I actually booked a two week trip around this adventure. I thought - rafting among the icebergs - how cool. Let me tell you it was the PERFECT ending to a great trip! On June 1 we flew into Vancouver, spent 3 nights, then went on a 10 day sea/land cruise with Princess Cruise line. The evening we got to Anchorage (around 5pm) many of the folks we'd met on the trip were grumbling about the fact that they were going to eat dinner, then had to find something to do until midnight, when they had to head to the airport for their 2am flight. I tell you this because of the planning. The itinerary of the cruise was a bit exhausting.
We purchased an extra night at the hotel outside the cruise package just so we could go on this side trip. We took about a 10 minute walk from the Hotel Capt. Cook to the Anchorage train station. After giving my name, the clerk handed me a folio with all my train and coach tickets included. We had purchased a stop at the wildlife conservation center for an extra $50 each. As the train left the station on a beautiful morning, we could see Mt. McKinley in the distance. The conductor also stopped the train once on our way to Girdwood so everyone could see the dall sheep up on the mountain.
When we arrived at Portage, we were met by Carson who took us to the wildlife conservation center about 5 minutes away. She walked us through the property. This adventure was about 1 1/2 hours. It was interesting but overpriced. In addition to the elk, wood bison and black tail deer, they had 1 wolf, 1 bald eagle, 1 porcupine, 1 owl, 1 wolf...........I heard someone outside of our group complain about the $12 fee they had paid for what they saw. Although a sack lunch was included, this was a $35 excursion at best. Would not recommend this part for the price. Carson took us back to the train and we continued a short distance to Spencer where we got off the train with rubber boots we'd been given and put on buses.
Now, on to what we are here to discuss. The amazing rafting trip. This area is only accessible by train. After an initial safety briefing, we embarked amidst the "iceberg maze". We were assigned to Carson for the rafting portion as well. She placed us right up next to the icebergs so we could touch them. After 15-20 minutes in this incredible lake (Spencer) at the base of Spencer Glacier, she paddled us down the 7 mile scenic river, providing us with a lot of meaningful information about the area and what we were seeing. Although we did not see any wildlife while rafting, we were able to witness the glorious beauty that God made just for us. This adventure was indeed the crown jewel of our entire trip!!
Following the rafting, the train met us and took us a short distance back to our coach that took us back to Anchorage. I'm telling you this trip is a MUST!!
We boarded the train at 9:30am and we returned to Anchorage around 6pm