Hike Alaska: Valdez and Wrangell St Elias

After a brief welcome meeting with your CEO, travel to the Matanuska Recreation Site where you will be able to view the glacier along the interpretive nature trail. After a picnic lunch the group will continue travelling onward to Valdez where you will have the opportunity to walk and visit the Worthington Glacier. In the evening, have dinner as a group around the fire.

Included Experiences

• Meet Your CEO and Group: Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Opt to join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.
• Matanuska Glacier Recreation Site: This site which is easily accessible from the Glenn Highway Scenic Byway offers wonderful views of the Matanuska Glacier. As a 300 acre recreation site it offers glacier viewing from the parking lot that extends along the interpretive nature trail.
• Worthington Glacier Visit: Spend some time exploring this glacier located in the Chugach Mountains near Thompson Pass—the snowiest place in Alaska. Worthington Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in Alaska, passing within a few feet of the parking lot with a viewing shelter right off the Richardson Highway. Like most of Alaska’s glaciers, this valley glacier has been steadily retreating for the last 150 years, but not as dramatically as many others. The upper basin sits at 5,500 feet and collects about 28 feet of snow each year.

What’s in store today will certainly be an adventure. After a quick breakfast, you'll have free time to walk, journal, or hang out with friends. After lunch head to Glacier Lake in Valdez where you’ll go on a hike and guided kayak tour of the lake. If you have yet to set your eyes on an iceberg, this might just be your chance. This gorgeous lake in Valdez is often home to large chunks of floating ice coming from the Valdez Glacier. With great views and miles of open water to paddle there’s no better way to get in touch with nature.

Included Experiences

• Free Time: Enjoy free time in Valdez today to hike, kayak, and explore the town and surrounding nature.
• Glacier Lake Kayaking: Walk along the shores of this gorgeous lake in Valdez and then pick up some paddles and get out on the water to try and spot some icebergs. These huge chunks of floating ice come from the Valdez Glacier and come with unimpeded views of the snow-capped Chugach Mountains in the distance. An area definitely worth experiencing while in Valdez. You’ll be able to see the actual glacier from the water while kayaking.

Optional Experiences

• Hiking Around Valdez: Valdez is known for having amazing hikes in and around the city. Pack your water bottle, pick a route, and go hit the trail! Thompson Pass is an alpine pass through the Chugach Mountains between Glennallen and Valdez and is an adventurer’s playground when the right conditions sweep through. The alpine area surrounding the pass allows for endless exploring and jaw-dropping views making this area wonderful for alpine hiking. The Shoup Bay trail is a long, but gradual hike sporting great views hugging the Alaskan coastline. Make sure to bring layers and waterproof shoes as it can get muddy at points.

You’ll spend time today in a private vehicle en route to McCarthy, but don’t worry there will be plenty of epic road trip worthy stops along the way. First up is a stop at Thompson's Pass viewpoint to start the day with stunning vistas. As you continue driving highway 10 there will be plenty of quick stops at worthy viewpoints all along the Copper River. Then enjoy a visit to Liberty Falls State Recreation Site where you can stretch your legs and visit the falls, which plunge 20 ft into the Liberty Creek. Continue along the scenic highway to McCarthy. Stop and see the fish wheels at Kuskulana River Canyon and Bridge, along Gilahina River, and at Gilahina Trestle Wayside. Arrive in McCarthy, visit the town, maybe catch some live music after dinner.

Included Experiences

• Liberty Falls Visit: Liberty falls is a powerful cascade that bursts through a slot in bedrock and plunges 20 ft down into Liberty Creek. The recreation site is just off the scenic highway to McCarthy and you can hear the constant roar of the falls from the wooded area. It’s a great landmark to stop and visit on the way to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
• Highway 10 View Points & Fish Wheel Stops: During the drive there will be plenty of stopping along highway 10 to experience the amazing vistas along the Copper River. Then you'll see some of the fish wheels in action. They are powered by the river current and date back to the Gold Rush as an innovative way to scoop the migrating salmon from the water and place them into a large bin for processing. More than one million Pacific salmon travel up the Copper River each year to their spawning grounds and it happens from late spring into mid summer and is quite a sight to see.

Visit Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and spend the day hiking along the Bonanza Mine trail. A hike that includes stunning scenery, a trek to the top of a mountain and 1930’s mining ruins all in a frontier Alaskan setting. Coming in at 9 miles total, the hike is strenuous, but with the views you’ll be admiring, you might not notice at all. In the evening relax back at camp and have dinner as a group.

Included Experiences

• Bonanza Mine Trail Hike: Walk the Bonanza Mine Trail, a fairly strenuous walk that follows the ridges and tram lines to the old mine. Enjoy the magnificent panoramas of the Chugach Mountains, Mt Blackburn and the Kennecott Glacier along the way. From the ridge above the mine there are some spectacular views across to the University Range in the St Elias Mountains. The hike is about 4.5 miles one way with an elevation gain of 3800ft.
• Explore Wrangell-St Elias: Enjoy time to explore this park on foot or from the air. Wrangell-St Elias National Park is located in the eastern region of south-central Alaska. The Chugach, Wrangell, and St Elias mountain ranges converge here in what is often referred to as the 'Mountain Kingdom of North America'. It is the largest national park in the US at six times the size of Yellowstone.

Hiking is unique in its ability to nourish the body and the mind, but it’s nice to have a free day every now and then to let your body recover and your mind wander. Spend today in McCarthy choosing from a variety of optional activities to keep you busy. Head out on a guided ice walk tour, visit the Kennicott Mills Town on a guided tour, go whitewater rafting down the Copper River, or hop on a scenic flight of the national park. Unwind at camp in the evening and talk about your adventures.

Included Experiences

• Free Time: Today enjoy time for optional activities like guided ice walk tour, a visit to the Kennicott Mills Town on a guided tour, a scenic flight in the national park, or a rafting trip.

Optional Experiences

• Kennicott Ghost Town Guided Tour: Explore Kennecott, a ghost town frozen in time. When the Kennecott Copper Corporation abruptly abandoned the town in 1938 they left behind their equipment, buildings and personal belongings. Their stories of discovery, perseverance, and ingenuity, however, live on. See what it was like to live and work in this remote wilderness as you tour the town site with a guide, listening to tales of lucky fortunes, tenacious frontiersmen and tragic endings.
• Wrangell-St. Elias Scenic Flight: Get a bird's eye view of this gorgeous landscape and try to take it all in. (300-475 USD per person)
• Rafting on Copper River: Get ready for a rafting adventure – a guaranteed thrilling, wet, and wild ride down the Copper River. The level of rafting will depend on the group; different levels are available.

A relaxed morning in McCarthy allows for you to enjoy your last day in the Alaskan wilderness as you’d like. Take one final hike along the West Kennecott Glacier Trail, spend some more time in McCarthy or just sit by the glacial lake and take in the views of the Stairway Icefall and the Wrangell mountains. On the drive north you’ll go slowly, stopping at viewpoints that the clouds might have hidden on our way here. You’ll cross the Copper River one last time and hope to see Mount Drum and Mount Sanford. Visit the Copper Visitor Center and go for short walks in the area and make sure not to miss the amazing viewing platform that can be reached from the Visitor Center. You’ll spend the night comfortably in a bed at Alaska’s oldest continually operated roadhouse.

Included Experiences

• McCarthy Highway & Copper Visitor Centre: As you drive along the scenic highway from McCarthy to Glennallen the group will make stops along the road where there are access roads or short trails that lead to lakes, streams, and other fishing holes. Once at the Copper Visitor Centre you can take shorter hikes in the area and wander along the beautiful viewing platform at the visitor centre itself.
• Copper Visitor Center: Visit the Copper Visitor Center in Glennallen and enjoy the exhibits there, view the park film, hike some nature trails, and go to the bookstore.

Optional Experiences

• Half-Day Float on Gulkana River: Set on a a half-day excursion along the winding Gulkana River, just a few short miles from the Gakona Lodge. See wildlife, experience a ride on the flowing waters, and try to catch some fish. A great addition to your adventurous Alaska experience.

In the morning transfer with the group from Glennallen to Anchorage, tour ends on arrival.