Duration: 5+ hours
Riding: Nelchina Glacier snowmobile tour is a wild Alaska ride on forested trails, bumpy sections, frozen swamps and mountain lined river valleys to the glaciers face*. Riding to the glacier requires stamina and outdoor ability with motor sport experience (ATV, PWC, MOTO, SNOW) a big plus. This is an Alaskan worthy trip, guides are there to help show you and visiting guests what remote BFN Alaska is all about! *Alaska’s most experienced snowmobile guides assist you with ultimate destination depending on your groups ability and days riding conditions.
Location: North Chugach Mountains The Nelchina Glacier snowmachine tour meets in the town of Eureka Roadhouse at the Eureka Lodge milepost 128 of the Glenn “Alaska Highway” number 1 north east of Anchorage.
Winter Season: December 15th 2024 – April 10th 2025. Winter 2024 – 2025 is off to a good start with snow and freezing temperatures. Due to changes in the glacier, this tour has limited availability, typically one or two weeks per winter
Booking: Please text message us at 907-783-3600 to check availability then book online
Activity Miles: 50 – 60
Price: $395
Snowmobile deep into the North Chugach Mountain Range to the face of Nelchina Glacier on this one of a kind day glacier snowmobile adventure. Rides start from the trophy room aka Jims Bar of the Eureka Lodge 3 hours north of Anchorage on the Alaska Highway. This is a real backcountry Alaskan riding so arrive early to fuel up on Eureka’s lodge fare before we gear up at 11 AM sharp.
Nelchina Glacier is an inclusive snowmobile tour for $345 per rider, with experienced guide, snowmobile, fuel, mid-day snack and winter gear provided. Alaska Snowmobile Tours and Rentals keeps pricing low by offering trailhead trips seasonally around Alaska where riders drive to us. Trailhead meeting locations like Eureka are the most convenient for Alaskans with cars and visitors who rent SUV’s or All Wheel Drive cars.
Snowmachining into interior Alaska’s Nelchina Glacier Valley in the North Chugach Mountains is unique in the world. Riding from Eureka Lodge down the power line takes your group across the Glenn Highway and onto the Nelchina Trail. The trail winds through frost covered spruce forests and marshy permafrost meadows up onto hills with sweeping views. Leaving the Matanuska River Valley ride into the Copper River Basin with Mt Drum volcano views in the distance on clear days. The wooded trail descends with mini ‘glacier’ stream crossings into Nelchina Valley where things start to open up.
Riding a wide open river valley is where your guides expertise starts to count and adventure begins. Route finding is all part of the fun, winding through creek valleys past willow lined meadows to wide open snow covered braids. Getting to the glacier becomes the challenge especially with breezes and regular new snow. Nelchina Glacier is the ultimate destination if you make the Nelchina Valley’s deep snow and seasonal conditions near the glacier. December, January and parts of February have colder shorter days, trips are run with short breaks, in late February, March and April tours can be run more leisurely.
Advance reservations are necessary to secure your liquid cooled deep snow snowmobile on this unique backcountry trip we pioneered. Year after year ASTAR has lead through the powder fields to Nelchina Glacier so you can freeride dry interior snow! Wildlife sightings are the best of any snowmobile ride adventure we offer, ASTAR makes the trail for you in remote backcountry, keep an eye out for tracks.
Guided rentals are also available for this Nelchina backcountry adventure where you select a snowmobile and take more personal responsibility. All participants are required to sign a Release of Liability Waiver for our parent operation Alaska Backcountry Access. Please provide everyone’s accurate sizing information when booking reservations online so we can select addition outerwear and boots to fit you. Gear wise, please bring all the warm winter gear you have with you, often we then add or mix and match another outer jacket / bib layer over it. Bring gloves since mittens can be a bit tricky to operate the controls. Please note, glasses do not work well snowmobiling, consider wearing contacts or prepare with a cloth to keep glasses frost free.
This is the real Alaska with colder temperatures, wildlife tracks, forested trails and wide open river valleys. Bring warm layers and cold weather gear to supplement our boots and outerwear. Intrepid riders snowmachine 50 miles round trip into Nelchina Valley to the face of Nelchina Glacier on one of our longest day tours. Make your booking well in advance for our preparation and your complete satisfaction.
Private Nelchina Glacier ride experiencing the Alaskan Backcountry with your own guide. Exclusive access to the most experienced snowmachine guides in Alaska. Ad-on is $1200 for small groups.
All Alaska Snowmachine Tours:
** Adults must accompany riders 15-17 years old.
Passengers and youth aged 10-12 yrs receive a $70 discount (see Book Now button) however we have limited availability of 2 up (rider + passenger) machines and departures for 2 up tours. Bring warm layers, wool socks, small cameras, hats and gloves, sunglasses and a sense of adventure. Our snowmobiles are mostly 600 and 900cc 4 stroke and 2 stroke expedition and cross country models. Snowmobiling is inherently dangerous, participants are required to sign a Release of Liability and Indemnity Form. We have outerwear including snow bibs, jackets, boots and helmets. Please provide sizing info when booking online to supplement your outdoor gear requirements. Alaska Snowmobile Tours is a division of Alaska Backcountry Access LLC.
Breaking in the Nelchina Trail with Alaska Backcountry Access in December 2016.
