Exit Glacier
The road-accessible tongue of the Harding Icefield sits above outwash, alder, cottonwood, and exposed bedrock that record rapid landscape change.
Artwork inspired by Byron Birdsall
Dated trail markers turn glacial retreat into a walk through time. The road-accessible tongue of the Harding Icefield sits above outwash, alder, cottonwood, and exposed bedrock that record rapid landscape change. Short paths and the Harding trail provide distinct scales of understanding.
Walk the lower trail with retreat dates before looking up toward the icefield; chronology makes the present glacier’s distance meaningful. The access road closes to ordinary vehicles in winter, and the glacier’s unstable ice and outwash are not places for unsupervised shortcuts. The rewarding visit is the one that connects retreat markers with outwash plain, then tests that reading against the place itself.
- Park
- Kenai Fjords
- Road access
- Seasonal
- Trailhead
- Exit Glacier Nature Center
Quick guide
- Start with
- Walk the lower trail with retreat dates before looking up toward the icefield; chronology makes the present glacier’s distance meaningful.
- Look closely at
- Compare retreat markers with outwash plain; their relationship carries the central story.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Walk the lower trail with retreat dates before looking up toward the icefield; chronology makes the present glacier’s distance meaningful.
- Look closely at
- Compare retreat markers with outwash plain; their relationship carries the central story.
- Connect the story
- This road-accessible tongue of the Harding Icefield overlooks outwash, alder, cottonwood, and exposed bedrock recording rapid change. Short paths and the Harding trail reveal different scales.
- Plan around
- Allow 1½ hours–full day. The access road closes to ordinary vehicles in winter, and the glacier’s unstable ice and outwash are not places for unsupervised shortcuts.
Good to know
The access road closes to ordinary vehicles in winter, and the glacier’s unstable ice and outwash are not places for unsupervised shortcuts.
Notice these
- retreat markers
- outwash plain
- Harding Icefield