Alaska sea kayaking Icy Bay trip

Welcome to the Icy Bay sea kayaking trip in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I am keen to return to this area and explore this geographic phenomenon again. We'll fly in to Icy Bay from Yakutat, Southeast Alaska, and sea kayak and hike the Icy Bay area. We may, if we're feeling adventurous, even get around to the Malaspina Forelands area, kayaking, hiking and explore that side of the coast as well. This is one Alaska vacation experience you'll not forget!

Icy Bay was labelled one of the 10 treasures of the world by National Geographic, and truly lives up to its reputation. We'll explore the Taan Fjord, sea kayaking and hiking right up to the base of Mt. St. Elias, 18 008' tall, rising right from the ocean. The Saint Elias mountain range is the worlds tallest coastal mountain range, and the scenery here is absolutely breathtaking. We'll get great views of 4 glaciers, the Guyot, Yahtse and Tyndall Glaciers.

100 years ago these glaciers came right out to the ocean shore, and it's only been in recent years that this area has opened up, with the narrow fjord developing as the glaciers retreated. The calm pristine waters of the fjords make classic Alaska sea kayaking as we explore this very dynamic area.

Icy Bay is a great bird watching area, and we'll see an array of ducks, sea birds, shore birds and raptors. Harbor Seals come into the bay as well, hunting salmon, which is always a treat to see. If we're lucky, we'll also see mountain goats as well. Grizzly bears are abundant in the area, and it's likely that we'll see them as well.

This is rated as an easy trip, and we offer a flexible itinerary to accomdate you/your group. The best options combine a few days sea kayaking with some hiking, beach camping, exploring and relaxing in one of the most impressive landscapes anywhere.

We'll also likely charter a boat ride out of Yakutat, up Disenchantment Bay to see the Hubbard Glacier and Russell Fjord. The Hubbard Glacier is known as 'the world's most calvingest glacier', and there's a great possibility of getting to witness the spectacle of enormous chunks of ice crashing down from the glacier into the ocean - an amazing sight We'll plan this trip for mid-June, but it's really a good option anytime in June and July. This is sure to become a very popular trip; camping on the beach, paddling, hiking, swimming, photography, and some of the most spectacular landscapes in Alaska. A classic coastal terrain.

One possible extension is to include a short basecamp/dayhike or backpacking trip in the nearby Samovar Hills - see the Custom and exploratory trips page for details. The Samovar Hills are a relatively little visited region of the park that offer more stunning views of the St. Elias mountain range.