One of the highlights of our first trip to Alaska was hiking the Harding Icefield Trail in Kenai Fjords National Park. This is a great day hike if you are visiting Seward, but we (okay, really Megan) were a little worried about being able to complete the hike and get back to Seward in time for our 6 p.m. Alaska Railroad train to Anchorage, especially because we didn’t have a car. Today, we’re covering all the questions we had before hiking to Harding Icefield and giving you the answers, so hopefully your trip will be easy to plan!
Curious about our experience on the Alaska Railroad? Read all about taking the train from Anchorage to Seward in this post!
What is the Harding Icefield?
At more than 700 square miles, the Harding Icefield is the largest icefield contained completely in the United States, and part of it resides in Kenai Fjords National Park in Seward, Alaska. It receives more than 400 inches of snow each year and feeds up to 40 glaciers (including Exit Glacier, which is accessible via a short walk from the parking lot).
To be honest, I wasn’t sure how cool looking at a field of ice would be. The hike itself looked beautiful, which is mostly why I was interested, but it was indescribable how wild the icefield looked from the top. Just miles and miles … literally hundreds of square miles! … of ice. It was a memorable sight, for sure!
What is the Harding Icefield Trail?
This 8.2-mile round-trip hike (mileage starts and ends at the trail register, so add about 10 minutes on either end to get to and from the parking lot) has more than 3,000 feet of elevation gain. Learn more about the hike from the National Park Service website, or see it on AllTrails. We almost always download an offline map from AllTrails before our hikes, no matter how short or long.
Our stats: With our small detours to Marmot Meadows and Glacier View (more on those below) and wandering around at the top to get closer to the icefield, our total hiking distance ended up being 10.44 miles over 3,529 feet of elevation gain. Our total “moving time” was just under 4 hours and 45 minutes, but you’ll want to allow yourself time to take breaks, eat snacks and take photos.
We hiked the trail in late August and it was warm and sunny (averaging 81 degrees Fahrenheit during our hike!). There may be snow on the trail through July. We recommend wearing layers and bringing plenty of sun protection, including sunscreen, a hat and long sleeves. The breeze off the icefield at the top can be surprisingly chilly and the sun is intense, particularly at the top when you’re most exposed (though there is not much shade along the whole trail). Your best resource for up-to-date trail conditions is nps.gov.
How do you get to Kenai Fjords National Park from Seward without a car?
There are two options to get to Exit Glacier in the park from Seward if you don’t have your own car: private taxi or shared shuttle. We were leaning toward a private taxi so we could start earlier in the morning, but the companies we called quoted us upwards of $100! Plus, there is no cell service at the park, so we would have had to arrange a pick-up time beforehand and make sure to be back at the parking lot by then, which meant there was not an advantage to a private taxi over the shuttle in the afternoon.
There were two shuttle companies in Seward during our trip that made it easy to get to Kenai Fjords NP: Exit Glacier and Adventure Sixty North. (For up to date information, check the NPS site, which shares information on local shuttle services.) Prices and service are comparable; we chose Adventure Sixty North because they had an earlier departure option (8 a.m.). Note: Shuttle service, like many things in Alaska, may be seasonal. If you are traveling outside late May – early September, plan further ahead!
Do I have time to hike the Harding Icefield before taking the evening Alaska Railroad train?
You do! For our 6 p.m. evening train to Anchorage, railroad staff recommended we be on board at 5:30 p.m. We chose a 4:30 p.m. pick-up for our shuttle service to make sure we had time to finish the hike. (I would not leave the park any later than this!) That put us back in Seward around 5 p.m., which gave us enough time to grab our luggage from the hotel reception and board the train well before our departure. I even had time to return our rental gear (more on that below) in Seward and pick up dinner from Firebrand BBQ before we went to the train station. You may have noticed there was not time for a shower in here, if that’s a problem for you.
Important note: When visiting Seward, there are two main areas in which tourists stay. We stayed at Breeze Inn Motel in the harbor area (simple but functional rooms in a great location), which was only about 5 minutes away from the train depot on foot. However, if you choose to stay in Downtown Seward (more restaurants, more historic, cuter boutique hotel options), the walk to the train station is closer to 30 minutes.
If you are staying in Downtown Seward, you may want to consider arranging transportation to the train station (our shuttle driver actually offered to drive us to the train after we grabbed our bags, but because we so close and wanted to return our rental gear, we declined) or arriving back in Seward earlier than 5 p.m.
How long does it actually take to hike the Harding Icefield Trail?
This was probably my second-most Googled question to prepare for this hike! (Because in case you hadn’t noticed … I was concerned about being able to finish the hike and catch our train.) The National Park Service recommends 6-8 hours to finish the Harding Icefield hike.
Here was our specific timeline, to help you plan. (We know hiking speeds are personal, so a little information about us: We are relatively regular hikers, but we don’t hike particularly quickly. We were probably a little slower than usual on this day because one of us was recovering from a bout of severe seasickness from our wildlife cruise the day before … oops.)
• Started hiking from the Exit Glacier Nature Center parking lot at 8:23 a.m.
• At the trail register at 8:31 a.m.
• Reached the Top of the Cliffs around 10:15 a.m. (including a detour to Marmot Meadows)
• Spent about 20 minutes at the Top of the Cliffs for photos and snacks
• Reached the icefield itself around 12 p.m. (when you reach the little wooden hut, you’re within 20 minutes of the top!)
• Spent about 30 minutes at the top for lunch and photos
• Did a detour to the Glacier View on the way back (you can definitely skip this; it’s not impressive after seeing the glacier from the trail)
• Arrived back at Exit Glacier Nature Center by 3 p.m.
Total time including photos, snack breaks, and detours to Marmot Meadows and the Exit Glacier viewpoint: 6.5 hours
What time do I need to start?
I almost always advocate for starting hikes as early as you can. As a pale person, I prefer to be out of the sun by the afternoon, plus earlier starts mean emptier trails. We hiked in late August, and it was actually a very warm day! With our 8 a.m. shuttle, we were able to use the bathroom and fill our water at the Visitor Center and were at the trail register at 8:31 a.m., which worked well for us. Earlier would have also been great, and I wouldn’t have wanted to start hiking after 9 a.m.
Is the view from the top of Harding Icefield really better than the Top of the Cliffs?
This was definitely my most-searched question while planning! I really wanted to know if it is worth it to go all the way to the top of the Harding Icefield, especially if you have limited time. For me personally: Yes, it is worth it to hike to the end of the Harding Icefield Trail. Like I mentioned above, the scope of the icefield is vast and something I couldn’t comprehend until I saw it myself. But here’s some more detailed information so you can decide what’s best for you:
The view from the Top of the Cliffs is prettier, in my opinion. The icefield is already feeding into the glacier at this point, so the ice has that beautiful blue glacier color, plus the trail is grassy (pictured above right). At the top of the hike, the icefield is pretty dirty in spots, so you don’t get that gorgeous ice, and the trail is all rocks. But, as I mentioned, the view from the end of the trail is more impressive (pictured above left).
I also read some blog posts that said the hike above the Top of the Cliffs was beautiful, but I respectfully disagree. I thought much of the trail toward the top was pretty brown and ugly, whereas the bottom half of the trail was green and lush. There are some nice sections with wildflowers past the Top of the Cliffs (pictured above), but after about 45 minutes of hiking, it’s all rock and dirt (which you might find beautiful!). So you could compromise by turning around somewhere in between these two common endpoints.
If you only have the time (or inclination) to hike to the Top of the Cliffs and want to know if hiking Harding Icefield is worth it even if you can’t get to the very top, my answer is yes. The trail to and from the Top of the Cliffs is gorgeous, the view there is amazing, and you’ll still get a very nice workout in! I’m glad we were able to hike all the way to the top, but I wouldn’t have regretted the hike if we’d had to turn around at the Top of the Cliffs.
Do I need bear spray for the Harding Icefield hike?
Yes. We considering forgoing bear spray but the park rangers strongly recommended hikers carry it, so we did! Please be safe and prepared. And remember, sometimes animals behave differently in different places (such as California vs. Alaska), so be sure to account for those factors and err on the side of caution when traveling. We also watched some instructional videos the night before the hike to make sure the spray wouldn’t be useless if the time came.
Where do I get bear spray in Seward?
We rented a can of bear spray from Seward Outdoor Store for $15/day. We also rented hiking poles for $5/day. If you typically hike with poles, I definitely recommend them for the Harding Icefield Trail. You can easily rent your gear the night before your hike and drop it off after you’re done. Even with our tight timeline, I was able to run the gear back to the store after our hike before catching the train.
Tip: You can also book the Exit Glacier Shuttle from Seward Outdoor Store to get to and from Kenai Fjords National Park.
What else do I need to know?
Have more questions? Ask us in the comments and we’ll get back to you! You can also view our Alaska story highlights on Instagram for more information about hiking the Harding Icefield Trail. (The hike is in the second half of the highlight, after our wildlife cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park.)
Feature photo: Megan and Jonathan posting in front of Exit Glacier at the “Top of the Cliffs” on the Harding Icefield Trail (August 2023)
