Exit Glacier, part of Kenai Fjords National Park, is the only part of the park accessible by road. Here you can stroll the trails, walk very close to an active glacier, or take a ranger-led walk. It is a place where no where else in Alaska you can walk up and witness up close how glaciers re-shape a landscape and learn how plant life reclaims the barren rocky land exposed by a glacier’s retreat.

Exit Glacier is open year round. Upon the arrival of snow, usually in mid-November, the road is closed to cars but open to a wide-range of winter conditions – from snow machines to dogsleds and cross-country skiers.

Exit Glacier shuttle rides start at $9.00per person, plus park fee and tax.

Trails:
From the Exit Glacier Nature Center several short trails lead to the foot of the glacier. The first ¼ mile of the main trail is paved and handicap accessible. The pavement ends at a kiosk with benches and interpretive signs about area geology. At that point you can continue along the main trail on a gravel path to the Glacier, or pass through the kiosk and follow the accessible trail to a panoramic viewpoint of Exit Glacier, the surrounding peaks and the outwash stream. 

Once at the glacier, you can wander along the relatively flat outwash plain, or head up the moderately strenuous Overlook Loop Trail that leads up to an area of recently glaciated terrain, with a spur trail continuing to the edge of Exit Glacier. You can return by the main trail or take the Nature Trail back to the parking lot. This slightly longer, more wooded route includes interpretive signs describing the progression from pioneer plants to temperate rainforest that occurs after a glacier recedes. If you are looking for a longer day hike, don’t miss the Harding Icefield Trail!