Six Glaciers You Can Actually Walk On

There is a difference between looking at a glacier and walking on one. On the ice you feel it shift under your boots, hear meltwater running in hidden channels, and see crevasses glowing blue from within. These six glaciers all offer guided hikes that put you on the ice on foot, no helicopter needed.

Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina

The reason to come is the calving: slabs of ice crash off Perito Moreno's face while you watch from the boardwalks in Los Glaciares National Park. Guided treks take it further: the Mini trekking goes out on the ice in crampons, and Big Ice covers more ground. Best from October to April.

Solheimajokull, Iceland

This is the glacier on top of a volcano: Solheimajokull is an outlet of the Myrdalsjokull ice cap, which sits over the active Katla volcano, and its ash stripes the ice black. Before you reach the ice you cross black volcanic sand and gravel; the ice near the snout looks dirty from the ash, but walk further in and it turns clean, winding through crevasses that reshape every season. Hikes run year round, an easy fit into any south coast itinerary.

Root Glacier, Alaska, USA

The signature here is solitude: you may have the ice entirely to yourself in America's largest national park. The trail begins in Kennecott, a preserved copper mining town inside Wrangell St. Elias National Park, and runs two miles to the glacier's toe. On the ice: blue pools, waterfalls, and moulins where meltwater drills straight down. Guided hikes run late May to mid September.

Nigardsbreen, Norway

Come for the blue: Nigardsbreen holds some of the bluest ice you can walk on, an arm of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap in western Norway. A small boat crosses the lake, then a trail leads to the ice edge, where the guided blue ice hike goes roped up among deep crevasses and ice towers. Season runs mid May to late September.

Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland

At 23 kilometers, Aletsch is the largest glacier in the Alps and the centerpiece of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage property. Ride the cogwheel railway to Jungfraujoch at 3,454 meters, then walk straight onto the ice with a guide, the Eiger and Monch overhead. Glacier walks run through summer.

Athabasca Glacier, Canada

The easiest glacier to reach on this list: Athabasca sits right off the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park, one of the most accessible glacier walks in North America. Guided ice walks explore the toe of the glacier, or ride the all terrain Ice Explorer vehicle out onto the ice. Best June to September.

The rest: how to get on the ice

Some glaciers take more doing.

Franz Josef and Fox, New Zealand: a helicopter lands you on the ice for a guided heli hike.

Grey Glacier, Chile: a boat across the lake, then crampons on the ice, October to April.

The Vallee Blanche above Chamonix: cable car to the Aiguille du Midi, then a roped descent with a mountain guide.

Tasman Glacier, New Zealand: a boat ride among the icebergs on the terminal lake, or a heli hike onto the ice; it is the longest glacier in the country.

Khumbu Glacier, Nepal: the Everest Base Camp trek walks you onto the glacier's moraine covered lower reaches.