Alaska Summer 2022: Glacier Discovery Train

 

We had a Glacier Discovery Train adventure day on our last full day in Alaska. It was a perfect balance of sightseeing (from the train windows and a bit on foot), family time, relaxation (for the adults- train travel is SOO wonderful and chill with kids!) and hiking. I highly recommend a day trip on one of the multiple trains on the Alaska Railroad. I carefully selected our route to minimize drive time, maximize train time and have opportunities to get off and explore. I chose well and I highly recommend exactly what we did. 



In the tunnel
We started mid morning by getting picked up at the tiny Girdwood train depot at 11 am. So tiny that we questioned if we were in the right place but thankfully we were. The kids- especially Ollie- were SO excited as the train pulled into the depot. Ollie, like most toddlers, LOVES trains but has had very little opportunities to go on them due to COVID. This was a great chance to remedy that. After a beautiful 1.75 hour train ride including though the longest combined car and train tunnel (Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel- 2.51 miles) in the North America- we stopped in Whittier and had the chance to get out and stretch our legs. Whittier is a fascinating town - all of the roughly 200 residents live in the same building. I'm not entirely sure why- I've read it's because most of the land is owned by the railroad and city planners say it's because the weather is so intense in the winter it is practical to have everyone under one roof. The stores are in that building as well. Outside this odd building is one hotel and a couple restaurants. We stopped at one of those restaurants twice- for coffee in the AM and then for dinner in the PM on our return route.


After the Whittier stop, we went through the tunnel again (does not disappoint) then headed to the Spencer Whistle Stop. This is a train station right in the middle of a wilderness area that is accessible only by train. So much like our cool Kachemak Bay State Park hike (link here), we were deposited in a wilderness area by a cool mode of transport and then had a certain amount of time in which to do our hike to be sure we caught our ride back. This was one of the most enjoyable hikes we've had with the kids, maybe ever. There was no complaining, everyone was in good spirits. Maybe it was this time of the trip (everyone was used to hiking?), maybe it was the cool train ride that preceded it, maybe it was just luck, but man was it magical to walk along, singing, talking and no one complaining. Loved. It. These are the moments that make family travel SO worth it. The hike was 2.6 round trip (out and back) and took us to the Spencer Glacier overlook on Spencer Lake. We enjoyed looking at the icebergs and were even treated to a crazy cat (human) who waded out to do yoga on one of the icebergs! 









The train ride home was equally relaxing, with a nice dinner and conversation with another traveling family in Whittier and wine for mama while the kiddos napped. Just a perfect day, a wonderful culmination of our month on the road. The day made me long for more train travel, so we are planning a repeat trip to Switzerland so we can do just that later in 2023.










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