Root Glacier

Guided glacier hikes are the classic way to experience the Root Glacier. Outfitters based in Kennecott and McCarthy provide crampons, which strap onto your boots and bite into the ice, and lead small groups out onto the glacier, keeping clear of hidden hazards.

Out on the ice you find a surreal world of glacier features: shimmering blue meltwater pools, streams that vanish into holes called moulins, ridges, and crevasses. Guides explain how the glacier moves and shapes the land, turning the walk into a lesson as well as an adventure.

Reaching the glacier begins with a walk. The Root Glacier Trail leaves the Kennecott townsite and follows the mountainside above the rocky moraine, with fine views of the ice and surrounding peaks, before dropping to the edge of the glacier where the ice walk begins.

The trail is a few miles round trip over uneven, sometimes rough ground, and the combination of a historic ghost town, a scenic trail, and time on a living glacier makes it one of the great days out in the park.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Root Glacier is a large glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, flowing down past the historic Kennecott mines. It is notable as one of the few glaciers that ordinary visitors can walk out onto, reached by a scenic trail from the Kennecott ghost town. On guided trips, visitors wear crampons and explore a landscape of white and blue ice carved by meltwater into pools, streams, and crevasses. Combining a walk from a preserved mining town with time on a living glacier, the Root Glacier offers one of the most accessible and hands-on glacier experiences in the entire national park system.

Yes, and that is exactly what makes the Root Glacier special. Its lower reaches are gentle enough that, with the right gear and a guide, visitors can walk out onto the ice. Guided trips based in Kennecott and McCarthy provide crampons, which strap onto your boots to grip the ice, and lead small groups safely onto the glacier to see its blue pools, streams, and crevasses up close. Walking on a glacier without proper equipment and knowledge is dangerous because of hidden crevasses and slick ice, so going with an experienced guide is strongly recommended. It is a genuinely memorable adventure for those reasonably fit.

The Root Glacier is reached on foot from the Kennecott ghost town in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. First you travel deep into the park via the long McCarthy Road to McCarthy, then continue about five miles to Kennecott by shuttle or on foot. From Kennecott, the Root Glacier Trail follows the mountainside for a few miles to the edge of the ice, where guided glacier walks begin. The trail is over uneven ground and the full outing takes several hours, so good footwear, water, and layers are important. Many visitors combine the glacier walk with touring the Kennecott mines and exploring the town of McCarthy.

Walking the Root Glacier Trail to the edge of the ice can be done on your own, but actually going out onto the glacier is much safer with a guide, and guided trips are strongly recommended. Glaciers have hidden crevasses, slick ice, and other hazards that are difficult for inexperienced visitors to judge, and the guided outfitters based in Kennecott and McCarthy provide crampons and the know-how to travel the ice safely. They also explain the glacier's features and how it works, adding to the experience. Venturing onto glacier ice without proper equipment and experience is genuinely dangerous, so for most visitors a guided trip is the right choice.