Day trips
Anchorage glacier tour: every way to stand on ice in a day
One glacier near Anchorage has no road to it, and one has a highway running past. That is the whole decision, and it is not about money. This page is what each of them gives you, how long the day takes, and which one is worth building a morning around.
Quick answer
The Knik Glacier flight from $492 is the only trip out of Anchorage that reaches a glacier with no road, trail or boat route to it. One hour in the air, the skids down on the ice, the engine off. The Matanuska walks from $310 are a roadside glacier and a long day out — a different trip, for people who are not flying.
Glacier day trips from Anchorage, at a glance
- The one with no road
- Knik, by air$492 for the hour with a landing
- By air, longest
- 4 hoursa programme on the ice, $1,385 at the top
- By road, shortest
- 8 hours$310, coach included
- By road, longest
- 10 hours$310, the most reviewed walk
- On the ice, by air
- 15–25 minengine off, and nobody else up there
- On the ice, on foot
- Several hoursa roadside glacier, with a group
- Which glacier
- Knik by airMatanuska by road
- Transport included
- On the walks onlyyou drive yourself to the flight bases
- Weather
- Grounds flightsthe walks usually still run
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 hon everything here
The three shapes of the day
And why cost per minute on ice reverses the price order
One glacier has a coach park. The other has nothing at all, and one way in.
The flight. An hour in the air, fifteen to twenty-five minutes standing on Knik with the engine off, and a drive to the base at each end. Total: a morning. What you buy is a glacier with no road, no trail and no boat route — and the silence when the rotor stops, which is the thing people describe first afterwards.
The programme. The same flight, and then three hours doing something up there: hiking across the surface, a dog team on the snow, a rope inside a crevasse, a paddleboard on a meltwater lake. Total: most of a day, and the only way any of those things exist at all.
The walk. Eight to ten hours door to door with a coach each way, crampons and a guide, on Matanuska — the glacier the Glenn Highway runs past. Total: a day. A good day out on a roadside glacier, and not Knik.
The distinction worth holding on to is not price. It is that one of these glaciers has a coach park and the other has nothing at all — no road, no trail, no other visitors, and no way in except the one you are looking at.
Every trip, current fare
Every glacier day trip from Anchorage
Fourteen options. The landing column is the one to read: it separates the glacier you can only reach by air from the one with a highway beside it.
| Trip | Length | Price | Glacier landing | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matanuska Glacier Hike with TransfersA day on Matanuska with the coach included | 8 h | $310 | You walk on it | $38.75 | 4.8 · 38 |
| Matanuska Glacier Full-Day TourThe long Matanuska day, most reviewed of the walks | 10 h | $310 | You walk on it | $31.00 | 4.8 · 120 |
| Matanuska Glacier Winter TourThe same glacier under snow, with lunch | 8 h | $334 | You walk on it | $41.75 | 5.0 · 16 |
| Full-Day Matanuska Glacier HikeA proper guided hike further onto the ice | 8 h | $348 | You walk on it | $43.50 | 4.8 · 58 |
| Knik Glacier Helicopter Tour with LandingThe classic hour, with a landing on Knik | 1 h | $492 | Yes, one | $492.00 | 5.0 · 87 |
| Talkeetna Mountain Voyager FlightThe Talkeetna side and the Alaska Range | 75–105 min | $494 | Optional — check the listing | $329.33 | 4.9 · 81 |
| Grand Knik Helicopter Tour with LandingsTwo hours and more than one landing | 2 h | $718 | Yes, more than one | $359.00 | 5.0 · 25 |
| Helicopter Glacier Dogsledding TourA dog team on a summer snow camp | 1.5 h | $724 | Yes, at a dog camp | $482.67 | 5.0 · 7 |
| Knik Glacier Helicopter and Hiking TourFlown onto Knik and walked across it | 4 h | $727 | Yes, and a hike | $181.75 | 5.0 · 1 |
| Helicopter and Glacier Dogsled TourThe best-reviewed dog sledding here | 1.5–2 h | $769 | Yes, at a dog camp | $439.43 | 4.9 · 64 |
| 90-Minute Flight with Two LandingsNinety minutes, two landings | 1.5 h | $795 | Yes, two | $530.00 | 4.8 · 4 |
| Prince William Sound Flight with LandingThe only flight here that reaches saltwater | 1.5 h | $805 | Yes, one | $536.67 | 5.0 · 1 |
| Knik Glacier Helicopter and Ice ClimbingA rope on a blue wall inside a crevasse | 4 h | $1,334 | Yes, and you climb | $333.50 | New |
| Knik Glacier Helicopter and PaddleboardingA paddleboard on a lake full of icebergs | 4 h | $1,385 | Yes, and you paddle | $346.25 | 5.0 · 10 |
Choosing
Six situations and the honest answer
None of these is a compromise. They are different days.
- You have one morning: the one-hour flight
Nothing else here fits into a morning. Drive out, fly, land, drive back, and the afternoon is still yours.
- You have a whole day: a programme on the ice
The flight, and then three hours up there hiking, sledding, climbing or paddling. None of those exists without the helicopter, and they are what the day is for.
- The forecast looks poor all week: book the flight anyway
Free cancellation to 24 hours costs you nothing, and the mornings that do clear go to the people already holding a booking.
- You want to do something on the ice: a programme
Dog sledding, ice climbing, hiking or paddling. Expensive, memorable, and mostly a second trip rather than a first.
- Someone in the party will not fly: the Matanuska walk
A roadside glacier, a coach and a guided walk. A good day out on its own terms, and a different trip rather than a smaller version of the flight.
- You want the photograph everyone recognises: the flight
A helicopter on blue ice with seracs behind it is the image of Alaska, and no road-accessible glacier produces it.
The one-hour Knik flight carries 87 reviews at a clean 5.0 — the best-evidenced rating on this site.
The Knik Glacier flight→Common questions
Anchorage glacier tours, answered
Can I take a glacier day trip from Anchorage?
Yes. The Knik flight with a landing from $492 is the only one that reaches a glacier with no road to it. There are also four-hour programmes on the ice, and guided walks on roadside Matanuska from $310.
What is the best glacier tour around Anchorage?
The one-hour Knik landing at $492 — 87 reviews at a clean 5.0, and the only trip that reaches a glacier with no road, trail or boat route to it.
What is the difference between Knik and Matanuska?
Access. Matanuska runs down to the Glenn Highway, so a coach parks beside it. Knik has no road, no trail and no boat route to the ice — a landing is the only way onto it, and that is what the flight buys.
How long does a glacier day trip take?
The flight is an hour in the air plus the drive to the base — a morning. The glacier walks run eight to ten hours door to door with the coach included.
Do glacier tours run in bad weather?
The walks usually do; rain does not stop them. Helicopter flights are visual and are cancelled in low cloud. Everything here cancels free up to 24 hours before.
Can you reach Knik Glacier without a helicopter?
You can reach viewpoints over the valley by river boat or guided ATV in summer. You cannot reach the ice: the terminus is unstable and the lake in front of it is full of moving icebergs. A landing is the only way onto the glacier itself.
Go deeper
More on Alaska helicopter tours and glacier landings
What an Alaska helicopter tour costs
Fourteen trips priced per person and per hour, from $310 to $1,385.
Knik GlacierThe Knik Glacier flight
The one-hour flight with a landing: what the hour contains and why it costs what it does.
VerdictThe best Alaska helicopter tour
Fourteen trips ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
The landingWhat a glacier landing is like
Fifteen to twenty-five minutes on the ice, and why that is the whole purchase.
AnchorageHelicopter tours from Anchorage
Everything that flies within an hour of the city, and where each one departs.
Grand KnikThe Grand Knik tour
Two hours and more than one landing - what the extra hour actually buys.
