One of Alaska [1]’s most accessible glaciers, Exit Glacier has a pretty setting, plus a mix of hiking trails, nearby campsites, and guided glacier hikes. This is the only part of the park that is accessible by road. Get to Exit Glacier by driving four miles north from Seward [2] and turning left at the sign. The road ends nine miles later at a big parking lot.
Exit Glacier Nature Center (daily 9 a.m.–8 p.m. late May–early Sept., daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. the rest of May and Sept., closed Oct.–Apr.)—the only one in Alaska powered by fuel cells—houses interpretive displays and a natural history bookstore. Rangers give programs and lead one-hour nature walks several times daily, with longer all-day trips to the ice field on Saturdays in July–August.
Exit Glacier Guides (907/224-5569, www.exitglacierguides.com [3]) leads five-hour excursions onto the glacier ($125 pp) as well as more adventurous ice-climbing trips ($185). They also provide a shuttle service ($10 round-trip) from town that runs hourly all summer. The company is located within the collection of old Alaska Railroad cars on the north end of the harbor.
A one-mile round-trip nature trail provides an easy, quiet forest walk. Two paths break off from it: Glacier’s Edge Trail climbs a steep 0.25 miles up to the 150-foot face of Exit Glacier; a second path (Toe of the Glacier Trail) crosses the rocky outwash plain where you’ll probably need to wade an icy-cold creek or two (use caution) to reach the end of the glacier. Don’t get too close since the glacier can calve without warning.
Harding Ice Field Trail, seven miles round-trip, forks off just after the bridge over the creek and climbs to 3,500 feet and the ice field. Plan on at least six hours for this far more difficult hike, and check at the ranger station for current trail conditions since deep snow may block this route until midsummer. In the winter, the road into Exit Glacier is not plowed but is very popular with skiers and snowmobilers.
The 16-mile Resurrection River Trail starts at Mile 8 of the Exit Glacier Road. This is the southern end of the 74-mile three-trail system from Kenai [4]’s top to bottom. Resurrection River Trail leads to the 16-mile Russian Lakes Trail, which hooks up near Cooper Landing [5] to the 38-mile Resurrection Pass Trail [6] to Hope [7]. A Forest Service cabin (518/885-3639 or 877/444-6777, www.recreation.gov [8], $45) is six miles from the trailhead.
Note that the Resurrection River Trail can become quite a quagmire when it rains, and it may be poorly maintained beyond the cabin; most folks simply hike to the cabin and then turn around. The trail is popular with cross-country skiers in wintertime because of its relatively low avalanche danger.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/seward
[3] http://www.exitglacierguides.com
[4] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/northwestern-kenai-peninsula/kenai
[5] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/northwestern-kenai-peninsula/cooper-landing
[6] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/eastern-kenai-peninsula/hope/resurrection-pass-trail
[7] http://www.moon.com/destinations/alaska/kenai-peninsula/eastern-kenai-peninsula/hope
[8] http://www.recreation.gov