Matanuska Glacier Park to continue guide-required access rules for 2022

Most visitors who access the Matanuska Glacier via the road system and managed parking area will continue to need a guide for each trip thanks to a 2021 change that glacier access owner Bill Stevenson plans to continue into 2022.

In the past, summer visitors were permitted to take a self-guided glacier tour, paying an access fee of $25 for residents and $35 for out-of-state tourists and following a tour route marked by cones and walking grates. During winter months visitors could access the glacier via the gated parking lot by booking a guided tour for $25 per-person for residents and $100 for visitors.

But over the 2021 season Stevenson eliminated the self-guided option, and instead changed his access rules to require all but those most versed in glacier travel to hire a guide. Prices for that sat at $35 for residents and $100 for visitors and included glacier travel gear, such as microspikes and helmets. Those who visited the glacier via the private road through tours organized by other companies also paid an access fee.

Now Stevenson said he plans to continue that tours-only rule into next year. Shifting from allowing visitors to self-guide to requiring trained assistance dramatically cut down on the season’s typical problems such as minor slip-and-fall accidents or trash left by users, he said.

“It was far better than I ever expected,” he said. “It turns out [tours] are a much better deal for everybody, because they … get their equipment, their helmets and a guide. The guides all know the best places to go. And it feels like a hell of a deal. And people say it’s a hell of a deal.”

Tours range from two to three hours long, depending on the abilities of those in the group. The Glacier Park saw a record number of guests over the 2021 winter and summer season, Stevenson said, with about 40,000 visitors this year. Officials with other nearby glacier guiding companies, including MICA and NOVA, said they also had a record number of clients in 2021, many of whom were Alaskan residents.

Stevenson’s business, which operates as Matanuska Glacier Park, controls the only driveable direct access to the glacier through a combination of private road easements and private land, including the Park’s lower parking lot and the toe of the glacier leased from the Cook Inlet Native Corporation (CIRI). Users who do not want to access through the private road and Glacier Park can fly, boat or hike in. Those with glacier travel experience can work with the Park’s office to access without a guide.