Matanuska Glacier — Attraction in Alaska

We took a guided hiking tour of Matanuska Glacier in December. It was cold! Our van said -8 degrees when we left and -13 degrees when we returned! We rented our equipment through our tour company, so we stayed adequately warm. I would suggest bringing a wool gaiter, as you will need it and they are pricey at the visitor station. My husband had ice in his mustache and beard and I had ice along my wool gaiter from my breath freezing! (The picture I included shows his beard/mustache after he brushed some ice off!)

I wore under layers, a tech shirt, a layering parka, an extreme weather parka, ear covers, an extreme weather hat and gloves, two pairs of wool socks, insulated boots, and I had hand warmers in my gloves and coat pockets. I also had the spikes on my boots.

Take hand warmers and keep your cameras/phones with them! My phone battery kept freezing and turning off!

I felt safe taking this tour with a guide. We were only taken along specified paths to ensure safety, so that we wouldn’t fall through the ice. Part of the hike is on a frozen lake after all! Only those with semi-sure footing should do this hike, or you will be on your butt! It wasn’t strenuous though. There is a hike in from the parking area, unless you have one of the sled rides bring you to the glacier. My tour included boot spikes, which I would highly recommend. Bring your own if your guide doesn’t include them.

Overall, it was a beautiful, unique experience! You should definitely hike a glacier at least once! There was a little ice cave part and even part of the glacier that we used as a slide! In December, a lot of the glacier was covered in snow, making it harder to view in a lot of cases, but there were sections we could explore that warmer weather tours can’t reach because the lake isn’t always frozen in that specific area.

Note — you are required to have an approved guide to hike the glacier. I believe they provide one for you, if you don’t come with a...

This was the best glacier hike I’ve ever done!

We took a guided tour in August, and it was absolutely worth it. We were able to book on the spot as they accept walk-ins, which was a huge plus. The cost was around $150 per person, and while tipping isn’t mandatory, it’s recommended. The price was justified as it would be risky to explore on your own due to hidden pitfalls and weaker ice that the guide is trained to navigate.

We had an excellent guide who not only explained the formation of the glacier and pointed out potential hazards, but also ensured our safety throughout the hike. He was attentive, helping anyone who needed assistance crossing tricky areas and even showed us the deep crevasses in the ice. On top of that, he was incredibly friendly and took some amazing pictures of our group!

I highly recommend bringing an empty bottle to collect glacier water—it’s incredibly fresh and sweet. The hike itself was moderate, and they provided spikes for walking on the ice. It's a 2 hour hike. Just be sure to bring a jacket, as it gets colder once you’re on the glacier. There is also glacier mud available which is used as a facial. The glacier looks more beautiful than...

Definitely awesome. We took the guided 100 $ tour which sounds pricy but it was every penny worth it. Our guide JP, was very wise and he gave us a hell lot of facts and information on the matanuska glacier. The Tor last 2.5h and we were equipeed with crampons and helmets. The view on the glacier fall was stunning and we felt a bit humble in front of this giant. Also sad to hear on the melting going on due to the global warming and us because our travels? Anyway it was very awesome and brought me to think about our way of living and how we treat nature. Definitely a good trip to do. Go and take your time to see all the details...