Glaciers are like snowflakes- no two are alike

[Eileen G]

So many people ask about which is the best glacier to see that I thought I would post some of my pictures from my four trips to Alaska. All the glaciers are different and many factors make them beautiful and unique. I will start with the most popular ones that you see from a cruise ship and then include the others that are mentioned on extended tours.

 

Glacier Bay is surrounded by Glaciers but the most popular is Marjorie Glacier. This is the glacier that the ships stop at to see calving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since only two cruise ships are allowed in Glacier Bay per day not all ships can go there. Princess and HAL have the most ships that visit Glacier bay but not all their Alaska cruises go there. Other ships visit Hubbard Glacier or Tracy Arm with the Sawyer Glacier.

[pusywillow]

Nice pictures. Thanks for posting.

[Eileen G]

Hubbard is a very large glacier just out of the Gulf of Alaska. At times the ice flow is too much for ships to get close. We were fortunate enough on our May 2006 Statendam cruise to get very close. There was ice completely surrounding the ship as we sailed to the glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

[Eileen G]

Tracy Arm is a beautiful fiord with two glaciers at the end. Many of todays cruise ships are too big to go very far into the fiord. In June of 2004 we cruised on the Volendam and made it to within viewing distance of the glaciers. Today most cruises offer a small boat tour to the glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the small boat in front of the left side of the glacier. It gives an idea of how tall the glacier is.

As the ship sails through the fiord there are steep mountains on both sides. There are many water falls coming down the mountains from the snow melt.

[Eileen G]

Juneau is a great place to visit glaciers. 2004 was our first cruise to Alaska so we took a helicopter tour of the Juneau Icefield.

 

 

 

 

The helicopter landed on the glacier and we were able to walk around a bit.

[Eileen G]

In Juneau you can also go to see Mendenhall Glacier. In 2006 we rented a car and drove there. You can also take a tour or a bus.

 

 

 

 

Nugget Falls is very close to the glacier and an easy hike from the visitors center.

 

 

The visitors center is $3 a person and has some nice displays and a movie. There is no cost to see the falls or glacier is you don't go into the visitors center. The Blue bus from town from the cruise dock to the glacier is now $10 one way per person.

[Eileen G]

If you happened to have a cruise that begins or ends in Seward, Exit Glacier is only about 8 miles away. Depending on the ice melt river you may be able to walk up to it. Otherwise there is a great trail that overlooks it. We were able to visit this glacier twice. Once in 2005 with an RV and again in 2006 on our one way cruise on the Statendam. We will be able to visit again next week when we spend a few days in Anchorage and Seward before our Coral Princess cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

Exit Glacier is in the Kenai Fjords National Park. There is no fee to visit.

[Eileen G]

At Exit Glacier there is a trail up to the Harding Icefield. It is quite steep and when we were there in May 2005 we could only go about a mile before we ran into snow.

 

 

 

 

 

There are several guide companies that will take you ice climbing on this glacier. You could reach the glacier on your own but climbing on a glacier is extremely dangerous unless you really know what you are doing and have the proper equipment.

 

[AspenRed]

Thanks for sharing! Your pictures are beautiful.

[Fog123]

This is a wonderful post. Really looking forward to Tracy Arm and all the rest.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Eileen G]

Many people who do a one way will spend a few days in and around Anchorage. Some people prefer cruise tours but DH and I like DIY. We rent a car or RV and explore. One of the easier glaciers to get to from Anchorage is Byron Glacier in Portage valley. There is no charge to walk the mile path to the base of the glacier. I have only been there at the end of May when there was plenty of snow.

 

 

 

 

This picture is looking away from the glacier towards the glacier valley.

 

 

The last picture is of another glacier in Portage Valley. You pass through Portage Valley on you way to Whittier.

[Eileen G]

Another glacier that's easy to get to from Anchorage is Matanuska Glacier. It's a 2 and 1/2 hour drive through beautiful country. There is a $20 per person fee but you can walk on the glacier quit a ways in. We decided to take a guided tour and were able to go a long way in.

 

 

This is the view from the road.

 

 

This glacier pushes underground so it's hard to tell where the glacier ends and the land begins. Since the glacier is melting there is a lot of water and mud. There is a path marked by orange cones and wooden planks to get to the white ice.

 

 

If you look to the top of the picture you can see our RV in the parking lot. The parking lot is on the glacier. This was where we walked before our guided tour.

[AKStafford]

Here's a link for pictures of Portage Glacier from the 1 hour Portage Lake boat ride:

http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2013/07/portage-glacier-cruise.html

 

Edited May 19, 2014 by AKStafford

[Eileen G]

Thank you AkStafford. I would love for others to post their pictures of other glacier particularly Collage Fjords, Kenai Fjords and Prince William sound glaciers.

[Eileen G]

Here are some pictures of our guided hike on Matanuska Glacier.

 

 

You really need the proper equipment to venture into the glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

Glacier lake

Edited May 19, 2014 by Eileen G

[Eileen G]

The last glacier we have visited is Worthington Glacier. You don't hear much about this glacier because it isn't close to Anchorage. It is on the road to Valdez. There is no charge to walk on this glacier and it is right off the road. We visited this glacier in 2008 on an RV trip.

 

 

 

 

 

If anyone has pictures of other glaciers please post them. I know there are a lot more.

[utahtea]

Thank you for taking the time to post your glacier pictures!

 

Besides no two being alike, different weather and years can even make the same glacier look different. We will be glacier hunting this summer....can't wait!

 

Utahtea

[oaktreerb]

I passed by this title without opening it several times. It's a wonderful compilation of glaciers, very well done. Glad I looked!

[wcswingdance]

Beautiful pictures! So great to see such wondrous sights! Thanks for sharing

[AmberCascades]

Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures. So many people ask which one is better or best. Obviously they are all amazing and you can't go wrong whichever route you take.

[Paula_MacFan]

Really nice pictures, thanks for taking the time to post and explain each set.

[Bizziecruzer]

Thanks for posting this - it's great. We are planning a trip for 2015 and Glaciers are one of our main attractions. We will be RVing around Alaska for 16 nights between 2 cruises. I would love to hear from you regarding your RV experience. "We" are 3 couples from Australia.

[geekypenguin]

What great photos! Thank you for sharing your experiences! We've visited Hubbard Glacier 2x, Mendenhall Glacier 2x, Exit Glacier once, and are looking forward to Glacier Bay this year! :)

[Eileen G]

Thanks for posting this - it's great. We are planning a trip for 2015 and Glaciers are one of our main attractions. We will be RVing around Alaska for 16 nights between 2 cruises. I would love to hear from you regarding your RV experience. "We" are 3 couples from Australia.

 

I didn't post yesterday because we were on our way to Anchorage. We have a few days precruise before boarding the Coral Princess on Saturday. I did a trip report on our RV trip from 2008 on trip advisor. Here is the link:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g28923-i349-k2248603-Alaska_Sept_2008_RV_trip_report-Alaska.html#0

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer at the link on Webshots. I'll see if I can find another site that has them or put them on Photobucket. Both of our RV trips were on the shoulder season so finding camping sites was easy.

[AlohaPride]

Thanks! Now I have to decide between the state fair and the Matanuska Glacier in Anchorage!! And here I thought I had our day planned.