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Viewing Glaciers in Alaska

Alaska cruising season starts in May when throngs of visitors board the ships to tour this beautiful state.  Other than the wildlife and dramatic scenery, one of  Alaska’s main attractions are its glaciers.  The Alaska Almanac estimates 100,000 of them – remnants of the Little Ice Age 4,000 years ago.  During our Alaska cruises, we’ve been lucky to visit a few of these glaciers.  Seeing the massive glaciers in Alaska was beyond awe-inspiring.

Hubbard Glacier through a cruise ship

Glaciers are defined in its most simple terms as a “body of snow and ice that moves”.  They are formed when high altitude snowfall exceeds snowmelt.  Snow, ice and rock debris are transported from higher to lower elevations where snow and ice melt.  Over time, increasing layers of packed snow compacts and transforms into glacial ice.   Although they appear to be stationary, they are actually constantly moving and flowing down the mountain and shaping the landscape.

Mendenhall Glacier
Mendenhall Glacier

 Mendenhall Glacier is the most easily accessible Alaska glacier.  It is one of the 38 major glaciers flowing from the Juneau Icefield which covers 1,500 square miles of interconnected glaciers, rock, snow and ice.

Mendenhall Glacier from the road
Mendenhall Glacier from the road

This major tourist attraction in Alaska’s capital city of Juneau certainly didn’t disappoint.  It flowed 12 miles (19.3 km) from its source and was part of the Tongass National Forest.  Despite being overrun by tourists when multiple cruise ships dock, it really was a fantastic place to visit.  They had a wonderful visitor’s center to learn more about these amazing natural wonders.

Mendenhall Glacier Juneau Alaska

Six hiking trails are available to get near the glacier or to simply stroll around and enjoy the scenery.  Plenty of icebergs that have broken off were floating everywhere with occasional kayakers enjoying them up close.  We’d love to do this adventure when the kids get a bit older.

Mendenhall glacier icebergs

One of the features we instantly noticed about the glaciers was the scattered blue fragments.  Glacial ice looks blue because it transmits and scatters the blue wavelength while absorbing all the other colors of the visible light spectrum.  The longer the path of light travels in ice, the more it looks blue.

Mendenhall Glacier blue color

Many of the glaciers in Alaska are currently retreating due to global climate change.  This means that more ice is falling off or removed from the glacier than its glacial flow is able to replenish.  Below is a picture of Mendenhall during our visits in 2003 and 2010.   There’s a stark contrast in color and size and it obviously has retreated.

Mendenhall glacier comparison in years

Most cruise ships venture out into Glacier Bay National Park to see the much bigger glaciers.  This park is only accessible by water travel where access is restricted and limited.  Glaciers here are called tidewater because they flow from the mountains into the tides of the ocean.  One of the seven in the park was Margerie Glacier.

Margerie Glacier Alaska

It was 21 miles (34 km) long and a lot taller than our 15+ story ship.  Seeing it for the first time felt like being transported into another world.  The ice was protruding everywhere surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

Margerie Glacier Alaska image

Our ship stopped a few miles from the glacier where park rangers gave overviews over the loudspeakers.   It was very impressive with the glacier rising from the water and towering above us in the scenic landscape.

Margerie Glacier with baby
Her first glacial viewing in 2003

Next to Margerie was the Grand Pacific Glacier – the dirty side of it.  It was a wall of brown and black rocks and dirt debris embedded in the ice.  It was such a contrast to Margerie’s white and blue facade and a total contradiction of my image of a glacier.

Mergerie with Grand Pacific Glacier

The most impressive glacier we saw was Hubbard Glacier.  It is North America’s longest tidewater glacier with a length of 76 miles (122 km) that extends all the way to Canada’s Yukon territory.  Six miles (9.6 km) of it is running along the waterline.  The vibrant blue hue was much more noticeable here.

Hubbard Glacier Alaska

What’s a trip to Alaska without some seal sighting?  They looked like specks of dirty icebergs.  But to our surprise, there were quite a few harbor seals and their young pups near the base of the glacier.  We saw some floating on the icebergs which made for some good fun things to spot for while sailing on the bay.

Hubbard seals Alaska

To the left of Hubbard Glacier was a long wall of dirty glaciers.  Valerie Glacier is shown below.

Valerie Glacier Alaska

Their different paths result in this amazing contrast of mostly clean white and blue ice and one that picked up a lot more dirt and debris from the valley floor.

Hubbard and Valerie glacier

Our ship stopped within a quarter of a mile (the closest ships are allowed) and did two 360 degree turns slowly.   The panoramic views were beyond breathtaking and everyone was bundled up to enjoy it on deck.  Unlike most glaciers which are retreating, Hubbard is actually advancing.   Hubbard Glacier AlaskaThis resulted to a lot of calving activity.  Calving is when pieces of the glacial ice fall or break off from it.  At first, you hear a crack and then a thundering sound as it falls into the ocean with a big splash.  We never experienced it during our previous trip to Margerie but luckily, witnessed a few of them at Hubbard.

Hubbard Glacier calving

It was quite a spectacular sight and magnified with the audience’s exclamations of joy and surprise.  The calvings were sudden and unpredictable so patience is a virtue here but well worth the wait.   These numerous calvings were what made this an unforgettable experience and a major highlight of our trip.

Hubbard glacier calving alaska

*Have you visited the glaciers in Alaska or other glaciers in other parts of the world?

Hubbard Glacier - Alaska
Hubbard Glacier – Alaska

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Glaciers in Alaska

46 thoughts on “Viewing Glaciers in Alaska”

  1. Oh how I love Alaska! I’ve been on a cruise through the Inside Passage – during which time I was too seasick to enjoy the amazing views – & spent 2 weeks roadtripping around Anchorage on a separate trip (both without kids). During that second trip, I was able to hike a couple different glaciers & would highly recommend it. No experience on earth quite like it.

    1. I love that you were able to hike to the glaciers. I’m sure it was such an unforgettable adventure. One of these days when we go back there, we’d definitely like to try it out. Sorry to hear about your seasickness on the cruise. The roadtripping sounds like a great trip too. We haven’t made it up to Anchorage but would like to one of these days.

    1. Other than a helicopter ride, I believe hiking is an absolute best way to see the glaciers. We would love to hike them one of these days.

  2. You got some wonderful photos here.
    When I lived in Vancouver the start of the good weather season was the sighting of the cruise-ships heading for Alaska. On a good day we’d see up to four of them go by. Out would come our binoculars and sometimes if they came in close to shore (maybe not now after the Italian fiasco) we could see the people waving from our house.
    I’ve seen lots of glaciers – mostly when hiking but one year our family rafted the Tatshenshini River – and the highlight was rafting up close to massive glaciers and capturing countelss photos of the bergy bits.

    1. Thanks Leigh! Our first Alaska cruise was out of Vancouver. I preferred that port over Seattle. We always wave at people during sail aways =) What a great experience to raft so close to the glaciers and in between icebergs.

    1. Thanks for the comment and forwarding this to your parents. They are going to have such a wonderful time. You should seriously consider going to Alaska whether on a cruise or not.

  3. I knew when I read the title that I was going to be so jealous of these pictures.
    I want to see the glaciers so badly, and I really worry that they will disappear
    before I get a chance to see them. Great picture!

  4. Debbie Beardsley @ European Travelista

    An Alaskan cruise is one I would love to enjoy! Glaciers are very impressive. I love the colors and just the shear size of them. Great write up.

  5. What a gorgeous view! We’ve wanted to visit Alaska for quite some time and a cruise sounds like the perfect way to do so.

    Is it difficult to cruise with kids? I have a 3 year old and 17 month old and they are quite active.

    1. Thanks for stopping by Danielle! I think cruising to Alaska is one of the best ways to see it especially when you have young kids. Our daughter was 5 months old when she first did her Alaskan cruise. We’ve always taken our kids cruising and found it the best way to see places and also economical. It’s not difficult as long as you know what you’re getting into. Try to visit cruisecritic.com as a resource. I had a 3 year old and a 14 month old when we sailed with 2 kids. Perfectly doable and be sure to bring strollers =)

    1. Thanks Cathy! We never expected it to be such a vibrant blue but what a pleasant surprise. I hope you and Mr TWS get to go on the Alaska trip soon.

  6. Wow! That blue in the middle of the ice blocks is so nice!! This is definitly one of the very few cruises I’d wanna take.

  7. My husband and I cruised to Alaska for our honeymoon and while the wild green of the Inside Passage was beautiful, the ports-of-call were charming, and the wildlife sightings were exciting,waking up to Glacier Bay was like being transported to another planet. The power and beauty of a calving glacier is unforgettable and that experience alone made that trip worthwhile. Thanks for the pictures and memories today!

    1. What a wonderful honeymoon, Allison! I like that you went unconventional instead of joining all the honeymooners in the Caribbean cruises. Those calving glaciers were such fun to watch.

  8. Beautiful places. I was in Alaska about 16-17 years ago and we visited Mendenhall glacier–definitely an unforgettable experience because the nature is just so beautiful.

  9. These are so beautiful and breathtaking. If it’s this gorgeous in a photo, I can’t imagine how cool it is to see it in real life. An Alaskan cruise is on my list to do after we return.

    When I was pregnant with my first kid, I went hiking on Athabasca Glacier in the Canadian Rockies. However, it was early March and the snow covering EVERYTHING was knee-deep. So, you couldn’t actually see the difference between the glacier and the surrounding mountains. The best part was that my little group of friends were the only ones there instead of the crowds of tourists that visit when it’s warmer.

    1. Thanks Michele! Oh, they’re definitely more impressive in real life. I hope you and the family get to go on an Alaska cruise when your get back. I’ve always heard wonderful things about the glaciers in the Canadian Rockies and would love to visit. Such fun to have all that to yourselves.

  10. Better late than never hehe I really don’t like the cold. First time I experienced sub-zero weather was at the start of my solo backpacking trip in Europe last February, when it was still winter. But looking at your pics, I think I can be convinced to change my mind. Alaska seems to be very beautiful in its own way, cold notwithstanding!

    1. Like you, I’m not a big fan of cold weather. It’s the island girl in both of us =) But, Alaska is definitely worth it and standing there in front of these amazing glaciers almost makes you forget it.

  11. Incredible post!! I loved learning about why the glaciers are blue and hearing about the calving. It is now on my to-do list!

    Thanks for linking up!!

    Have an awesome Mother’s Day!

    1. It’s nice to know the glaciers were also a highlight of your Alaska cruise. I wish we had more time and money to see the other glaciers too.

  12. I love how you were able to have side-by-side comparisons of your photographs to tell the story of the retreating icebergs! We had plans to go to Alaska in the summer of 2014, but my father-in-law has since changed his mind of where he would like to spend his 60th birthday. I will get there sometime. :)

  13. I’ve never been, but swear I will before I die. The glaciers in Alaska have got to be one of the world’s definite must-see sights for everyone. That blue color is fabulous.

    1. I love how you made that promise to yourself, Sonja =) They definitely should be added on a traveler’s bucket list. Hope you make it to Alaska soon.

  14. We have! Haven’t done an Alaskan cruise, but we spent some time in Seward. So we got to explore some glaciers (from a day cruise, and then direct access/hiking) in Kenai Fjords Nat’l Park… it was awesome!

    You have some amazing pictures. Looks like you saw a nice variety. Thanks so much for sharing!

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