Exit Glacier: Easy hike, beautiful glacier views

The trail to Exit Glacier is one of just two established hikes in Kenai Fjords National Park. While it’s undeniably the easier of the two hikes, don’t let that tempt you to write it off: The views from this mostly flat, easy trail are absolutely stunning, and well worth a visit by anybody and everybody.

Heads up: The access road for this hike is not plowed, and an access gate is shut during the winter (usually depending on when enough snows to have warranted a plow-out).

This is hike 76 in my guidebook Day Hiking Southcentral Alaska.

Hiking Exit Glacier: Two Loops

The Exit Glacier hiking trail is made up of two loops, roughly arranged in a barbell or figure eight. I’ll call the shorter and easier of the two loops the Outwash Plain Loop. If you want to get closer to the glacier and don’t mind some mild elevation gain, a few rocky stairs and some uneven footing, you can start the Outwash Plain Loop and then continue on to the Glacier View Loop.

No matter which trail you choose, keep an eye out for signs posted along the trail with dates on them. They mark how far the glacier ice used to extend on those dates.

The Outwash Plain Loop

This trail — and all the trails that start from the Exit Glacier Nature Center, really — start just outside said nature center. At the first fork, turn left; this’ll send you around the loop in the right direction to maximize your views of the glacier.

The trail here is wide, broad and almost completely flat, with benches every few tenths of a mile and pedestal binoculars at opportune lookout points where you can catch a glimpse of Exit Glacier in the near distance.

You’ll also get views across the broad, silty outwash plain that runs out from the foot of the glacier. This is, essentially, a floodplain created by meltwater from the glacier. Keep that in mind if you’re tempted to explore it: Although sudden flooding on an outwash plain is rare, it does happen when ice creates a dam inside the glacier, backing up the outflow. You don’t want to be downstream when the ice dam breaks and all that pent-up water releases at once. If there are any warnings posted about possible outwash/dam releases, please take them seriously.

Just before 0.7 miles from the trailhead, you’ll hit a juncture where you can turn right to head back to the nature center, completing the Outwash Plain Loop, or turn left to continue on to the Glacier View Loop.

The Glacier View Loop

If you decided to turn left and continue on to the next loop of trail, you’ll first pass the marked offshoot of the Harding Icefield Trail. When you hit another intersection with signs indicating the outwash plain to the left and the glacier to the right, you can go either way. Both trails merge into a loop that ends at a viewing platform giving you great overlooks of Exit Glacier.

This is another place where you should take any posted warnings seriously. If the viewing platform or trail is closed due to risk of icefall from the glacier, it’s for your safety.