Seven glaciers feed the creeks in this small Alaska town most Americans have never heard of

Girdwood’s got a lot going on

Forty miles south of Anchorage, a valley in the Chugach Mountains holds a town of about 2,000 people and more adventure than most cities ten times its size. Seven glaciers feed the creeks around Girdwood.

A temperate coastal rainforest, the northernmost in North America, covers the valley floor. To the south, Turnagain Arm stretches along the edge of town with tides that shift the water line by dozens of feet.

You could spend a week here and still miss something, and the story of how this town got here starts with gold.

A gold rush camp that moved two miles uphill

Gold brought the first settlers to this valley in the 1890s. They called it Glacier City, and it ran on pick-and-pan ambition.

James Girdwood staked the first claim on Crow Creek in 1896, and the town later took his name. At its peak, Crow Creek Mine pulled about 700 ounces of gold a month from the ground.

Then, in 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake dropped the land along Turnagain Arm and forced the whole town to relocate 2.5 miles up the valley.

Alyeska Ski Corporation had already built the first chairlift in 1960, so the town rebuilt itself around the mountain.

Ride a 60-passenger tram above the glaciers

The aerial tram at Alyeska Resort carries 60 people at a time up to 2,300 feet above sea level.

The ride takes about seven minutes, and on a clear day you can see Turnagain Arm, the Chugach peaks and hanging glaciers from every window.

At the top, a viewing deck, a restaurant, a deli and The Roundhouse, an interpretive center built in 1960, spread across the summit.

If you hike up the North Face Trail instead, you can ride the tram back down for free when space allows.

Ski 1,610 acres with 55 feet of snow a year

Alyeska Resort is the only major ski resort in Alaska, and the mountain backs that up. You get 1,610 skiable acres, 76 named runs and a vertical rise of 2,500 feet.

The mountain averages about 669 inches of snowfall per year, which works out to roughly 55 feet. Seven lifts serve the terrain, including two high-speed quads and the aerial tram.

Runs range from wide-open beginner trails to what the resort calls the longest continuous double black diamond in North America.

Soak in Alaska’s only Nordic spa

At the base of Mount Alyeska, a 50,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor spa sits surrounded by rainforest. The Alyeska Nordic Spa is the only one of its kind in the state.

You move between hot and cold hydrotherapy pools, saunas, steam rooms and an exfoliation cabin at your own pace. Massage therapy, yoga classes and a bistro with locally inspired food round out the experience.

The spa is adults only, so you need to be 18 or older to get in.

Walk through old-growth rainforest on boardwalks

The Winner Creek Trail starts right behind the Alyeska Resort tram building and runs about three miles through old-growth forest. Boardwalks and maintained paths keep you above the forest floor.

A wooden bridge crosses Winner Creek Gorge, where glacial water funnels through a narrow rock channel below your feet.

The original hand tram over Glacier Creek closed in 2019 after safety incidents, and a suspension bridge replacement is expected to start construction in summer 2026.

Even without the crossing, families and casual hikers keep this trail at the top of their list.

Pan for gold and keep what you find

Crow Creek Mine opened in 1896 and still lets you dig for gold today.

It is one of the oldest mines in Alaska open to the public, and its buildings are the oldest standing structures in the Anchorage area. You grab a pan, work the creek and keep whatever flakes or nuggets you pull out.

Guided tours walk you through original turn-of-the-century buildings and old mining equipment. A section of the Historic Iditarod Trail cuts right through the mine’s 400-acre property.

Get face to face with bears and bison

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center sits at Mile 79 of the Seward Highway, about 12 miles south of Girdwood.

This nonprofit rescues and rehabilitates injured and orphaned animals, and the residents include bears, wolves, moose, caribou, bison and foxes.

You can drive through or walk the grounds, and daily educational programs and animal encounter tours let you get close.

On the Seward Highway heading to Girdwood, keep your eyes on the cliffs for Dall sheep, scan the sky for bald eagles and watch Turnagain Arm for beluga whales.

Land a helicopter on a glacier and go dog sledding

Helicopter tours launch straight from Girdwood and fly over the Chugach Mountains. Some land on remote glaciers where you can step onto the ice with a guide.

Others combine the flight with a dog sled run across alpine snowfields, and that is exactly as wild as it sounds.

If you want glacier access without leaving the ground, Portage Glacier is about 22 miles southeast of town. A short drive and a boat ride across Portage Lake bring you right up to the ice.

Costumed skiers race across an icy pond in April

Girdwood throws festivals that match its personality.

The Forest Fair takes over the first weekend of July with local art, handmade crafts, food vendors and live music from across Alaska.

In August, the Blueberry Festival celebrates the wild berries that grow in the valley with pie-eating contests, cooking demos and dessert competitions.

The Slush Cup in April closes out ski season by sending costumed skiers downhill and straight into a 90-foot icy pond at the bottom. Thousands of people show up for these, and they say a lot about the town.

Dead trees from a 1964 earthquake still stand along the road

Drive the Seward Highway near Girdwood and you pass a stretch of pale, bare trunks rising from marshy ground.

The 1964 earthquake dropped this land about 6.5 feet, and saltwater from Turnagain Arm flooded in and killed the trees. They never fell.

They just stand there, stripped and white against the sky.

Scientists have found at least two older ghost forests buried beneath this one, evidence that massive earthquakes have hit this area again and again over thousands of years. You can see it all from the road without stopping.

Fat-tire bikes in winter, glacier kayaks in summer

Girdwood runs year-round. Winter brings fat-tire biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling alongside the downhill runs at Alyeska.

In summer, mountain biking trails crisscross the valley and rafting trips push through the area. You can ride the Alaska Railroad to Spencer Lake, grab a kayak and paddle near a glacier terminus.

A free shuttle bus loops around town during the summer months, connecting Alyeska Resort, downtown Girdwood and Crow Creek Mine.

Whether you stop for half a day or stay a full week, this valley fills every hour you give it.

Drive the Seward Highway to Girdwood, Alaska

You can reach Girdwood by driving about 40 miles south of Anchorage along the Seward Highway. The route follows Turnagain Arm the whole way, with mountains, tidal flats and wildlife on both sides of the road.

The Alaska Railroad also stops in Girdwood on the Coastal Classic and Glacier Discovery routes if you want to skip the drive.

Once you arrive, a free seasonal shuttle bus connects Alyeska Resort, downtown Girdwood and Crow Creek Mine, so you can leave the car parked and still get around.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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