Root Glacier Trail
The trail passes mill-town remains and forest before reaching debris-covered ice, blue pools, and views toward Stairway Icefall.
Artwork inspired by Rockwell Kent
A historic mining route reaches moraine and glacier beside Kennecott. The trail passes mill-town remains and forest before reaching debris-covered ice, blue pools, and views toward Stairway Icefall. It provides close glacier context without requiring everyone to walk on ice.
Walk to the glacier edge and moraine first; step onto ice only with proper equipment, route knowledge, or a qualified guide. The trail begins beyond the McCarthy footbridge and shuttle corridor, and crevasses and melt channels make unguided ice travel hazardous. The best takeaway is a grounded understanding of how Kennecott mill view and debris-covered ice shape one another in this exact place.
- Distance
- About 4 miles round trip
- Park
- Wrangell–St. Elias
- Surface
- Trail and moraine
Quick guide
- Start with
- Walk to the glacier edge and moraine first; step onto ice only with proper equipment, route knowledge, or a qualified guide.
- Look closely at
- Ask what Kennecott mill view makes possible—and what debris-covered ice reveals in return.
Know before you go
- Start with
- Walk to the glacier edge and moraine first; step onto ice only with proper equipment, route knowledge, or a qualified guide.
- Look closely at
- Ask what Kennecott mill view makes possible—and what debris-covered ice reveals in return.
- Connect the story
- The trail passes mill-town remains and forest before reaching debris-covered ice, blue pools, and views toward Stairway Icefall. It provides close glacier context without requiring everyone to walk on ice.
- Plan around
- Allow 3–8 hours. The trail begins beyond the McCarthy footbridge and shuttle corridor, and crevasses and melt channels make unguided ice travel hazardous.
Good to know
The trail begins beyond the McCarthy footbridge and shuttle corridor, and crevasses and melt channels make unguided ice travel hazardous.
Notice these
- Kennecott mill view
- debris-covered ice
- Stairway Icefall