Top 10 Glaciers in Alaska
Alaska holds around 27 000 glaciers and roughly five percent of the state's total land area is covered in ice. The good news for visitors: most of the famous ones are easy to reach from cruise ports, the Seward Highway or short flights from Anchorage and Juneau.
1. Mendenhall
Just outside Juneau, with a visitor centre overlooking the calving face. The Nugget Falls trail puts you within shouting distance of the ice.
2. Hubbard
The largest tidewater glacier in North America, 122 km long. Cruise ships sail into Disenchantment Bay to watch its 100-m-high face.
3. Exit
In Kenai Fjords National Park near Seward. A short paved road plus a boardwalk and gravel path lead almost to the toe — possibly the easiest big glacier walk in Alaska.
4. Bear
Adjacent to Exit, accessible from the same road but with longer hiking options.
5. Margerie
The headline glacier of Glacier Bay National Park. Cruise ships hold position offshore for one to two hours while it calves.
6. Lamplugh
Glacier Bay's neighbour to Margerie, with the bluest face in the park.
7. Columbia
A retreating tidewater glacier in Prince William Sound, near Valdez. Day boat tours pass through dense iceberg fields where the ice has thinned.
8. Worthington
Roadside, just off the Richardson Highway above Valdez. The shortest hike-to-ice ratio of any major Alaska glacier.
9. Matanuska
About two hours from Anchorage along the Glenn Highway. Guided crampon walks on the surface; a state-recreation area at the toe.
10. Knik
Visible from the Glenn Highway near Palmer, with summer jetboat and helicopter tours to the calving face.
When to go
Mid-May to mid-September is the prime visiting window. Cruise season peaks late June through August. Mendenhall and Exit are accessible year-round but winter access requires more planning.
From reading to planning
Filter to Alaska on the interactive map to see all the above plus Wrangell-St Elias, the Brooks Range and the smaller roadside glaciers along the Richardson and Glenn highways.