The best glacier road trips put you within sight of the ice: the Icefields Parkway past the Athabasca Glacier, Iceland's Ring Road along the Jökulsárlón lagoon, and Chile's Carretera Austral below the hanging glacier at Queulat. These nine drives run from a two-day paved parkway in the Canadian Rockies to a two-week expedition down Ruta 7, and each one keeps meltwater lakes, ice tongues, or a full icefield in view for a good stretch of road.
This ranked list uses real catalog distances, durations, and opening months, so you can plan around the short glacier-viewing seasons instead of guessing. Several routes climb high mountain roads with narrow weather windows, so the Mountain Passes hub is a good place to browse alternatives, and every entry links to its full route guide.
The 9 best glacier road trips at a glance
Distances and best-season windows come straight from each route's page. Plan around real opening months, because most of these roads and glacier walks are only reachable for a few months a year.
| # | Route | Country | Distance | Duration | Best season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Icefields Parkway | Canada | 232 km | 2 days | June to September |
| 2 | Carretera Austral | Chile | 1,240 km | 12 to 14 days | November to March |
| 3 | Iceland Ring Road | Iceland | 1,332 km | 9 days | June to September |
| 4 | Southern Alps Highway | New Zealand | About 735 km | 4 days | November to March |
| 5 | Grossglockner High Alpine Road | Austria | 48 km one way | 1 day | Early May to early November |
| 6 | Seward Highway | United States | 202 km | 1 to 2 days | May to September |
| 7 | Going-to-the-Sun Road | United States | 80 km | 2 days | July to September |
| 8 | Karakoram Highway | Pakistan / China | About 690 km | 7 days | May to October |
| 9 | Alaska Highway | Canada to Alaska | 2,400 km | 8 to 10 days | May to September |
If you only do one
Drive the Icefields Parkway. In 232 km over two days, Highway 93 runs from Lake Louise to Jasper past the Columbia Icefield, the largest sheet of ice in the Rockies, whose Athabasca Glacier flows almost to the roadside. You get glaciers, the turquoise water of Bow Lake and Peyto Lake, and peaks over 3,000 m without leaving paved road, and a standard car handles the whole route in summer. Go from June to September, check Parks Canada road reports, and carry fuel and layers, since Highway 93 has long service gaps. No other glacier drive gives you this much ice for this little logistics.
1. Icefields Parkway, Canada
The Icefields Parkway is the glacier drive most travelers should start with. Highway 93 links Lake Louise and Jasper across 232 km, and the Columbia Icefield sits at its midpoint, feeding the Athabasca Glacier that you can view from the road or reach on a guided ice walk. Space it over two days so Bow Lake, the Peyto Lake viewpoint, Sunwapta Falls, and Athabasca Falls each get time, and note that Moraine Lake Road is closed to private vehicles, so visit it only on a reserved shuttle before the drive.
2. Carretera Austral, Chile
Chile's Carretera Austral is the wildest entry here, 1,240 km of mostly unpaved road through Patagonian fjords and rainforest over 12 to 14 days. The glacier highlight is the hanging Ventisquero Colgante above Queulat National Park, with the marble caverns of the Capillas de Mármol and the remote village of Caleta Tortel further south. This is a hard drive that needs an SUV and forward planning: reserve the Hornopirén and Puerto Yungay vehicle ferries in advance and reconfirm them the same day. Drive it in the southern summer, November to March.
3. Iceland Ring Road, Iceland
The Iceland Ring Road circles the island clockwise from Reykjavík in 1,332 km over nine days, and the outlet glaciers of Vatnajökull, Europe's largest ice cap, dominate the south coast. The set piece is Jökulsárlón, where icebergs calve into a tidal lagoon and wash up on the black sand of Diamond Beach across the road. Book an SUV for the weather, give it the full nine days, and check road.is and SafeTravel before every leg. Route 1 is a summer drive, best from June to September.
4. Southern Alps Highway, New Zealand
The Southern Alps Highway crosses the South Island from Queenstown to Christchurch on SH6 and SH73, about 735 km staged over four days. The plan builds in a night at Fox Glacier, where you can view the ice from the valley or book a guided walk, then climbs over Haast Pass and Arthur's Pass with real weather margin. Make the glacier and alpine walks conditional on DOC and operator advice, and check the NZTA Journey Planner before departure and again after heavy rain. The season runs November to March, the New Zealand summer.
5. Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
The Grossglockner High Alpine Road packs a full glacier day into 48 km one way. The road climbs to the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe lookout, which faces the Pasterze, Austria's longest glacier, below the country's highest peak at 3,798 m. The Pasterze is retreating fast, so the marked descent from the lookout to the ice edge grows longer every year. The toll road opens roughly early May to early November, with timed entry gates, so check same-day road and weather status before you pay.
6. Seward Highway, United States
The Seward Highway runs 202 km from Anchorage to Seward along Turnagain Arm, past tidal flats and glacier-capped peaks, in one long day or two with a Seward overnight. The Byron Glacier Trail in Portage Valley leads to a short walk toward the ice, and Exit Glacier near Seward is the road-accessible face of the Kenai Fjords icefield. Stay off the Turnagain Arm mudflats and out of the ice caves at Byron Glacier, and confirm seasonal access to Exit Glacier before you go. The window is May to September.
7. Going-to-the-Sun Road, United States
The Going-to-the-Sun Road crosses the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park across 80 km, best driven over two days. Logan Pass sits at the top, with hanging valleys, roadside waterfalls, and the Jackson Glacier Overlook, one of the park's last remaining glaciers as the ice steadily recedes. In 2026 the park does not require a timed vehicle-entry reservation, but shuttles need booking and Logan Pass parking is capped at three hours, so read the dated NPS road pages first. Snow keeps the full road to a July to September season.
8. Karakoram Highway, Pakistan / China
The Karakoram Highway climbs from Gilgit through Hunza to Kashgar over 690 km and seven days, with glaciers visible from the tarmac near Passu, where the Batura and Passu ice reach down toward the road. It continues to the Khunjerab Pass, Tashkurgan, and the lakeside camp at Karakul before Kashgar. Treat this as an operator-led international crossing rather than a rental-car trip, since Pakistan and China both require border formalities and China adds temporary vehicle import and a temporary licence. The season runs May to October, subject to border and weather status.
9. Alaska Highway, Canada to Alaska
The Alaska Highway, the ALCAN built in 1942, covers 2,400 km of boreal wilderness from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks over 8 to 10 days. Its glacier country is Kluane National Park in the Yukon, which holds Canada's largest non-polar icefields, feeding the glacial rivers and turquoise lakes such as Muncho Lake along the way. Carry passports for the Canada and US crossing, expect frost heaves and long service gaps, and reserve remote lodges and meals ahead. Drive it May to September.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best glacier road trip for beginners?
The Icefields Parkway in Canada. It is paved the whole way, an easy 232 km over two days, and puts the Athabasca Glacier and the Columbia Icefield right beside the road, so a standard car and a summer weekend are enough.
When is the best time to drive to glaciers?
It depends on the hemisphere. Northern routes such as the Icefields Parkway, Iceland's Ring Road, and the Seward Highway run June to September, while Patagonia's Carretera Austral and New Zealand's Southern Alps Highway open in the southern summer, November to March.
Can you walk on a glacier from these roads?
On some of them, and only with a guide. The Athabasca Glacier on the Icefields Parkway and Fox Glacier on the Southern Alps Highway both offer guided ice walks, while roads like Iceland's Ring Road and the Grossglockner are for viewing the ice from marked lookouts. Stay off unguided glacier ice and out of ice caves, which collapse without warning.
Do glacier road trips need a four-wheel drive?
Not all of them. The Icefields Parkway, Seward Highway, Grossglockner, and Going-to-the-Sun Road are paved and fine in a standard car, while the Carretera Austral needs an SUV and the Karakoram Highway is best done with an operator.
Ready to plan the ice? Start with the full Icefields Parkway route guide, then open the interactive map to line these drives up against your own dates and route.
