Happy Friday y'all! I hope that you have had a great week! Today I am so excited to continue to share about the road trip we did through Alaska and today share pictures from the Worthington Glacier in Thompson Pass!
As you are driving through Thompson Pass you will be able to clearly see the Worthington Glacier from the road. If you have ever considered taking a road trip versus a cruise in Alaska you may be wondering if you will be able to see glaciers on your trip up close and personal. While I would love to take a cruise in Alaska someday, one of the things I loved about the road trip that we did was that we got to see so many different aspects of Alaska, including glaciers. I remember hearing from someone (not from Alaska and who had only taken cruises through Alaska) that I was going to be "very disappointed" because one of the highlights of a cruise is seeing the glaciers and I wouldn't get to see that on the road.
Honestly, I found the exact opposite to be true. I think that seeing the glaciers from the ocean view would provide a different look, but if you are planning a road trip, don't be worried if you are hearing this same advice that I did. This may be true depending on where you would take a road trip, but if you go through Thompson Pass you will definitely see lots of glaciers, up close and personal, including Worthington Glacier!
Worthington Glacier is about 25 miles northeast of Valdez (and about 15 miles south of where we stopped to hike among the fireweed that I shared about earlier this week - you can read about that HERE!). It is located in the heart of Thompson Pass and as you are driving you can't miss it or the signs showing you where to exit if you want to see the glacier (on a short hike) or hike the difficult trail to the top of the ridge by the glacier.
If you are staying at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, like we did (you can read my review HERE), it would take (without stops) approximately and hour and a half to get here. If you are coming from Anchorage it would take you approximately 5 hours to get here.
Because of the deep snowfalls that the Thompson Pass area gets, the Worthington Glacier has not receded like some other glaciers in Alaska. As a side note- I also loved the little trickling waterfalls that were running down the side of the mountain (that you can see in the above picture). *smiles*
As I mentioned above, there is the option of a short hike or a more difficult hike to the top of the ridge by the glacier. We did the short hike first and then the more difficult hike after (which you can read about HERE). One of the things that I loved about the Worthington Glacier is that this is a very disability friendly spot. The short hike is paved to the viewing platform and along the paved pathway there is plenty of benches to sit and rest if it is needed. The paved hike is not to steep so those with wheelchairs or those struggling to hike up distances would also be able to see this. In addition to this there is a covered viewing shelter and also many interpretive signs in this area.
It was definitely beautiful to be able to walk the short path and see this glacier so close on our trip! This is a beautiful spot that I would definitely recommend as part of your road trip!
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading this post today!
PS- If you are curious about the specific details of the road trip that we took throughout Alaska or if you are planning a similar road trip (or just want to see and dream about visiting the beauty!) I hope the information below is helpful. You can read all of the posts from the trip by clicking on the links below:
Chugach Mountains: // Eklutna Lake//
Girdwood: // Winner Creek Trail //
Homer (Kenai Peninsula) Area: // Homer Spit // Homer Lighthouse// Bishop's Beach //
// A Brief History of Homer //
// A Brief History of Homer //
Thompson Pass Area: // Thompson Pass Area Video //
// Worthington Glacier Ridge Hike// Worthington Glacier//
// Among the Alaskan Fireweed on Alaska 4-S: A Beautiful Symbol for Hope in the Hard Seasons of Life// A Brief History of and Drive on Alaska 4-South of the Richardson Highway//
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Area: // Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge//
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