Matanuska
Matanuska Glacier tour from Anchorage: the roadside glacier
Matanuska runs down off the Chugach until the Glenn Highway is beside it, which makes it the glacier a coach can park at. That is its whole character: a long day out, several hours of walking on ice, and a guided group rather than an empty white valley. Here is what the day contains and who it is for.
Quick answer
A Matanuska Glacier tour from Anchorage costs from $310 and runs eight to ten hours door to door with the coach included. You get crampons, a guide and several hours on the surface of a roadside glacier. The most-reviewed version is $310 with 120 ratings at 4.8. It is a different trip from a Knik landing — that ice has no road to it at all.
The Matanuska day, at a glance
- Where it is
- Off the Glenn Highwayroughly 100 miles north-east of Anchorage
- Length
- 8–10 hoursdoor to door, coach included
- Price
- $310–$348per person
- Most reviewed
- $310120 ratings at 4.8
- Winter version
- $334lunch included, and the ice caves
- Gear
- Crampons and a guideincluded on every version here
- Access
- Private land, with a feebuilt into the guided tours
- Time on the ice
- Several hoursthe point of the day
- Season
- All yearand it is a different place under snow
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 has everywhere on this site
What kind of glacier it is
Big, road-accessible, and busy in July
A very large glacier with a highway beside it. That is its strength and its limit.
Matanuska flows out of the Chugach Mountains and runs down the valley the Glenn Highway follows, which is a very unusual thing for a glacier of this size to do. The result is that you can stand beside several miles of ice having driven there in a coach.
That accessibility is the whole reason the tours exist and it is also the honest limit of the experience. Access is across private land with an entry fee, the guided groups run back to back through the summer, and on a July afternoon there are other people on the ice with you.
What you get in exchange is hours on the surface rather than minutes: crampons on, a guide picking a route, meltwater channels and blue pools underfoot, and the chance to actually look at the texture of ice for long enough to understand it.
In winter it becomes a different place entirely. The meltwater freezes, the ice caves are at their best, and the crowds go home. The winter tour on this page includes lunch and is rated 5.0 from a small number of reviews.
Every trip, current fare
Every glacier trip near Anchorage
The four Matanuska days sit at the top. Everything below them reaches Knik, which no road goes near.
| 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 |
Which of the four to book
Four versions, and what separates them
They are more different than the prices suggest.
- The eight-hour day with transfers, $310
The standard version: coach from Anchorage, crampons, a guide and a walk on the ice. 38 reviews at 4.8. Shortest of the four and the least demanding.
- The ten-hour full day, $310
The most-reviewed non-flying trip on this site, with 120 ratings at 4.8. Two extra hours, which mostly means more time on the glacier rather than more driving.
- The guided hike, $348
A proper hike further onto the ice rather than a walk near the toe, with the gear provided. 58 reviews at 4.8. The one to book if walking is the point rather than the setting.
- The winter tour with lunch, $334
Seasonal, and a completely different glacier: frozen meltwater, ice caves at their best, and almost nobody else there. Lunch included, 16 reviews at 5.0.
Knik has no road, no trail and no boat route to the ice. A helicopter landing is the only way onto it, and that is a different day altogether.
What a glacier landing is like→Practical
Four things about the day that the listing does not spell out
Four hours of driving, an access fee built into the ticket, and crampons that take ten minutes to learn.
It is mostly driving. Roughly a hundred miles each way on the Glenn Highway, which is a beautiful road and is still four hours of a ten-hour day. The ice time is the middle third.
The access fee is real. The approach to the glacier crosses private land and there is a charge for it. On the guided tours here it is built into the price, which is one of the reasons booking a tour rather than turning up is simpler.
Crampons take some getting used to. They are provided and the guide fits them, and the first ten minutes of walking in them feels strange. Wear boots or sturdy trainers that they can strap onto; sandals are not an option.
It runs in weather that grounds aircraft. Rain does not stop a glacier walk. It makes it a wet one, and the ice is entirely indifferent.
Common questions
Matanuska Glacier tours, answered
How much is a Matanuska Glacier tour from Anchorage?
From $310 for the eight-hour day with the coach included. The most-reviewed version is $310 at ten hours, with 120 ratings at 4.8.
How far is Matanuska Glacier from Anchorage?
Roughly a hundred miles north-east on the Glenn Highway, which is about two hours each way. That is most of the difference between an eight-hour and a ten-hour day.
Can you walk on Matanuska Glacier without a tour?
Access is across private land with an entry fee, and walking unguided on a glacier is genuinely hazardous: crevasses and meltwater channels are not always visible. The guided days here include the access, the crampons and a guide.
What is the difference between Matanuska and Knik?
Access. The Glenn Highway runs beside Matanuska, so a coach parks at it. Knik has no road, no trail and no boat route to the ice, and a helicopter landing is the only way onto it.
Is the winter tour worth it?
It is a different glacier rather than a colder one: the meltwater freezes, the ice caves are at their best, and there is almost nobody else there. Lunch is included and it is rated 5.0 from a small number of reviews.
What should I wear?
Warm layers, a windproof shell and boots or sturdy trainers that crampons can strap onto. Sandals and smooth soles are not usable. The guide fits the crampons at the ice.
Go deeper
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