8 Day Meares Glacier to Columbia Glacier Tour
TRIP DETAILS
Difficulty: Medium - adventurous people in good condition
Dates: Custom Dates Only
Price: $1950, Two Person Minimum
Alaska Kayak Camping Overview
Our most remote and impressive sea kayak camping trip. Sea kayak from Meares Glacier to Columbia Glacier via Glacier Island.
Amazing wildlife and scenery in a challenging adventure. Camping on secluded beaches and hiking ancient rainforests.
Tour Activities
- -Sea kayaking
- -Camping
- -Hikes
- -Scenic and remote motor boat ride
- -Tidepooling
- -Beach exploration
Price Includes
- -Meals listed in itinerary
- -Instruction
- -Kayak equipment
- -Tents & sleeping kit
- -Guide services
- -Motor boat transport
- -Park fees
Itinerary
The 8 day "Remote Glaciers and Bays Expedition" explores an area of Prince William Sound that gets very little traffic from other kayakers or motor boats. The terrain is both mountainous and rolling hills. There are two major tide-water glaciers and dozens of small and very pristine bays. This tour is our most remote, scenic, rugged kayak adventure and offers a great challenge for all levels of paddlers.
This trip offers great sea kayaking, day hikes and wildlife. We have designed the 8 day trip to offer a flexible day to day itinerary offering the groups various choices to either take their time or challenge themselves to cover more miles and visit more bays.
Because of the nature of this tour, we do not give a very detailed day-by-day itinerary. Our guides do an amazing job of offering a great trip and never seem to follow the same path or stay at the same campsites from week to week.
We ask that all guests stop in the evening prior to day 1 of the trip to say hello, meet the guides, do a gear shakedown, and go over any last second concerns.
Day 1 - We start with a motorboat ride to the Meares Glacier and set the first night's camp. We will get in an afternoon paddle on the first day to get warmed up and comfortable in the kayaks. The ride out to Meares is a treat in itself with expansive views of Prince William Sound.
Day 2 - We spend the day exploring the Meares Glacier by kayak and camp at the same site as night one. Meares is one of the only advancing tide water glaciers in Prince William Sound and it offers an intense experience of calving ice, the kind of powerful calving that sends shock waves echoing across the surrounding peaks and valleys! There are also many seals and pupping sea otters in the area.
Day 3-6 - We move camp on a daily basis and enjoy mostly calm water paddling through different bays and narrow passages. Some of our favorite areas in Prince William Sound are found on this paddle (Granite and Cedar Bays to name a couple). The exact route of the paddle ranges from group to group. We have had good success at seeing humpback whales and Orca along this route. Another destination we visit, weather permitting, is Glacier Island to paddle with the sea lions at Bull head. The rugged coastline of Glacier Island is adorned with nesting birds, such as puffin and cormorants. We also start to see the floating ice of Columbia Glacier.
Day 7 - We paddle from Glacier Island to Heather Bay for a campsite that has a view of the Columbia Glacier. Heather Bay is another great bay that offers calm, emerald waters and is a sea otter pupping area.
Day 8 - We will paddle through the icebergs of the Columbia Glacier in the morning and get picked up by the water taxi around 4:00 p.m. for the ride back to Valdez.
Typical group sizes range from 2-6 guests and 1-2 guides.
Trip Gallery
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