10 in 10 - 10 hours - $210 Adults / $110 Youth | Distance: 8.5 mi (13.68 km) / Elevation: 2800 ft (853.44 m)
This tour takes you to the best alpine hiking in Valdez with amazing views of town, Port Valdez, mountains, glaciers.
Start from down on the shores of Port Valdez and work your way back into the alpine around 2,000ft in elevation. The trail is not too difficult and makes for an enjoyable approach. There are lots of berries beginning mid-August. Once in the alpine there are many variations we can take with things to see and places to explore. Climb the rocky knolls (usually adds 1000ft of gross elevation gain) or follow the creek through the valley for minimal incline. For those wishing to cover a lot of ground we can make our way all the to the glacier at the end.
Alpine Hike and Packraft - 8 hours - $355 Adults Distance: 9 mi (14.48 km) / Elevation: 2000 ft (609.6 m)
This tour has a section of steep hiking to access the alpine. It's followed by a lovely walk through the alpine, packrafting down the lake, and more hiking along a stream with fantastic waterfalls. If we're making good time, we can continue up the valley to explore the glacier.
Starting out of Valdez, our backcountry basecamps begin and end with a helicopter ride over glaciers and mountains, en route to and from our remote locations.
We select our basecamps based on the views and array of activities available.
Custom Adventure Tours - hour -
There is no way to give the itinerary for this as it is whatever you want it to be. Often this tour includes covering much of the state in one to two week periods. Knocking out goal after goal, seeing as much as we can within your budget and time frame.
We will pick you up from Juneau, Fairbanks, or Anchorage and your tour can end in any one of those three cities, it doesn't have to be the same as your arrival city. There's a lot to see so why double back if you don't have to. Arrive in Anchorage as we travel along Cook Inlet, visit the resort town of Girdwood, do a day cruise in Kenai Fjords, fly around Denali and walk on a glacier, do a remote drop off backpacking trip in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park where you can go a full week without seeing another human. Drive up the haul road through the Brooks Range, whale watching in Juneau, flightseeing Glacier Bay National Park, get up close to Alaskan wildlife. Take a bush flight and land in the arctic circle. Try living off the grid in remote Alaska. The possibilities are endless. Contact us to see how we can make your trip to Alaska one of the greatest trips of your life.
*Some tours require partnering with third party guides, outfitters, and companies. These expenses will be covered by Alaska Guide Co. within your tour quote. Liability while on third party tours, rest with third party hosting.
Custom Valdez Glacier Photography Tour - hour - $350 Adults
Family Hike & Explore - 3 hours - $125 Adults / $60 Youth | Distance: 3.7 mi (5.95 km) / Elevation: 700 ft (213.36 m)
The Family Hike & Explore tour is designed for groups and families that aren't looking for anything too difficult but still keeps things interesting while taking in the great views Valdez has to offer. The terrain includes rolling alpine, rocky outcroppings, streams, and pools.
For groups that like to keep moving and exploring this tour can be up to 6 miles roundtrip with 900ft elevation gain, though most people take it leisurely and cover a bit less ground. However, everything is tailored to what your group wants to do. We can go for a mile and play in the water if your group wants to keep it simple and easy.
Possible animal viewing on this tour can include arctic ground squirrels, marmots, bald eagles, other birds of prey, mountain goats, and possible bear. Generally, you will need to do the full length of the tour near the need of summer to have a chance of a bear sighting.
Glacier Blue Ice Climbing - 4 hours - $235 Adults / $140 Youth | Distance: 2 mi (3.22 km)
This tour is intended for either experienced ice climbers who want to mix it up and try a variety of glacier ice, or those who just want the sick photos.
The Glacier Blue Ice Climbing gets you on the wall with phenomenal glacier blue ice, with colors and textures that POP! If you've never done ice climbing before that's okay. Your guide will get you to a mild approach where they can teach you the basics and then assess what will work with your abilities, comfort level, and desired photos.
If you really want the rare photos and the stars align we can get you out for ice climbing under the northern lights. (Prior climbing during the day with us is required before we send you up ice with sharp objects attached to your feet and in your hands.) This is considered an additional session of the Glacier Blue Ice Climbing tour, and will not be confirmed until the day of so that you have your best chance with clear skies, safe temperatures, and active space weather.
Glacier Lookout - 1 days - $263 Adults
Glacier Lookout Hike and Stay - 2 days - $385 Adults / $290 Youth | Distance: 7 mi (11.27 km) / Elevation: 3600 ft (1097.28 m)
This tour is not for everyone. Participants should be fit and adventurous. This private tour requires a minimum of 2 people.
The hike begins along a trail maintained by Alaska Guide Co traveling a mile and a half through the brush with a mostly moderate incline. The trail then turns to a steep hike/scramble up to the alpine. If it has been raining recently the trail may be slick. Some portions of this section have rope assistance. Once in the alpine the route wraps around the mountain making little elevation gains as you go with a couple moderate elevation gains. They are steep enough people who are afraid of heights can find it unnerving, but really aren't bad or unsafe with adequate hiking skills.
July is the best time for doing the hike if you wish to catch the wildflowers in bloom.
This tour may be extended by adding additional nights at Glacier Lookout. Additional activities such as hikes, West Peak summits, and rock climbing may also be included in this tour when staying more than one night. Please inquire if you are interested in extending this tour.
The records for hiking Glacier Lookout are 2.5 hours in and 1hour 7 mins out. Most people will take roughly 6-7 hours to hike in and 4.5 hours to hike out. The hike is roughly 5 miles and has an elevation difference of 3,600 ft.
If your guide becomes concerned about your abilities and safety, they will determine the most practical way to get you off the mountain. If participants are not able to complete the hike refunds are not an option as you are reserving Glacier Lookout. If you are needing a helicopter extraction, we can help arrange that, but you will need to cover the expenses with the helicopter company. We have only had 1 group not be able to complete this tour because their party leader did not fully disclose to their friends what the hike involved, and they were under prepared. Have EVERYONE in your party read this description before committing to this tour.
Glacier Lookout Open House - 3 hours - $255 Adults / $245 Youth |
Gold Creek Canoe Tour - 5 hours - $195 Adults / $95 Youth |
High Alpine Hike - 3 days - $1350 Adults / $1150 Youth |
This tour begins and ends with a helicopter ride to skip any bushwhacking. There are a few variations to the tour which allow us to minimize or maximize altitude gain and loss depending on what type of hiking you wish to do. People considering this tour should be comfortable with heights and steep terrain, and have good balance. While most of the terrain is fairly mild, there are sections that may worry some people uneasy with heights.
Spend the whole tour away from cell phone service and people. This tour gets you isolated and able to immerse yourself in the beautiful alpine nature of Valdez, as we hike roughly 8 miles through the Chugach mountains.
Highlights of the tour include amazing mountain views, hiking through the alpine, chances to get up close to mountain goats, northern lights viewing in late August and September, beautiful lakes, and abandoned gold mines.
While we have the minimum age set to 8 on this tour, it might not be the best fit for youth that don't truly enjoy hiking and are strong enough to pack their own gear. Please talk to us when considering this for younger participants.
Ice Climbing School - 3 days - $625 Adults / $500 Youth |
Icebergs SUP (Stand Up Paddle Boarding) - 3 hours - $165 Adults / $130 Youth |
Paddle boarding around icebergs? You bet! If SUP is your thing, this tour will likely be the most unique stand up paddle boarding you'll experience. Get up close to the icebergs and touch the ice. Glide across the surface surrounded by the blue ice of the Valdez Glacier Icebergs.
Mountain Pass to Glacier Face - 10 hours - $675 Adults / $490 Youth | Distance: 8 mi (12.87 km) / Elevation: 1000 ft (304.8 m)
This tour involves a helicopter drop off in the mountains outside of Valdez with a hike down to the face of Valdez Glacier. It's roughly 8 miles of hiking but can become longer with additional exploring. From the face, you will either be picked up by boat and be taken through the icebergs we flew over that morning or picked up from the face by helicopter. The departure transportation is dependent on weather, lake conditions, and availabilities, either way it's a treat.
The tour begins around 3,500ft and climbs up to 4,200ft before descending down 4,00ft and hiking out along Valdez Glacier. Most of the terrain is gradual and mild but off trail with the occasional scramble, with one intense final scramble down to the glacier. The 2024 season might include a rappel down to the glacier. The descents can be difficult for some. Features include many glacier and mountain views, alpine lakes and streams, passing near an abandoned gold mine, alpine terrain, a short section through the brush (no bushwhacking) and walking the surface of Valdez Glacier.
Animal sightings may include mountain goats, black bears, marmots, pika squirrels, arctic ground squirrels, ptarmigan, eagles, and mountain songbirds.
This tour maybe be extended into multiple day experience.
Photographer 3-4Hr - hour - $500 Adults
Pro Photographer 6-8Hr - 8 hours - $850 |
While our guides are more than happy to take your photos for you on a tour there are advantages of having our photographer your tour. However, while they are guiding your safety is their number one focus. Keeping you on belay while climbing, balancing a canoe while surrounded by icebergs, guiding your through technical terrain. These are all moments where a guide is in safety mode. Often these are also the moments when you're in position for jaw dropping dramatic shots.
Our photographers are also guides and know our tours and the landscape inside and out. They can get in position to ensure you have the best photos fully illustrating your amazing Alaskan adventure. They can focus on the photos and work with the guide to get you photos you are proud of.
If your looking for some fun fairly light mountain biking in the alpine backcountry this is the tour. On the way out most of the route is bikeable for those with previous mountain biking experience. For those with none the way out might be in the neighborhood of half leisurely hike and half riding. However the ride out is a backcountry park of slopes and rolling rocks for a variety of choices to have your style of ride out.
Summer ice climbing has a few options. The tour includes hiking, ice climbing, and a traverse crossing. It can also include scrambling, rock climbing, ice caves, and canyoneering type traveling.
Accessing the climbs. So far 2021 the ice cave face has averaged a 2+ hours, the moulin roughly 2 hours, the divide walls an hour and a half. Proficient groups where all party members are comfortable with heights could access climbs in half this time. Participants will need to be able to pack roughly 20lbs when carrying their boots, crampons, harness, and helmet plus any water, snacks, or additional clothing layers.
Harnesses support up to a 39inch(100cm) waist.
Town to Glacier Traverse - 6 hours - $510 Adults / $510 Youth |
This day hike begins with a helicopter ride up to the alpine of the Chugach mountains behind Valdez. From there we begin a two mile journey exploring along the way, taking in the sights and enjoying the isolation. The hiking is fairly easy for most travelers, however there is no trail and hiking can contain side hilling and uneven terrain. In early June the path can contain snowfields.
Animal sightings on this tour can include; mountain goat, bear, marmot, arctic ground squirrel, pika, ptarmigan and eagles.
Ultimate Northern Lights Tours - 9 days -
Our Alaska Northern Lights tours are exciting and rewarding for those looking to chase the aurora's. Our Northern Lights tours will further south than most, this is because we prefer the foreground that you generally don't get in other aurora shots. Our foreground has real mountains and large non-frozen lakes for beautiful reflections.
Tours begin in Fairbanks to guarantee the best chance of viewing the aurora borealis. From there we watch the cloud weather and space weather and see what are options are. This tour can take us all over Alaska and the Yukon. Most common locations can include: Delta Junction (AK), Tok (AK), Valdez (AK), Talkeetna (AK), Paxson (AK), Whitehorse (YT), Kluane National Park (YT), Beaver Creek (YT) as well as many others with and without names.
Each evening we will set out to maximize clear skies, aurora viewing, and diverse foregrounds. Our tours cover a lot of driving for maximum change of scenery as best opportunities for viewing the Northern Lights. Some nights may cover up to 500 miles of driving to ensure you get the best possible aurora viewing.
For the more adventurous travelers this tour can include, remote off grid lodging and remote bush plane flights, if desired.
The top-rated tour in Valdez on Trip Advisor. 99.9-100% 5-star reviews everywhere.
Our Valdez Glacier and Iceberg tour begins at Valdez Glacier Lake, past the airport at the end of Airport Road. There we will meet you with a canoe and life jackets.
This private tour requires a minimum of 2 people and can accommodate groups as large as 12 average adults at a time. No canoe experience is required. Guides do the paddling, participants may paddle if they would like to do so. One in 40 tours we experience winds on the lake and may request participants to help paddle. A couple times a year winds force us to cancel or switch tours. The full refund cancellation or switch and prorate is decided by the client, if the guide determines the conditions to be unsafe on the lake.
We will canoe out towards Valdez Glacier exploring the icebergs, and when possible and safe, their ice caves. On July 7, 2020 the entire ice shelf of the glacier calved into thousands of icebergs. This year there are many large icebergs remaining and several quality ice caves. We anticipate there being several ice caves available to view throughout each tour with at least one that would provide safe entrance in the canoe. However, this is ice, it's constantly melting and changing so we can't offer 100% guarantees. These are our honest assessments based on years of observation out there. The option to walk on an iceberg exist if a suitable iceberg can be found for safe exit and entry of the canoe. Also, the stability of your group plays a large factor in determining the safety. The better you can manage your balance among your group the more options the guide has to work with. Be sure to ask your guide if walking on an iceberg is something that you're interested in so they can do their best to tailor your tour accordingly.
Cruise Ship Days
For cruise ship passengers this tour is NOT a private tour unless it is for a party of five or six. Otherwise on cruise days this becomes a combined tour of two guides and up to six passengers.
We pick up cruise passengers at the dock and will return them to the dock or in town locations if they prefer.
Life vests support up to a 52inch(132cm) chest.
Our rock-climbing tours are available in Valdez and up along Worthington Glacier. Climbing down in Valdez is open as early as the end of March depending on weather while rock climbing in Worthington Glacier can open as late as the beginning of June. Check with us for projected accessibility if looking to rock climb sooner than those dates.
All of our rock-climbing guides are residents of Valdez and have expert knowledge of the area.
Harnesses support up to a 39inch(100cm) waist.
Our hikes and camping tours are intended for those looking to go out either off trail or on trails/routes that most tourist do not venture on. Some unpromoted trails around Valdez are best done with a guide, as the occasional tourist has needed search and rescue to save them. These hikes venture further and can perfectly accommodate overnight and extended camping.
We also have camping tours for families with younger children who might want to camp remotely without needing to cover as much distance. Please exercise caution describing how intense a tour you're wanting, when signing younger children up. What many outside of Alaska consider tough and roughing it can very well be our starting point of easy/beginner. Last thing we want is for everyone to have a miserable time.
There are no facilities available along these tours. Be prepared to pack what you need, and do what you need to out in the wilderness. If you are wanting to camp between Mid May - September be prepared, it doesn't get dark.
Winter camping will cost more as more gear is needed.
Multi-pitch climbing is not for first time climbers. However, if you've climbed ice before and want to take it to the next level or you're a seasoned climber looking for a belay partner or somewhere between, we're here to help.
Valdez hosts several classic multi-pitch climbs. Bridal Veil and Greensteps are convenient roadside climbs giving you more time on the ice and less time trekking out to it.
Are you going to be in Valdez and want to get out to view the northern lights? Our tour roadside tour is designed to be easy viewing.
For those looking for more unique photos, our adventure + variation can get you out to the right vantage points. You will be expected to have appropriate winter clothing for the adventure +.
We will keep you posted on cloud cover and space weather conditions then if it looks like it will be worth it we will let you know and finalize the tour the day of the tour. No locked in commitments.
This tour is intended for those arriving in Valdez aboard a cruise ship, looking for more personal scenic tour. Your guide will be a local Valdezian who's familiar with the area and the history. You'll see more, learn more, and have a more relaxed experience.
The Valdez Sea to Sky Cruise Excursion picks you up from your dock and drives you out to historic Old Valdez (not much in way of visuals but to put history into perspective), down Dayville Rd where you visit the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery. Next stop is Keystone Canyon to view our many waterfalls. Then it continues up to the alpine mountain tundra of Thompson Pass. Your guide may even throw in some extras if time allows.
Join our guides on a walk around the Valdez Glacier icebergs getting up close to blue ice. We'll take you out to the best caves and neatest hidden features.
Valdez host some of Alaska's best ice climbing. Our winter ice climbing is great for beginners who are looking to get introduced to the sport or to intermediate climbers who have experience but want to try out the ice in Valdez. Most of our winter climbing takes place in Keystone Canyon however when conditions permit, we can offer ice climbing on the icebergs of Valdez Glacier.
Harnesses support up to a 39inch(100cm) waist.
Winter SUP (Stand Up Paddle Boarding) - 3 hours - $155 Adults
When everything else is frozen over Port Valdez stays fluid. On a calm day you can slide along the glassy surface Port Valdez taking in the quite of summer with the occasional sea bird flying by. Probably one of the most fun aspects of this tour is the frequency at which the seals watch us.
The Dock Point and Mineral Creek area has the rocky islands and is great for getting close to seals and otters.
While Old Town is an up close historic tour with the remnants of the old docks and and relics lost to the sea. Old town also provides lots of opportunities to see seals as well, they seem to be more comfortable getting closer to us in that setting. They prefer the shallow water when the orcas are in Port Valdez.
Worthington Grand Hike - 5 hours - $185 Adults / $95 Youth | Distance: 5 mi (8.05 km) / Elevation: 1800 ft (548.64 m)
Our Worthington Grand Hike is a trail free alpine hike that gets you unique views of Worthington Glacier. The full hike is roughly 6 miles roundtrip. Majority of the hike is a gentle 10-15° incline. The maximum angle on incline is 35° and extends 350ft at the beginning of the hike, but after that it's a nice enjoyable terrain with great views.
It's terrific for those looking to do a full day hike immersed in nature away from everyone else.
Wildlife viewing on this tour may include arctic ground squirrels, marmots, ptarmigan, various birds of prey, mountain goats, moose, and brown or black bears.
Worthington Trek, Valdez - 3 hours - $145 Adults / $90 Youth | Distance: 2 mi (3.22 km) / Elevation: 700 ft (213.36 m)
Worthington Glacier has receded to a point where there's not much to see from the accessible parts of the glacier. We take you to the places where you can still get up close to the glacier, and enjoy some amazing views.
This tour begins and ends at Worthington Glacier Parking Lot, located 28 mile Richardson Highway. We meet you out there and begin our journey to Worthington Glacier. This tour gives people the opportunity to get up close and personal with Worthington Glacier. As opposed to the trail which leads to a steep face surrounded by steep rocky cliffs, we travel to places where you can climb in and on Worthington Glacier.
This tour may include a Tyrolean traverse depending on the water levels of the creek. Our harnesses range from child sizes to adult XL (39-inch (100cm) waist). It can also include some mild scrambles or climbing if preferred. Physical condition should be taken into consideration.