We have had two phenomenal days with St. Elias Alpine Guides! We rafted the Kennicott and Nizina…read moreRivers with Jeff and Stella. They were knowledgeable and fun! They made us a delicious lunch on a gravel bar half way through the trip. After we finished rafting, Wrangell Mountain Air picked us up and gave us a great 20 minute flight seeing tour of the rivers, glaciers and Kennecott and McCarthy. A wonderful way to spend a day! The next day, we had a wonderful tour of the Root Glacier and The Kennecott Mill with Michael. I've never had such an entertaining and well informed tour guide! We can't say enough great things about the fun we had in Wrangell St. Elias because of St. Elias Alpine Guides!

Here for the half day glacier hike tour. Our guide is Jake. Total 8 people in our group. Crampons,…read moregloves, sunglasses are required. Also, bring your own foods/snacks and water bottle! Today's goal is to look for a blue pool!!

We booked a full day private glacier hike for our family of 4 (13 yo daughter and 10 yo son) and…read morethoroughly enjoyed our trip with Emelina. She is an all around incredible human with so many life experiences under her belt at a very young age. She knows glaciers! And we all got such an education from her. She was super patient with our kids (and their parents hahaha!) the entire (very long) day. She structured the day completely around our pace and our interests. The glacier is, of course, spectacularly beautiful and we got to see quite a bit of it. The hike in and out is also incredibly beautiful! We had an amazing time and would definitely recommend both KWG and Emelina!

Wendy was a good guide and we felt safe the entire time. We did the half day hike…read more However I would say the hike is not completely as advertised. The photo on their website shows a beautiful blue lake which we did not go to. You just go wherever the guides take you that day. Personally I felt like we were hardly even on the glacier for very long, we went maybe 200 yards on it, the rest is just a normal Alaska hike you can do anywhere. Honestly we could've just rented the crampons and done it ourselves.

Stayed in the Mountain Biew cabin being managed this year by the Currant Ridge folks. Mountain View…read moreis a great cabin with great views. We took a tour of Currant Ridge (thanks Torey and Matt). Their cabins are also top notch and they're expanding. There are many good lodging options in McCarthy, but I'd put Currant Ridge at the top.

I took an all-day Root Glacier Tour with St. Elias Alpine Guides. Other than the weather being…read morepoor, I had a wonderful experience. Funny. Quick backstory. Last year I visited Wrangell St. Elias National Park and figured I could handle hiking onto Root Glacier all by my lonesome. I was wrong! I admit it! So, unfortunately, last year I messed things up, lol. But, alas, now this year of 2022, I have returned to McCarthy/Kennicott determined to change my past and history! Hehehe. Now being 1 year smarter, I have realized that yep, I needed to be guided, especially since (in my opinion) you absolutely need crampons to hike onto Root Glacier. And a guided tour will provide those vital crampons as part of the package. Plus...glaciers can be dangerous. If you're on your own, hiking, and take a wrong turn, it can be fatal. Okay, so here I was with 2 tour guides and a total of about 10 others with me on my 8-hour Root Glacier Tour. The tour was $145, plus I purchased an $8 optional snack pack that St. Elias Guides provided which included your usual hiking items like nuts, beef jerky, chips, etc... Then with taxes...the grand total was $162. For all my travels throughout Alaska this past summer, $162 for an 8-hour tour was absolutely worth it!! I booked with St. Elias Alpine Guides online. It was simple and they had plenty of available days and times for me to choose from. I was picked up by minivan at the McCarthy Footbridge at 8:30am on a Saturday for the 9am starting hike and departure. The van drove to Kennicott where I checked-in at the front desk counter and was introduced to my tour guides. Normally I don't mention names, but today I will because of how much I genuinely liked my guides. I really felt like I connected with them, and they made the tour memorable for me. So...thank you Kelsey and Victor. You guys were awesome! From Kennicott where the Old Mill and Mine is located, we then ventured about 2 miles all the way to "The Toe" of Root Glacier where we stopped, sat down, and put on our crampons. Interestingly, Kelsey and Victor said it was mandatory to wear gloves while hiking (in case we fell) along with having a backpack for extra gear and clothing. Plus, obviously, plenty of water. So now hiking up and onto Root Glacier...the day was really ours to casually take time and explore. Kelsey and Victor introduced us to all the popular and photogenic spots. I got to learn about blue pools, crevasses and moulins (which are life ending if you fall into one). There was really no rush in terms of exploring. When someone wanted to stop to take photos, we stopped. We learned a lot about the history and factual info on Root Glacier. About midway through the day, say 1pm, the group paused for lunch, which was our responsibility. St. Elias doesn't provide lunches, only the little snack packs. Kelsey and Victor did boil hot water for us to have either a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate. That was a nice way to recharge my battery. We walked around Root Glacier till 3pm before turning around and making our way back to be finished by 5pm. Overall, I got about 4 - 4.5 hours' worth of hiking and exploring on Root Glacier. Funny...the time goes by so fast when you're having fun. I wasn't ready to leave, lol. I felt like there was so much more to see. That's how much I was enjoying myself, lol. But ultimately, we still had to hike off Root Glacier and then trek the 2 miles back to Kennicott where the van initially dropped us off. In total, there were 7 - 8 miles worth of hiking throughout the day. Normally, that would be a long for some people, but when there's so much to see and do...it felt like I barely worked hard at all. Lastly, yeah, just, Root Glacier, it was mostly raining during my time out there for the day. And that certainly depressed my pictures somewhat. But I could sense when there's good weather with sun, how beautiful and colorful this glacier can be. In the end, I just had to deal with the conditions. Btw, and when you're hiking, it starts getting warm so although it could have been 40ish degrees outside, I actually took my jacket off while on the glacier. I must say...for all you park enthusiasts, and those interested in visiting Wrangell St. Elias NP...the #1 activity/sight/attraction is without a doubt this...ROOT GLACIER!!! I believe it is imperative when here exploring, you must do a guided tour! It's not often that Alaskan Glaciers are accessible through hiking...most of them are seen and witnessed from tour boats and by hiking trails to "The Toe" sections. But this Root Glacier offers you the best of it all! There's no other feeling like hiking on a glacier, so make sure to take advantage of Root Glacier's accessibility. You will be left with everlasting memories from your time here!

This hike is the reason you come to McCarthy, in my opinion…read more On a clear day, the views are hard to beat. This glacier is moderate enough that you can easily hike up on it with no gear or previous experience. You can see a massive icefall in the distance as well as the towering Wrangle Mountains. To get here simply take a shuttle into Kennecott, then walk through the historic mining town and...keep walking. You'll find yourself on a trail. Eventually, you'll come to a junction that points the way to the Root Glacier. Looks like there is also some pretty good backpacking opportunities in the area. Definitely going to explore the other trails in the network next time I visit.

We have been camping for 8 years and this was the worst RV campground we have been to. The two…read moreporta potties were filled and filthy. They messed up our reservation, not the friendliest staff, the grounds were mostly cobble stone. Most of the picnic tables were in bad shape. The view of the glacier is from the entry way, not at the campsites. One star is for the fire pits made out of the cobble stone.

My first stay here was Labor Day weekend, 2016. I arrived with no reservation but was able to…read moresecure a campsite with a great view of the glacier. It didn't have a picnic table as they were taken by all of those with reservations. Side note, that site does have a picnic table as of today. This year, I made sure to make a reservation 2 weeks in advance and I was extremely pleased by the large, private site provided to us. Great customer service as always. This is McCarthy, which is very remote, so understandably there isn't any trash service and you have to take your trash back home you with. No big deal. Make sure to keep your trash and food secured in your vehicle as not to attract squirrels and bears. (Especially the squirrels, they are quick little buggers and jumped in my SUV while I was setting up camp.) There is only one outhouse for the whole campground at the entrance which is slightly inconvenient. This is no frills camping which is how camping should be. Each site has a fire ring and flat surface for a tent, most have a picnic table. It's only $15 a night which is cheap. A short, 10-15 minute walk to the footbridge. It's wooded and private, which is important to me. I want to feel like I'm camping by in the woods by myself, not exposed with strangers. I plan to return here every year.

A cool and rustic peace of history. A visit to Wrangell is not complete without a stop to…read moreKennecott. Shuttle service to and from McCarthy was frequent and accessible for a small fee. We only had a day to explore, but you can see the main points easily. If you want to fit some of the longer hikes, plan on a second day. We explored by ourselves although tours are offered (and it is the only way to visit the inside of the Kennecott Mill). However, doing a self-guided tour around Kennecott was more than enough. It was at the end of the season, so services were limited. I can't speak much about that, but the pit toilets were still pretty well-maintained. Just plan a day to visit.

A quick 10 minute drive from McCarthy, the Kennecott Mines are a great historical site to explore…read morewhen you're visiting McCarthy. It had such a rich history with so much to learn and explore. Unfortunately, we came after much of it was closed for the season, so we didn't get to go inside any of the buildings. But from what we could see from the outside and read on the plaques, this mining town was fascinating! While we didn't do it, they do offer paid tours of the 14-story mill. This sounds like it would be a fascinating tour. We ended our time here with a short hike up to the mill, across the waterfall, and down back to the shuttle stop. It was actually so beautiful and relaxing. A perfect way to end our time here. Hop onto one of the shuttle vans and head on over!