Hiking - Byron Glacier Trail

Stats

Distance:  1.0 miles                                    Difficulty: Easy                                          Time:  1 hr

Summary

On 24 Jun 2013 we decided to go to the Portage Glacier and take the boat to the glacier front.  Our timing was off due to road construction on Sterling Hwy and we missed the boat.  However the trip wasn't a total loss; on the way to the cruise loading area, we passed Byron Glacier.  From the road, it looked beautiful so we decided to check out the Byron Glacier Trail.

The trail is part of the Chugach National Forest.  The official web site is http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/chugach/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=6606&actid=50.  The trail is a 2-mile round trip and a very easy hike.  It brings you quite close to the face of the glacier and provides a very pleasant hike with a beautiful glacier at the end.


Opinion

This is the best easy glacier hike we’ve found so far.  The highlight of this trail are
the glacier river and the fabulous view of the glacier (far closer than most).

Trail Advice

As usual, the mosquitoes were fierce; we strongly recommend a good coating of mosquito repellent.

Suitability

Not wheelchair accessible, but suitable for anyone else, including children.

In fact there were two families with young children on this hike and they had no problems.

Trailhead

To find the Byron Glacier Trail, exit the Seward Highway near Girdwood at the signs for Portage Glacier.  From there, follow the signs to the Portage Glacier Cruise (Byron Glacier Rd).  The pullout for the Byron Glacier Trail is clearly marked.

The Hike

This hike is part of the Chugach National Forest.  The trailhead has an un-manned registration booth where you should sign in before you start the trail.

Byron Glacier Trail

The trail starts off easy, traveling through an alder forest.  There are wildflowers mingled in with Salmonberry bushes, Pushki, and a variety of other plants along the trail and we got nice glimpses of the glacier as we went.  

Views of Byron Glacier Creek

The trail quickly meets up with the Byron Glacier Creek and follows it up to the glacier proper.  The trail is wide, smooth and well maintained.  

About a quarter of a mile from the glacier you notice the plants are as much as 3 weeks behind the flora at the trailhead; it is like stepping back in time.  Then, as we turned the corner, the trail was buried in several feet of snow.  The snow was the remains of an avalanche that had clearly occurred earlier in the season.

We crossed the snow and shortly the trail was again clear of snow.  The stream running from the glacier played peek-a-boo, popping in and out of the snow on the opposite side from the trail.Shortly after we rounded a corner as were feet from the base of the glacier.  

The Byron Glacier is a small glacier, but has many jagged faces and shows a great deal of that incredible blue that can only be seen on a glacier or iceberg.  As we looked we saw several waterfalls and rivulets of water running down the nearby rocks and the glacier. 

As we mentioned, there were two families with young children ahead of us.  The children were having fun playing in the snow and threatening their parents with snowballs.  Overall, this was a delightful hike and the trail takes you unusually close to one of the prettiest glaciers we've seen so far.

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