Matanuska Glacier

Matanuska Glacier is one of Alaska's most accessible glaciers, a 27-mile long river of ice poking out of the Chugach Mountains.  During the last ice age 18,000 years ago it stretched as far as Palmer but today is still 4 miles wide at its terminus and an amazing sight for visitors.

Access to get up close with the ice is at Glacier Park, a private campground and resort, not a town, at Mile 102 of the Glenn Highway. Visitors follow its private road to a parking lot at the terminal moraine and from there hike a self-guided trail that takes them to the gravel-laced ice itself. Many then decide to go further and sign up with local guides who outfit them with a helmet, crampons and trekking poles and led them on a trek across the glacier. The more adventurous splurge is a guided day of ice climbing.

To the south of the Glacier Park at Mile 101 of the Glenn Highway is Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site providing a campground and rest area with scenic views of the glacier. The Edge Nature Trail is a 20-minute walk through boreal forest to glacier viewing platforms with interpretive signs.

There's more camping even further south at King Mountain State Recreation Site, located at Mile 76 of the Glenn Highway. The scenic campground is on the banks of the Matanuska River with views of King Mountain to the southeast. In between Matanuska Glacier and King Mountain are a number of lodges and bed and breakfasts, some offering an icy view of the glacier.