in another — so you leave understanding the thing you just walked on. Three hours on the ice is enough to reach the good features without turning the day into an endurance event.

Groups run around one guide to eight guests, which keeps the commentary conversational. This tour does not include transport from Anchorage: the glacier is about 100 miles up the Glenn Highway, so plan roughly two hours of driving each way, or book one of the Anchorage-departure tours instead.

Highlights

• Step onto the largest glacier in the US you can reach by car — 27 miles of it
• Walk into the Ice Falls and stand beneath the glacier's serac spires
• See moulins, deep crevasses and the meltwater lake that feeds the Matanuska River
• Boots, micro spikes and helmet issued at camp — no gear of your own needed
• Leisurely pace over easy terrain, with roughly one guide per eight guests

What's Included

• ✓ Three-hour guided glacier tour
• ✓ Professional glacier guide
• ✓ Gear: hiking boots, micro spikes and helmet
• ✓ Shuttle from camp to the glacier terminus

Not Included

• Glacier Park gate fee (paid at check-in)
• Transport from Anchorage
• Food and drink
• Guide gratuity

What to Bring

• Warm layers and a jacket
• Rain gear
• Gloves
• Hat
• Sunglasses and sunscreen
• Water

Good to Know & Caveats

• Matanuska Glacier Park is privately owned and charges an entry fee at the gate: $55 per adult (17+), $25 for teens 13-16, $30 for Alaska residents, military and seniors 65+, and free for children 12 and under. Alaska State Park passes are not accepted. The fee is paid at trip check-in.
• Drones are not permitted on the glacier under this operator's policy.
• The glacier is about 100 miles from Anchorage on the Glenn Highway — allow around two hours of driving each way.
• Guide-to-guest ratio is usually about 1:8, adjusted for the group's fitness and experience.
• Trips run in most weather; the ice is the attraction, not the sunshine.

Meeting Point

NOVA's camp at Mile 96.5 Glenn Highway, Glacier View. At the Hick's Creek bridge turn onto Trailhead Road, follow the driveway under the bridge and continue to the camp entrance.