Glacier Discovery Tour

On this day tour of 6 hours you will depart from Anchorage for the scenic drive south along the edge of the Turnagain Arm on the Seward Parkway. On our way towards Portage Glacier, we will make a couple of stops for photo opportunities at Beluga Point and Bird Point. We will stop at Portage Glacier see as living glaciers continue to carve the landscape and shape the life on the Chugach National Forest.

Although Portage Glacier is no longer visible from the Visitor Center, due to its retreat, the face of the glacier is still partially in Portage Lake. Find out why Portage Glacier is one of Alaska's most popular attractions. Visit the sheer, awesome face of a mighty Alaska glacier located just an hour from Anchorage. Cruising across Portage Lake on the MV Ptarmigan, you'll stand just 300 yards from a relic of the Ice Age and watch for fractures of ice break off the glacier and crash into the water below.

Afterwards, you will travel to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center opened to the public in 1993. It is located on 140 acres at the southern edge of Turnagain Arm and the entrance to Portage Valley. The center’s mission is to provide care and rehabilitation for injured and orphaned wildlife and to provide wildlife education and awareness. Animals that are unable to be released or survive in the wild are given refuge in the center's spacious habitats.

Here people can safely get close, observe and photograph some of Alaska's largest land animals, including moose, bison, elk, deer, caribou, bears muskox, small mammals and birds of prey. During spring and summer, visitors can often witness the rehabilitation of orphaned baby animals of various species.

After an informative visit through the park with the largest of Alaska's wild animals, your tour will continue to Girdwood, a quaint mining town turned ski resort at the base of Mt. Alyeska. We will make a lunch stop (not included) at one of our favorite local eateries, where you can purchase a variety of soups, sandwiches and salads. After lunch we will ascend the Chugach Mountains for amazing and panoramic views of the Turnagain Arm and beyond. By the end you will be heading back to the meeting point.