Norris Adventure: Seaplane, Paddle and Glacier Hike
Overview
Available languages
5 hours
Mobile ticket
Experience 3 iconic Alaskan adventures—flightseeing, glacier hiking, and packrafting—all in just 5 hours!
This Packraft adventure begins with a scenic flight that will head towards the mouth of the Taku Inlet. After landing on the Norris Glacier fed lake, hike over the glacially carved terrain to a cove where your packraft awaits. From here, you will be outfitted in single person packrafts and introduced paddling techniques by your guides. Once you launch your packraft, your paddle to the glacier will take you past ice bergs to the Norris Glacier.
As you approach the glacier, prepare to beach your boat right on the Norris Glacier. Trade out paddles for micro-spikes and explore the moonscape-like area of the glacier all by foot and get panoramic views of Norris and Taku glaciers. Look for crevasses, glacier pools, moulins, and other incredible ice features. Upon completion of your glacier hike, paddle back to shore. Your floatplane awaits to take you back to Juneau.
Additional Info
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness
Clients will be outfitted in single passenger packrafts.
A specific amount of time on the ice cannot be guaranteed. The amount of time on the glacier is dependent on the group's pace and weather conditions.
Visiting specific features such as ice caves, moulins, etc. cannot be guaranteed. Your guide will assess potential hazards on the trip to determine if a particular area is safe to trek upon or enter.
Clients must be able and conditioned to paddle 1 hour roundtrip, know how to swim, and hike on uneven terrain up to 2 miles.
Minimum age is 10 years old. There is a weight restriction of 250 pounds per participant due to plane carrying capacity.
Minimum requirement to operate this tour is 4 guests. With group departures we try to maximize our trip capacity and subsequently may need to alter the time to accommodate additional customers. If your trip's departure time changes we will notify you as soon as possible.
Due to the inherent risks involved in this type of tour, pregnant guests are not permitted to participate.
This trip operates in all weather conditions (barring unsafe conditions, to be determined by ABAK) – please dressing appropriately.
Clients must disclose information regarding pertinent medical conditions/history, allergies and any type of restriction or limitation that might introduce a higher degree of challenge on this trip.
RELEASE OF LIABILITY/ASSUMPTION OF RISK FORM: Every participant on the trip must sign a Release of Liability/Assumption of Risk form at the start of the trip. Alterations and/or deletions to the waiver are not permitted.
Safety harnesses fit up to 42 inch waist size and 28" inch leg size. Not able to accommodate larger waist/leg sizes.
You must include the following in the comments section when booking: raingear & shoe sizes for each passenger, (for adult men and women, S-XXL and youth, S-L) and any pertinent medical information. Smallest shoe size that can be accommodated is Youth 2 and largest is Adult 14.
Maximum weight is 250 lbs per person
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Bottled water
Roundtrip van and floatplane transportation
Snacks
Paddling and safety instructions
Rain gear and rubber boots
Forest Service Fees
All necessary paddling and glacier equipment
Guide Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
What To Expect
Guests will be transported from pick up location to main office. At the main office guests will be outfitted in gear and have a chance to use the restrooms.
Transport to the floatplane pond, followed by a 25 minute scenic flight to the Norris Glacier.
Options
Norris Adventure: Seaplane, Paddle and Glacier Hike
Pickup included
Reviews
12 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Fun, safe way to explore an Alaskan glacier
gregoryhY2430DL,
Sep 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I typically shy away from organized tours and prefer to explore on my own, but I am glad I made an exception for this ABAK Norris Glacier Tour. Our driver, Kelsey, gave a great orientation; our guide, Rainey, was thoughtful, informative, and funny, and our pilot, Jason, was a pro! So cool to fly in such an iconic airplane (Alaska Seaplanes’ de Havilland Beaver)! Norris provided a stunning welcome to our small group under the bluebird skies. I never would’ve thought that a glacier could tell so many stories and be so entertaining. Thank you ABAK!
Extraordinary & unique! Above & Beyond all expectations.
Sightseer0112,
Aug 30, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was the highlight of our Northwest WA trip & Alaska cruise. ABAK, specifically "the Corys," pilot & and guide, we're the best! We wanted to do an excursion that we couldn't do in our home state. It's totally worth every penny. The seaplane ride was very smooth. Cory, the pilot, was very competent, helpful, and pleasant. Cory, the guide, took us to a moulin. I liked that he wanted to give us the chance to experience something very few tours get to as you never know what mother nature is going to provide. It was amazing!!!! Words & pictures don't do it justice. We got to go inside the moulin. We could drink the flowing water if you were adventurous! He was very knowledgeable about the glaciers & the area. Very helpful with our gear, which was all provided by ABAK. take this excursion. You won't regret it!
Excellent cruise excursion!
Roam68562791002,
Aug 5, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00We could not have asked for a more perfect day! Seaplanes, Packrafts and Micro-Crampons - oh my! Our family was looking for an adventure off the cruise ship and we definitely had one! From the moment our Seaplane landed, Lily was a ray of sunshine and wealth of knowledge. We had a 'behind the scenes' look at their base camp, a peaceful packraft journey across the small bay and an exhilarating hike on Norris Glacier. The only complaint we had was the the excursion ended too soon! The rest of the crew was equally as warm and welcoming. Highly recommend this excursion and ABAK!
Epic tour with Kayla
Meander00421379196,
Jul 28, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was one of the best experiences of my life! We booked this excursion through our cruise ship not knowing what to expect but expected a big group and were so happy to be with only 4 others. We began by taking a beautiful float plane to a beach by Norris glacier than met our guide Kayla. She led us through a lake kayak to Norris glacier where we hiked the glacier before doing it all again. The entire experience was incredible with the most epic views and info from Kayla. The exclusivity of being 1 of 6 guests at this experience made it even more special as we felt like we had this nook of paradise completely to ourselves. I cannot recommend this tour enough
Norris Glacier outing via seaplane
kscott07,
Jul 20, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00What a great day! Beautiful seaplane ride over the gorgeous, water-fall-dotted mountain side, followed by a packraft paddle to the glacier where we got to hike up to hear the roaring, frigid waters underneath carving away. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The adventure is on the spendy side but..."when in Rome"...! The whole operation was top-notch. Mickel (sp)? the pilot and the Kayla were great. Thanks, ABAK!
What an amazing...
Samantha L,
Jun 11, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00What an amazing experience. Seaplane, pack rafting, and hiking a glacier. You can do it all with this one! Highly recommend and all of the staff were wonderful.
Best of Alaska!
L8181DXnatalieh,
Jun 25, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was by far one of the best excursions I have taken, and all of our family can finally agree on something, that this is a not to be missed opportunity. While pricey, it was worth every penny as there were so many elements included that truly gave us the ultimate Alaska experience. Many thanks to the entire team, and we hope to back again.
Stunningly beautiful tour!
glaciernalu,
Jun 18, 2024
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was one of the coolest things I've ever done! The tour was amazing. I loved that it was a small group, and we could interact with our knowledgeable guide throughout the tour. Every part of the tour--the floatplane ride, the packrafting, the glacier hike--they were all so stunningly beautiful. I would definitely recommend this tour!!
My Favorite Juneau Excursion So Far
johnm0322,
Jul 30, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00During my weeklong vacation in Juneau, I booked a total of 8 excursions. There was certainly some tough competition, but I think this was likely my favorite for the following reasons: - Ideal group size - with a limit of 6 travelers, this trip is a great way to get away from the crowds. For the record, there were a total of 3 travelers on my outing, which meant a good amount of personalized interaction and one-on-one face time with the guides and staff, as opposed to a more typical tour where you need to compete for attention and are treated more as an interchangeable tourist. - Degree of physical exertion - most tours require very little physical exertion, which sort of dilutes the 'sense of accomplishment' factor. My favorite part of the tour was the packrafting portion - it felt great to know that I had to put in some minimal amount of effort to get to the destination as opposed to being shuttled there without having to lift a hand. - Novelty factor - I had never used crampons or a packraft before (though I have kayaked previously), so it was great to experience these for the first time. - Walking on top of a glacier - always a magical experience. Finally, I wanted to add a few shout outs for whoever at Above and Beyond Alaska ends up reading this: Dan, the guide who took us out on packrafting and the glacier walk, was amazing and great to interact with. I was really impressed to learn about all of the prep work that he does to get everything set up for the tours, with one example being clearing off and marking the path we walked on to get to the packrafts, and I'm sure this applies to the other guides who do this tour as well. He also came across as a very experienced and knowledgeable guide who really knows his stuff. I interacted with Claire from the office several times that day. Through all these interactions, she was really personable, friendly, open and a joy to converse with. I felt really welcome at the ABAK office relative to other tour company offices that I've visited pre- and post-excursion. I feel bad about not remembering the name of the woman who picked us up and did the drop off (I did remember that she was from Minneapolis), but she was really friendly, sociable, and great to chat with as well. If I find myself in Juneau again in the near future, I'd definitely look into doing another tour with ABAK.
Great day on the glacier
695alexian,
Jul 26, 2023
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Such a fun experience! Our guide was very informative and made the trip super fun. They were able to accommodate all of us, and really made Our trip amazing!
From $872.20
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