While planning a trip to Alaska, most people have Anchorage, Denali and Seward on their agenda, however only a few venture out further east towards Copper Center and Chitina to visit Wrangell St. Elias National Park. Being the National Park buffs that we are, there was no way we would be in Alaska and miss visiting the largest National Park in the US. (At 13.2 million acres, this park is the same size as Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Switzerland combined!).

Planning a visit to Wrangell St. Elias National Park takes a little bit of effort but is totally worth it!

The Park contains the abandoned copper mines of Kennicott (declared a National Historic Landmark District) surrounded by scenic mountains and glaciers. There are several guided tours that include hikes (to the mountains and glaciers), and well as other activities like tours of the Kennicott Mills or rafting in the Copper River. Considering we had only 1 day here, we chose to spend the day hiking the Root Glacier, and this turned out to be the highlight of our Alaska trip.

Now for the logistics – the route to reach Kennicott is the following: Copper Center (or any other town on the Richardson Highway)  Chitina McCarthy  Kennicott. Most private cars cannot get to Kennicott as there is a footbridge near McCarthy, and majority of the road after Chitina is a gravel road that rental car companies generally do not allow their cars to be driven on. The best option is to book a guided tour that also includes the transportation. While this is a tad bit expensive, it is will allow you to visit the park conveniently, especially if you are pressed for time. We did just that and booked a guided tour of the Root Glacier.

We were put up at the Princess Wilderness Lodge in Copper Center the previous night. Our day started really early and we drove from our hotel to Chitina (about 50 miles). From Chitina, there are two options to reach McCarthy – an air taxi which takes about 30 mins or by taking the road, which generally takes about 3 hours. We chose to take the road and our trip started with a short drive through the historic railroad town of Chitina, where we crossed the massive Copper River. The McCarthy Road begins on a scenic bluff overlooking the glacier-fed Copper and Chitina Rivers. This is an interesting, narrow road through true Alaskan wilderness. We mostly followed the historic path of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway and saw several beavers and rabbits, along the way. We finally made it to the McCarthy Footbridge from where we took another shuttle (across the footbridge) to get to Kennicott in about 20 minutes.

After receiving our hiking gear (which included crampons), we set out on the Root Glacier trail. Our group consisted of 8 people and our awesome guides were two sisters who went to school in Indiana and spent the summer in Alaska. (How cool is that!) The main street in Kennicott turns into a well-maintained, hiking trail just outside of town. This trail winds alongside the Kennicott and Root Glaciers, and hiking it is a great opportunity to experience the grandeur of the Wrangell Mountains and see more of the valley. All through the hike you are rewarded with great mountain and glacier views, and have the chance to spot bears cruising on the lateral moraine below. The turnoff to the toe of the Root Glacier is about 15 minutes past Jumbo Creek and clearly marked.

When we reached the glacier, we put on our crampons and my then 7-year old’s first reaction was ‘I feel like spider man and can climb anything!’ Hiking on the glacier is one of the coolest things I have done. It was a clear and beautiful day and the views all around us was amazing. We walked on the ice valleys, saw the melting ice form streams which turned into waterfalls to form clear blue lakes and also carve out deep canyon-like ravines in the ice. One can hike on the ice by themselves as well, (and we did see a few people), however we felt so much safer being with a group and with the experienced guides who told us all about the ice formations as well as the dangers of moulins (while taking us up close to see one). The icing on the cake was having a freshly made hot drink using the clear glacier water along with our packed lunches!

You could literally spend hours here discovering the fascinating details on its surface and discovering new caverns and lakes. However, as the day winded down, we headed back towards Kennicott. Wrangell Mountain Air provides an hourly van service between the footbridge, McCarthy, and Kennicott. (Every half-hour July 1 – August 15.) The cost is $5 per person, each way, and they accept cash and credit cards. We made it back to McCarthy where we took a quick break at a local brewhouse. After a few refreshing drinks, we boarded the shuttle back to Chitina. At Chitina we got back into out rental and headed back to our hotel in Copper Center. It was a fulfilling day!!