Alaska Travel Tip: Glacier View

The area is known simply as “Glacier View”.  It is indeed one of my favorite places in Alaska for all four seasons.  It’s Located north, northwest of Anchorage, and it runs from Mile 89 to Mile 119 on the Glenn Highway. At only 2 hours from Anchorage, I enjoy the area mainly because of my love of mountains. I can sit and stare at our Alaska mountains all day long. I guess someone might call it my “happy place”.in Alaska.

Glacier View is named because of its grand view of the Matanuska Glacier as well as a number of others that cling to the Chugach Mountains. The Glenn highway in this area sits at the convergence of the Talkeetna Mountains to the west and the Chugach Mountains to the east. If you like mountains, snow, water, tundra, and wildflowers, this is your place. Moose are abundant here as well. The highway has a very good number of pullouts where you can create some very nice landscapes with all the ingredients mentioned above and have stunning, knife-edge mountains as a background.

This image was shot in Autumn (September) with my Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 24-105mm f/4.0 lens at 105mm at f/6.3 at 1/640th second at ISO 800 w/ polarizer— handheld. If I had the time, I would have used a tripod with a longer exposure.

The very best view of Matanuska Glacier, which also includes a State campground is located at Mile 101.  And within walking distance is also Long Rifle Lodge which offers tasty meals.  There are a number of other lodges in the area as well. My favorite is Sheep Mountain Lodge (www.sheepmountain.com), which is also offering affordable helicopter tours.  Read more about the area here: https://www.alaska.org/detail/matanuska-glacier-scenic-turnout  

This image was shot in Winter (January) with a my Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon 24-105mm f/4.0 lens at 24mm at f/4.5 at 1/320th second at ISO 640 w/ polarizer— handheld. If I had the time, I would have used a tripod with a longer exposure.

One can pay a fee to cross private land and get front-row access to Matanuska Glacier by making a 5-mile, gravel road drive to within a half-mile. You can trek from there and be standing on the glacier within minutes.  (https://glacier-tours.com/)

I enjoy this area in all four seasons. There is none better than the other, only different. So it all depends on your desires.

That said, because of very little light pollution, winter is a wonderful time to be here if you enjoy making night-sky and aurora photography.

Did you know I offer custom tours for a variety of subjects and locations? Whatever your heart desires; wildlife, landscapes, fly in a helicopter- LET’S PLAN YOUR DREAM ALASKA PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR! Let me take you to make stunning images of your dream locations & wildlife in Alaska. Whether you want to make photos in the classic Alaska locations or in places that the average traveler will never see, I can make that happen.

Page Spencer, a local Anchorage photographer, was originally signed up to do a one-week Alaska photo tour with me and five other guests. Unfortunately, the tour had to be canceled due to COVID. So, Paige asked me to work up an itinerary for custom instruction and a custom photo tour for her at the same rate of money. We’ve met several times for short classroom sessions on the art and science of photography.

Then shortly after planning it, in June 2020, we left for an 8-hour custom day starting at 4:30 am and spotted a band of Dall sheep within an hour. We photographed two sessions with the sheep in two different locations and then some landscape images.

This is the year to do a custom trip– lots of good deals to be had at lodges.

This image was made in April 2020 with a Canon 1DX mark II / 24-105mm f/4.0 lens at 27mm at f/22 at 1/15th second / ISO 100

I have traveled and photographed many places, wildlife species, and landscapes in my 35+ years living in Alaska. I have extensive knowledge of the seasons, wildlife, landscapes, and travel logistics needed to create a one-of-a-kind private, custom, guided Alaska photo tour. My contacts of quality lodges and accommodations as well as transportation (boat, helicopter, air taxis) is varied and vast all over the State. No matter what your photography level; beginner, intermediate, advanced or professional, during your private Alaska photography tour I am here to not only guide you to great Alaska photography locations but also to help take your photography to the next level by offering custom photography instruction.

I offer private and custom Alaska photo tours for individuals, families and small or large corporate groups. Learn more here.