Alaska's Awesome Glaciers

Looking at the inestimable view from the deck of Second Star Mansion, it is difficult to miss the glacier just across the waters of Kachemak Bay. Grewingk Glacier, named for Estonian geologist  Constantine Grewingk (pronounce it grew-ink), who published a detailed survey of Alaska in the 1850s, is not only a magnificent backdrop to your stay at the Mansion but an adventure all its own.

If you choose this Tier 2 excursion, we will arrange a water taxi to take you by boat to the trails that lead to the glacier and its lake. Which trail you use depends on how adventurous you are! You can hike the 6+ miles in and pull yourself across the tram that sits high above the river on your way to the glacier, and return over the Saddle Trail (about 8.5 total miles), or you can ascend the mountain at the Saddle Trail, just 1.5 miles from drop-off to the shores of the glacial lake (3 total miles) and back again.

Either way, this is a fabulous and gorgeous hike into the wilderness of Alaska. As you get closer to the lake, you catch glimpses of an ethereal blue from the glacier itself, on the other side of the lake. Because the icebergs are scattered across the lake in all shapes and sizes, it always looks different. We tell all of our guests to pull small chunks of glacial ice from the water. Put it in your water bottle and drink it if you like—it's the purest, clear perfect water you will ever drink. But also, take the time to play with it. You never knew ice could be so perfect and so beautiful.

Are you looking for a truly extraordinary experience in the wilds of Alaska? This Tier 1 Excursion starts with a 25-minute flight over the mountains, lush valleys, and turquoise lakes, not to mention the state's 2nd highest waterfall, to the Kenai Fjords National Park, where your guides, captain, crew, and 65' vessel await. Don top-of-the-line dry suits, helmets, gloves, and neoprene boots, and connect with your linked personal radio communicators before you cruise on a powerful jet ski, led by your guide 18 miles into the McCarty Glacier, past wildlife and scenery that will leave you speechless.

At the end of the ford is a mighty glacier that drops straight into the ocean. Together with your guides, you will turn off the engines and listen. Have you ever heard the sound of an active, living glacier as it rends the air in awesome power? If you time it right and can experience a glacier calving:  crashing house-sized chunks of perfect ice into the water, it's a sight and sound you will never forget.

Return to the boat as you jet past Moonlight or Surprise Bay to an incredible barbecue lunch fit for royalty, and then board your flight back to Homer and ultimate relaxation at the Mansion.