Travelers visit Fairbanks in great numbers during the winter holidays hoping to see the aurora, and many of them pay a visit to the ice cave at the front of Castner Glacier as well. I normally guide all my tours myself, but due to overwhelming demand I have hired experienced guides to lead additional Castner Glacier tours during the winter holiday season and other busy times of year. If you can transport yourself to Castner Creek, one of my assistant guides may be able to serve you even if there is no availability on my standard winter tours reservation calendar.

Tours of Castner Glacier led by my assistant guides are all private and limited to about 4 hours in duration, though many groups finish their hikes in 3 hours. Each tour includes an informative narrated hike to the ice cave at the front of the glacier, where you’ll have plenty of time to photograph. Agile participants can explore very deep inside the ice cave where few people venture. (Bright lights and headlamps are provided.) Adventurous groups can try climbing the steep, snow-covered glacier for beautiful views or take a scenic detour to see more glacier ice as time permits. Snowshoes or ice cleats are provided as necessary. Typically, snowshoes are only used after heavy snow when the trail is in poor condition since walking in ice cleats is otherwise easier, but customers who wish to try snowshoeing may request to do so.

Tours led by my assistant guides are available December 19 through December 29 starting at 11am. Please show up on time for your tour! If you are excessively late, your tour may need to be hurried or cut short, or potentially canceled without refund. Sunset occurs near 3pm during this time, so hikes cannot be scheduled any later. The drive from downtown Fairbanks to Castner Creek takes roughly 2.5 hours without stopping, but after factoring in a restroom break in Delta Junction and a couple stops for photos at scenic points along the way the total time is usually closer to 3 hours. In inclement weather, you may need to budget an extra 30 minutes. Note that customers are not expected to drive if road conditions are “Very Difficult” or “Hazardous” according to Alaska 511, in which case we’ll attempt to reschedule your tour or refund you if the tour must be canceled. Most customers will rendezvous with their guide in Delta Junction at 10am and follow their guide the remaining 48 miles to Castner Creek through the mountains unless special arrangements have been made. Customers who wish to break up the drive should consider staying closer to Castner Glacier in Delta Junction or the Lodge at Black Rapids, which are great places to view the aurora. To book your tour or view availability, click one of the “Reserve” buttons at the top or bottom of this page. This page is only for tours between December 19-29; please view the main Castner Glacier Winter Tours page if you are looking for tours during another time.

Guide Bios

Phillip Wilson

Phillip was born in Delta Junction, Alaska and raised in Fairbanks. I’ve hiked 130 miles on a traverse of the eastern Alaska Range with Phillip and we’ve been on several other adventures together. Phillip has guided tours for me and the Lodge at Black Rapids for the past few seasons. He currently lives in a van (by choice) and also works seasonally on arctic research projects for the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Geophysical Institute. Phillip graduated with a B.S. in Geology from UAF and has conducted glacier chronology & geomorphology research in the local area since 2017, so he can tell you everything you want to know about the terrain you’ll encounter in the Alaska Range. In his spare time Phillip enjoys ski mountaineering, climbing, and backpacking.

Grant Wilson

Grant was raised in Fairbanks, Alaska and also joined me on my 130-mile traverse from Black Rapids to Healy with his brother Phillip. I once photographed Grant climbing a massive rock gendarme at night under the aurora and another time I photographed him paddling through the Castner Glacier ice cave in a packraft. An avid rock and ice climber, Grant is always plotting his next adventure and has plans to summit Denali soon. Grant has spent his last few summers fishing in Bristol Bay while also guiding tours for the Lodge at Black Rapids. For customers who agree, Grant’s adventure buddy Steve the Dog may accompany them on their tour. (Steve is a friendly black lab with tons of energy.) Grant is also a budding outdoor adventure photographer and he will be offering optional adventure portraits for customers using my professional photo equipment this holiday season.

Some of Grant’s handiwork behind the camera is showcased below.

Dave McCombs

Dave is a lifelong resident of Delta Junction, Alaska. In the summer Dave and his family operate Tangle Lakes Lodge on the Denali Highway. I met Dave while he was managing the Lodge at Black Rapids, for whom he guided many guests to Castner Glacier. Dave has spent plenty of time hiking, skiing, sheep hunting, and otherwise recreating outdoors in Alaska throughout his life. We’ve hiked to Black Rapids Glacier together and have teamed on several adventures to Castner & Canwell Glacier. Easygoing and friendly, Dave can tell you all about life in rural Alaska.

Route Description

Castner Glacier is not your stereotypical blue glacier calving into a big lake or the ocean, but rather a gritty valley glacier covered in rock, mud, and—in the winter—snow. Castner Glacier is the simplest glacier to reach coming from Fairbanks, and for the past several years it’s been the easiest place to find an ice cave as well. However, there are no signs and no maintained trail leading to the glacier. The “trail” you may hear about in winter is really just a path in the snow packed down over time by the sweat of many hikers traveling along Castner Creek, and it often disappears after heavy snow or windy weather. I’m often the person who breaks in the trail and I make sure it follows a safe route when I do, but sometimes others create less-than-optimal trails in the snow, some of which may run near hazardous spots along Castner Creek or lead to confusing points where paths diverge. Hiking or snowshoeing to Castner Glacier is possible for most people who are capable of walking three miles without difficulty, and if you have good directions and the weather is nice you can probably stumble there without a guide, but during or shortly following heavy snow or windy weather, or in extreme cold, the hike can be quite difficult, and most people without Alaska winter hiking experience are hesitant or unprepared to go any farther than the glacier’s terminus or explore very far inside the ice cave at the front, and some people have fallen through the ice of this cave into deep water! Almost every tourist who hikes to the glacier unguided in winter is also confused by the unfamiliar terrain they encounter during the hike, the animal tracks they see in the snow, and the nature of the ice cave itself. The objective on every tour is to reach and explore inside the first ice cave at the front of the glacier while teaching participants about the Alaskan landscape they encounter along the way. We might also climb to the top of the glacier for awesome views or stop by additional nearby glacier ice on the return hike as time and participant energy reserves permit. On our tours, there is plenty of time to photograph and play in the snow. (No ice climbing gear required. Snowshoes, traction devices, headlamps & helmets are provided as necessary at no extra cost.)

Route Length: 2.5 miles round-trip, negligible elevation gain, typically 3 hours +/-
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate