Anchorage

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Winter Waterfall Walk

Badge of ExcellenceAnchorage, USA

3 hours
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Easily as beautiful as any national park, Chugach State Park is a must-see for any Alaskan visitor—and Barbara Falls is one of its crown jewels. In winter, the crowds dissipate and the cascade freezes up, making for an incredible winter-wonderland experience (and spectacular photos). Just minutes away from the trailhead, this experience is suitable for all hikers, children, and anyone who can bundle up and appreciate Alaska’s great outdoors.

Transport from Anchorage's Egan Center to the park included
Ice spikes, snacks, poles, and day packs can be provided
See Barbara Falls encased in ice, ice dams along the South Fork Eagle River, and more
Follow your naturalist guide for a deeper look into Alaska's boreal forest

What's Included

Day packs and trekking poles available upon request. Microspikes provided for icy conditions.
Snacks
Snow gaiters available upon request.

No hotel, B&B, Air B&B, or other accommodation pickups.
Must meet at designated meeting location or provide own transportation to trailhead.
Snowboots or high-top hiking shoes.
Appropriate clothing for snow.

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center
555 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501, USA
Meeting, Transportation, and Parking Information: Our meetup spot is in front of the Egan Center. There are parking garages in the area if you need them. You may also choose to meet us at the trailhead using your own arranged transportation, just notify us in advance.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Barbara Falls

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
Most travelers can participate

No experience required, but you should be able to walk at least 2 miles on flat pavement, or 2 miles of uneven rolling terrain over the course of ~ 2 hours
Participation waiver signature required prior to departure.
If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know and we will accommodate you with a different snack option.
Appropriate winter clothing and footwear is the guests responsibility.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

LaurieFuller

We had a wonderful time hiking - the trail took us though a beautiful wooded area that is actually a rainforest! Guide was very good with our small group - we had a wonderful time - just what we were hoping for

Reviews

5.0

41 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

We perform checks on reviews

Showing 1-10 of 41 reviews

The winter walk to...

Kimberly_D, Apr 2024

The winter walk to Barbara Falls was absolutely beautiful! Bryce was our tour guide and he was the best! He made it very memorable.

The day was nice and...

Gloria_R, Apr 2024

The day was nice and sunny. I had a great time the views are incredible 😍 I really recommend it if you visit Alaska especially Anchorage

Beautiful hike

LaurieFuller, Apr 2024

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello Laurie. Thank you for your review! We love when the groups are small and personal. Glad to hear you had a great time with Bryce :) Please let us know if you're ever in Alaska again and if we can take you out!

Fun hike with beautiful destination and a great guide

Angelo_C, Apr 2024

Barbara Waterfall in the Eagle River area in March is beautiful as there is still ice and snow but also plenty of water, the combination making for great pictures. The hike on the light snow covered trail is not strenuous and the more observant hiker will spot plenty to enjoy, even if not quite yet Spring

Response from Host, Apr 2024

Hello hello! Angelo, thanks for leaving us a review of Barbara Falls and your guide, Bryce. Barbara Falls is so great to visit this time of year. If you're reading this and considering going, let us know! Thanks again!

it was excellent...

Haocheng_C, Mar 2024

it was excellent exploration, waterfall is not significant, enjoy in Alaska forest. I strongly recommend

Response from Host, Mar 2024

Hello Haochen. Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review! I think the waterfall is pretty frozen over at the moment. When it gets flowing again it's pretty special. Great to hear about your experience in the forest, one of the highlights of this tour. Take Care!

Fantastic

Dakota_A, Jan 2024

Hike was beautiful, the guide was fun and knowledgeable and showed us the best spots to take pictures. I would absolutely do this hike again.

Response from Host, Feb 2024

Hello Dakota, and thank you for your awesome review! Barbara Falls is definitely camera worthy :) Glad to hear about your experience, and come back to do snowshoeing the mountains with us!

Best experience in anchorage ever!!!

Lulu_F, Dec 2023

I was soooo glad that I booked this during my trip in Alaska! Matt is so nice and knows a lot about the local things, he took us to explore and hike in the park. The scenery is soooooo beautiful and great! 🥰🥰 I met new friends got nice pictures from Matt and also learned a lot! Believe me you guys must try this one!!

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thank you so much for your kind review! I enjoyed taking you out and showing you my “backyard”. It’s always so fun to meet new people, and it was great to meet you 😊 Thanks again!

Highly recommend!!!

XINHUA_W, Dec 2023

Many “OMG” and “Wow” views from this beautiful hike! Calm and relaxing! Excellent addition to our trip.

Response from Host, Dec 2023

📸 Amazing! Thanks for leaving us and AWESOME review, Xinhua! 😊

Amazing hike!

Sandra_A, Nov 2023

I loved the hiking! The views were amazing and I loved that I was able to see some parts of the river frozen and the waterfall was amazing and impressive, and even though it was partially frozen, I loved it cause I got to see the best of both sides, the waterfall with running water and also a part of it frozen. It was just perfect!

Response from Host, Dec 2023

Thanks Sandra! What a blast it was taking you on tour out there. Let us know if you ever come back and want to go out on another adventure :)

Do this tour.

Timothy_R, Nov 2023

Matt and Bryce were excellent and the waterfall was amazing. We had a great group and our guides were flexible with time.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

I'm glad you all had a great time! I'm also glad the weather cooperated for you, haha. Thanks for leaving a review!

WOW

Brittany_K, Apr 2023

Great experience! Every twist and turn was even better as we continued throughout the trail. We got lucky and spotted some moose too!

Response from Host, May 2023

Yay moose! I'm glad you were able to spot one out there. Thanks for joining us, and thank you for the review!

10,000 steps

Samantha_B, Mar 2023

Leah and Isiah were amazing nature guides! They guided us through some very pretty areas of the park. We were able to see a moose and a woodpecker on our hike. We were also able to traverse some ice bridges and make it to this gorgeous overlook. So worth the visit!

Response from Host, Mar 2023

We're glad you had a great time, and thank you for leaving a review.

Our tour guide Leah was...

amber_h, Mar 2023

Our tour guide Leah was so knowledgeable about the nature and wildlife in the area. Very easy hike, yet the coolest hike I've ever done. If you are considering doing it, you 100% should.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

We love Leah! We also appreciate you taking the time to leave a review, thank you!

Great walk in the forest to waterfall.

Sylvia_K, Mar 2023

Our guide was very knowledgeable. Waterfall was beautiful & the mountains. Would recommend to anyone.

Response from Host, Mar 2023

Thank you so much Sylvia. We are glad you had a great time.

Barbara Falls in the winter!

Deilan_G, Feb 2023

We took multiple routes, got to take a few different trails, and got beautiful views of Barbara Falls! Pick up and drop off was on time and easy.

Response from Host, Feb 2023

Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! We appreciate you coming out with us!

Gorgeous and educational

Zaina_N, Jan 2023

Leah is incredibly knowledgeable. We had a great time enjoying the beautiful scenery and appreciated her taking the time to point out animal tracks (and other signs of wildlife) and explaining variances across mushroom and tree varieties. It’s always a joy to spend time with people who are passionate about what they do - especially with such a gorgeous view!

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hello and thanks for taking your time to write such a thoughtful and kind review. We’re excited to hear about your experience with Leah! Thanks for coming out and enjoying a tour with us 😊

Beautiful scenery, to strenuous for seniors

Bob_M, Dec 2022

The walk and waterfall was beautiful with snow on the ground, trees, and mountains. My 66 year old wife struggled waking the 2 mile path. The rest of the group was at leas 50 yards ahead of us most of the time. At one point, I lost track of them and thought we were lost.

Response from Host, Jan 2023

Hi Bob, Thanks for taking the time to speak to me on the phone about your experience. It sounds as if we could have done a better job of keeping the group together, which we'll make sure always watch for moving forward. Also, with all the snow we received lately, the terrain has been harder to traverse than normal. So, we'll highlight on our expectations/tour description that it's currently more physical with more balance required, and that we we will provide snowshoes over microspikes until the ground is completely solid and is walkable for the people we invite on this tour. I thank you again for being a guest on this tour and provide excellent feedback for us to use to better serve our guests.

Beautiful, easy walk,...

Ewa_K, Dec 2022

Beautiful, easy walk, amazing scenery. Winter wonderland. We were using snow shoes to get thru deep snow, fun

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Thank you for taking time to leave a review. We got a HUGE snowstorm right before your tour (as I'm sure you noticed!) so everything became a snowshoeing adventure! We hope to see you again!

It’s recommended to see the place

Veronica_M, Dec 2022

The amazing location and the tour guide is giving us the good information about Barbara Falls and she’s so nice

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Thank you for the review! Leah is the best, we are lucky to have her.

Definitely Recommend !!!!

gary_h, Apr 2022

Our guide Leah was EXCELLENT !!! She had so much information to share. She went out of her way to assist people in our group. The scenery was amazing. It was great to get out in Alaska's back country.

Response from Host, Apr 2022

Leah really is the best! Thank you for coming out with us!