Alsek River Rafting Trips in Alaska

Planning an Alaska River Rafting Tour?

Whitewater rafting in Alaska offers spectacular scenery, wildlife and rivers of fun.  The Alsek River is one of the most enjoyable Alaskan rafting rivers and offers the best of all worlds.

Alaska is a land of expanses: big mountains, big rivers, and big national parks. The Alsek River embodies all three as it flows from the heart of the St. Elias Mountains, where it drains the largest nonpolar icecap in the world, to its delta at Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska.  The river combines all of nature’s most desirable features resulting in fabulous whiter water rafting in Alaska.

The Alsek River is a River of Fun and Sport

Most people begin their Alaskan whitewater rafting journey on the moderately genteel Tatshenshini River in the Yukon Territory, and then join up with the Alsek at a breathtaking mountainous confluence just east of the U.S./Canada border. The total 140-mile trip is best taken over ten or more days, leaving plenty of time to hike the alpine benches above the braided river channel, explore the fresh glacial valleys, and study numerous wolf, grizzly, and moose tracks.

The Alsek River Flows through the most beautiful and protected area on earth

Together, the Tatshenshini and Alsek Rivers flow through the largest protected area on Earth: 23 million acres in Canadian provincial parks, wildlife refuges, and U.S. national parks. The Alsek is North America's only river protected from source to mouth.

So overwhelming is the scenery that explorer Edward Glave wrote in his 1890 journal: "There is such an incessant display of scenic grandeur that it becomes tiresome…." The river is still so remote that it requires chartering a plane at the end in Dry Bay to return to civilization (there are no roads).

Most people choose to take a guided rafting trip on the Alsek which will take you through forests of alder and spruce, Indian paintbrush and goldenrod, through snow streaked mountains while being attended by golden and bald eagles, beavers and mountain goats.

A tightly regulated wilderness along the Alsek has created a waiting list for private permits that runs approximately two years and there is a small fee. The permits must be obtained from Glacier Bay National Park. Be prepared for rain and cold temperatures throughout the season, which runs from late June through September. Numerous whitewater rafting outfitters in Alaska offer full-service guided trips, often with no waiting list. .

Rafting Pictures and Video Clips

See for Yourself!