Bears, Trains & Icebergs Tour

Overview

❖ Ride the Glacier Discovery Train

❖ Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

❖ Float by Icebergs on Spencer Glacier Lake & 7 River Miles Down the Placer River Valley on the Most Scenic River Trip in Alaska

You won’t see more on a day on the AK Railroad than on this trip. Many of our guests tell us it is their best day in Alaska.

City: Anchorage

Tue 24 Dec

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $385.00

Make a reservation

Tue 24 Dec

Starting at $385.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Sack lunch included. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or requests ahead of time.

AK Railroad Tickets (Roundtrip)

Snacks

Air-conditioned vehicle

Restroom on board

Additional Info

Specialized infant seats are available
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
COVID-19 vaccination required for guides
Chugach Adventures' was one of the few adventure tour companies that fully and safely operated in 2020 and 2021. We created an extensive COVID-19 mitigation plan to successfully operate for both our travelers and our employees and are committed to continuing with our plan in 2023.

What To Expect

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Take a brief shuttle to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for a guided & interpretive tour of the animals. The center is Alaska’s premier rehabilitation facility for injured and orphaned wildlife. AWCC Tour runs 1.5 hours and includes walking and driving options to view the animals. A sack lunch is provided with this tour.

Spencer Glacier

Spencer Iceberg Float - 2 Hours on the Water at Spencer Glacier and 7 River Miles down the Placer River

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (91)

ColoTraveler0

Jan 2015

We have great memories of our rafting trip. In many ways, the experience is unique: the train ride, floating by glaciers, floating down an Alaska river. Other aspects made it feel manufactured and touristy: the fleet of rafts cruising around the lake, being encouraged to whack the icebergs, a guide that spent the whole time chatting with another employee in our raft (we found it more interesting to overhear guides on other rafts -- our guide was only good for steering). And the non-stop rain goes with the territory but made us happy when it was all over and we were back on the train.

peachessmith

Oct 2014

We made reservations for the Chugach Adventures Alaska Railroad Spenser Glacier Iceberg Float before leaving home. We boarded the train in Girdwood and spent (approximately) three hours riding the train - entirely too long for us. You must have a picture ID to get on the train. The train seats are assigned and if you get a seat on the right side you are on the more scenic side. Rubber boots were given to us during the train ride. I put on two pairs of socks and removed the outer layer immediately after taking the borrowed boots off. We also wore wicking long underwear, Merlino wool socks, nylon pants, long sleeve wicking type material shirt, wicking heavy hooded fleece and waterproof gloves. After finally arriving at Spenser, we boarded a bus for a short ride to the rafts. Once by the water we were given safety instructions, life preservers and long rubber rain coats. Our guide was Gus Beck – a college graduate who just loves his job on the water and it shows in his attitude. Guests are provided water and a variety of snacks while on the raft. Spenser Glacier is spectacular! We got up close to the icebergs on a gentle raft float that went across Spenser Lake and then down Placer River. We saw freshly fallen (called calving) pieces of the glacier. On the way back we hopped on a motor coach in Whittier instead of sitting through the Whittier lay-over and taking the slow train back to Girdwood. We save ourselves a couple of hours this way. A less expensive and time consuming way to do this trip is to take the train from Portage or Whittier. There is a coupon in the Northern Lights coupon book that will save about $100 for two people no matter where you pick up the train from. Spenser Glacier is in Chugach National Forest and is only accessible by train. Chugach Adventures is the only tour company that offers this tour. They conduct the tours in conjunction with the railroad. What you see on the train ride is just about what can be seen in your car. If you take the train in Girdwood there is a 45-minute layover in Whittier – we felt the train ride was a waste of our limited time; however, the rafting trip was spectacular! The four stars is for the rafting trip, we would rate the train ride portion a two or three stars. For the folks who do not have a car, the train is convenient. The train can pick passengers up from Anchorage or other places; however, the price and time it takes goes up.

bonnie_ds

Sep 2014

We loved the Spencer glacier iceberg float. We were 2 adults, 2 kids (age 5 & 7). Gus was our guide. He was excellent, chatting with us the entire way, telling us about what we were seeing as well as life in alaska. He had extra paddles for the kids to try to row and he was very gentle with them. Both our kids loved it. I've given it 5 stars because we loved it. The guides made sure we had the right sized rain boots and life jackets. It took a while but they were very patient. Below is 1 suggestion for the owners: Not sure what hearty snack entails? At the Portage centre we saw that some of the people who were on the same trip as us were given sandwiches and drinks. We along with others were not. We were offered jerky, chocolates and cheese. It would be best to have the correct # of handouts for all members who are going on the trip. Sp. Note: Chugach adventures provides rain boots (they have a lot of sizes), if it doubt get a size larger. They have rain gear, we didn't take any since we got luck and had a warm blue sky day. Do wear your wamest socks!!! Water gets into the raft and pools around your toes. You can feel the cold through the rain boots. It's colder on the water, so dress warm. If you sit in the front you will get splashed. Melanee the owner was very responsive to my emails and offered other suggestions for the area. We went to Portage visitor centre that morning, had lunch and then arrived at the station. There are port-a-potties at the station, and clean toilets on the train. We used a coupon from Northern lights for the train journey and then AGAA discounts for the float. Both Melanee and Alaska rail were easy to work with