Exit Glacier

Exit Glacier lies on the outskirt of Seward and is one of the very few glaciers in Alaska accessible by road. This glacier once made a prominent serpentine path all the way to Resurrection Bay, but over the course of thousands of years, has steadily receded mile by mile and left a valley that now contains the road you must drive on to get to its terminus. Three intersecting trails take you to different locations around the glacier and all have incredible views. From the parking lot, the Lower Loop Trail takes you past signs that mark the year and location of the glaciers previous footprints, then on to an outwash basin that leads you to its jagged blue face made of ice formed decades before. You're immediately tempted to walk up and touch its towering mass but signs posted at its front warn you not to; and for good reason. The ever moving glacier continually sheds its face by dropping shards of ice, some as large as a car and weighing thousands of pounds, crashing to the ground below regardless of what or who stands in the way. The 1/2 mile Upper Loop  Trail takes you past the face and up the west side of the glacier and gives distant views that reveal the glaciers formidable girth and length. A third trail takes you 3.5 miles and 3000 vertical feet up the glaciers body to its origin in the 300 square mile Harding Icefield. This massive body of ice was created during the last ice age and has remained to this day due to its bowl forming circumference of mountain peaks that rein in 400 plus inches of snow each year. Over the course of time, the icefields rim spilled over at its low points and now some thirty-four glaciers flow from its body.

Considering the influx of people who crowd the streets of Seward throughout the sun soaked Alaska summer, it's unusual that relatively few of them make the drive to Exit Glacier. The area is a true Alaska wilderness setting but the lure of fishing and sightseeing from the busy hub of Seward keep the glaciers parking lot from ever really getting full. That scenario might be different had the business ambitions of a few local men run their full course. In 1967, local businessman and city councilman William Vincent envisioned Exit Glacier and the Harding Icefield as a unique recreation area for skiing, snowmobiling, outdoor camps and any other activity that required ice and snow. He went as far as creating a detailed five year development plan that would initially create a basic business and then expand over one year increments.  Vincent had an exceptional idea that was well received by many but  for unknown reasons, his plan was eventually abandoned. Two years later, Jim Arness and Joe Stanton, inspired by Vincent, began a snowmobile touring operation by building a wooden shack "somewhere near the headwaters of Exit Glacier" and flying in three snowmobiles. Heavy snows in August shortened the already slow season and forced the men to depart the area so quickly that they failed to retrieve all of their equipment. And now thirty eight years later and deep within the now littered ice lie the remains of the shack and one slightly used Ski-Doo snowmobile. It's interesting to note that if the forgotten snowmobile was left within the glaciers slow moving current, it will eventually reappear at the terminus and certainly become a sideshow attraction as an ice encased relic, waiting to be expelled at the outwash plain and thereby returning the glacier to an unspoiled state.  Anybody seeing that will be left to wonder if the ice might also contain the snowmobiles driver.

In the following spring of 1970, the unrelenting pair showed their ambition by constructing a warming hut and equipment shed on the ice followed by an aerial delivery of ten snowmobiles and three tow behind sleds. The operation increased in popularity and by July, financial backers were impressed enough to lay down $1.5 million to construct a full blown recreation area. Officials from the Bureau of Land Management in Anchorage discovered that this fledgling business was being conducted on land managed by their office and therefore required a special use permit that Arness, who was the operations leader, never even applied for. Super-ceding that dilemma was the U.S. Governments 1966 land order freeze that withdrew many areas of Alaska from any special use at all, one of which was the Harding Icefield. Wasting no time, the BLM issued Arness a trespassing injunction and gave him 30 days to pack up and leave. Arness and his supporters fought back, hoping that the BLM would recognize the economical impact the operation would have on the surrounding area. The only outcome of this was a 90 day extension, from August to November, to vacate the area. As it turned out, the extension carried them into winter and brought the frustration of operating in unruly weather. Trying to squeeze out as much business as possible before their departure date, the once inspired businessmen were again faced with paralyzing snowfalls and another failed attempt to leave the ice cap with everything they brought. Adding to the debacle a year before,  nature claimed the warming hut, equipment shed and a few more Ski-Doo's. Over time, the federal order remained and so the valiant efforts of a few men subsided as their bold visions of ingenuity and progress faded into a forgotten time. What remains today is an unspoiled product of nature where visitors can experience a beautiful( and quiet) valley wilderness interrupted by a giant tongue of blue ice that represents a unique part of America.

Exit Glacier is a part of Kenai Fjords National Park and is managed by the National Park Service. Tours are available through local guide services and the National Park Service.

DIRECTIONS- Exit Glacier Road heads west from it's intersection with the Seward Highway 3.5 miles north of downtown Seward. The 9 mile road ends at the Exit Glacier visitors parking lot. You will get a wonderful view of the glacier on the left side of the valley.There is a parking fee of $5.00 per car. Walk in or bike in is $2.00 per person. There are 12 walk-in campsites available. Bring your camera!