Q: Can dogs ride in the Alyeska Resort aerial tram?

If you hike all the way up the North Face trail, you can ride the Alyeska Resort aerial tram back down for free. But what about your dog?

TL;DR: Yes, your dog can ride down with you in the tram. But it’s complicated.

The biggest complication is that dogs must be kenneled while in the tram, and there’s just one kennel in each tram. The kennels are first-come, first-serve, so if other hikers with dogs have gotten there before you do, you’ll have to wait for your dog’s turn — even if there was room in the tram for you.

But wait, there’s more. Because there’s only one kennel in each tram, if your group brought more than one dog you’ll have to wait through multiple tram trips. Each trip is three to seven minutes one-way (depending on how fast the tram goes). I’ve heard tales of the tram operators allowing more than one dog in the kennel at the same time, as long as the dogs get along and aren’t too big — but I wouldn’t count on that, as it’s at the operator’s discretion.

Last but not least in the realm of complications, if the tram is very busy you and your dog might be turned away on the rationale that if you got yourself up there, you can get yourself back down. If that happens, you can always loiter a while at the top and then try again. There are some great views from the edge of the glacier bowl, just uphill from the tram station.

If the wait gets too bad, you can always hike back down — but bottom line, you should plan this hike with some flex time to work out the “How am I getting back down from here?” issue.

It’s worth a hike to ride the Alyeska Resort aerial tram

The downward trip in the tram is worth doing at least once; it’s a lot of fun to get that aerial perspective on the trail you just hiked up. You might be surprised by how easy it is to spot wildlife from the tram that you might’ve walked right by on the trail, without ever realizing it was there.

Hopefully it goes without saying that this answer only applies during the summer, when the North Face trail is open for hiking. During the winter, this trail becomes a double-black-diamond ski run. Lastly, always check the tram’s operating hours before you go. There’s nothing worse than being stuck at the top after hours if you were counting on a ride down.

If for whatever reason you don’t want to do the hike up, I do think it’s worth riding the tram at least once. As of spring 2022, Alyeska Resort aerial tram tickets start at $35 per adult, with discounts for youth, seniors, military and students.