Professional, Safe, and Entertaining – A Fantastic Rafting Experience on the Placer River! - My wife and I both come from tourism backgrounds from our college days, so we tend to notice the small details that make or break a guest experience — and this company truly exceeded expectations. The entire experience was seamless from start to finish, beginning with the scenic train ride into the Placer River area. It was such a unique and memorable way to reach the starting point — the views alone were worth the trip! Once on the river, our guide struck the perfect balance between entertaining and informative, sharing great local knowledge and stories while maintaining a constant focus on safety and comfort. Even though our section of water was a calm, scenic float, it was clear our guide was highly skilled and had excellent situational awareness — consistently choosing the best lines and adjusting to river conditions with ease. My wife especially appreciated how safe she felt throughout the entire experience, while also being fully engaged and entertained. We were also impressed that every guide we encountered along the way displayed the same high standard of professionalism, friendliness, and safety awareness. It’s obvious this company invests heavily in training and takes great pride in the guest experience. We felt safe, informed, and genuinely enjoyed every minute — from the train ride to the river and all the way through to the end. Whether you’re new to rafting or simply looking for a fun and beautiful way to experience Alaska’s wilderness, this is absolutely the team to go with!

Lots of fun! - The train was fun, although the trip was long with many stops. River was cold but amazing! Dress warmly! The coach ride back to our car was a great, quick way to cap off the day.

Exceeded our expectations - a Must-Do tour - An incredible tour with so many spectacular mountain, glacier, iceberg and wildlife viewing opportunities on the journey to the wildlife conservatory and through the glacier waters when weather finally cleared up with the clouds dispersing enough to see across all the top of the glacier.  This trip far exceeded my expectations, from the start of meeting our wonderful guide Alex and the amazing team and riding in your very comfortable van and rafts and smoothly transitioning to the Alaska railroad.   You could not have written a more perfect journey. We loved seeing the abundance of wildlife at the conservatory and hearing Alex share his great insight to each animal's life history and gliding us safely down through the stunning glacier, iceberg, bergie bits onto the smooth rapids!   Your crew were outstanding at making sure everyone was experiencing this trip of a lifetime to the fullest extent possible. The lunch was hearty and delicious, with a fabulous afternoon snack of bars and hot drinks, especially the most popular Swiss Miss hot cocoa!

Great tour with great guides! - We loved this trip. Spencer glacier is off the beaten path only accessible by the train and the lake where you start your float is full of icebergs that they paddle around to get into the river. It was beautiful. The river was equally as beautiful with a few small rapids and great scenery. Alex was our driver thru the wildlife center and was knowledgeable about the animals and he was also our very skilled river guide with a great personality and a lot of local knowledge. Their entire team of guides were great. I would absolutely go again! Thanks Alex for a great day! Kristin and Scott from Montana.

Kudos to Chugach Adventures & Alexander Lange! - The Chugach Adventures tour took place on one day of an 8-day "Adventures by Disney" tour, so it was arranged by Disney rather than by my family personally. I don't know if Chugach Adventures customizes anything specifically for Disney groups or if it is the same experience regardless of whether you do it the way we did it or book it yourself. But we definitely had a top-notch experience that was fun, enjoyable, and awe-inspiring all at the same time. We took the Wilderness Express train from Girdwood to the Spencer Whistle Stop, then hiked through the woods, rafted the glacial lake where icebergs of all shapes and sizes were calmly floating in the beautiful valley, and topped it off with a delicious salmon supper cooked on the shore of the lake. Alexander Lange was the guide in our raft and he was phenomenal! He shared his vast knowledge and answered every question so patiently, though he had probably heard many of them dozens of times! Our 13-year old grandson loved the fact that Alex is a self-described "bird nerd" and he asked him numerous bird questions. Alex was tolerant and kind throughout the interrogation. :-) Our grandson declared this the best day of his entire Alaska trip. Why?? Because of Alex! All the staff that we encountered were friendly, professional, competent, and concerned with everyone's safety around the unpredictable glacier and icebergs. Linking the rafts together in the middle of the lake and enjoying hot chocolate while we floated was especially magical! Thank you, Chugach Adventures!

August Alaska - It was a great excursion. Were a little confused by the 3 tickets the railroad guy gave us. Didn’t really explain anything. Just said that we leave on the train & will return to the same place we started. So thought it was round trip on the train. It was not. We rode the train, and then we were supposed to get off, to ride in a van to see the various penned animals. We missed that but staff was great and made a special stop so we met up with our group. Then on the raft to view the glacier & icebergs. It was awesome! Our guide Noah was excellent! After that we were back on the train, which they announced was going back to Anchorage. So I assumed that was how we should get back to the starting point. Wrong. Again the staff came looking for us to get us on a large bus to take us back to the Anchorage train station. Evidently the bus would get us back faster than the train. Even though there were these few embarrassments, we thoroughly enjoyed the train ride & raft ride.

A Perfect Alaskan Day - This excursion was a perfect day. Our guide, Will, brought to life our experiences and was super enthusiastic about what he was sharing with us. The wild life reserve was extremely interesting! The train ride was fun, and the glacial lake next to the glacier with growlers was amazing the river float was a great experience as well. A must-do day. Our river guide, Jack, was extremely knowledgeable about everything Alaska — and super personable.

- An Unforgettable Alaskan Adventure – A Dream Come True! We came all the way from Vancouver Island to Alaska specifically for this adventure — and it exceeded every expectation! This trip was my son's graduation gift and lifelong dream, and it turned out to be one of the most unique and unforgettable experiences we've ever had. From the moment we boarded the train, we knew we were in for something special. The stunning scenery, the thrill of rafting through glacial waters, and even spotting a bear along the way — every part of the day felt like a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Evan, our guide, was absolutely fantastic. His knowledge, professionalism, and calm demeanor made us feel completely safe and comfortable the entire time. He struck the perfect balance between adventure and reassurance — and truly elevated the whole experience. Spencer Glacier is breathtaking beyond words, and seeing it up close from the water was nothing short of magical. The whole day felt like a dream, and we’re so grateful we chose this excursion to celebrate such an important milestone. Highly, highly recommend — if your looking for a unique and beautiful way to experience the heart of Alaska. Worth every mile traveled and every penny spent!

Logistics experts... - This is a complicated set of activities through an entire day. We showed up at the train station in Anchorage in the morning. It was unclear from the description, but there is nobody to meet you at the station. Just get in line to get tickets (which are reserved in your name). People seem to congregate in car D. After a couple of hours on the train, you get off and are immediately put into a van, which takes you to the animal rescue center. The tour there is a bit rushed. Back in the van, they take you to another train station for lunch, which was good. Back on the train, everyone goes a few miles to a stop where they unload the people and the boats for a ride in a lake with icebergs and down a river. After the river rafting (not at all whitewater), it's back on the train for a few minutes, and then a quick transfer to a bus, which takes you back to Anchorage. Honestly, it would've been faster, cheaper, and easier to drive ourselves to the animal rescue, get some lunch, and then go to the boat. The train adds a lot of time and expense. Think about booking each part separately and driving.

Stuck 7 hrs on 1970s train that broke down. Excellent guides. But it sucks being stuck. - I am deleting my prior review and updating it. Update: After I wrote the original review a week ago, the tour refunded us approx 50% the cost of our trip. We very much appreciate this, and I am raising my rating to 3 stars as a result, purely as appreciation in getting the partial refund. Original review: We paid $1800 for a party of 6 including 2 kids. The train is extremely antiquated and unreliable. It broke down which forced us to spend 7 hrs stuck. We got to the train station at 9am sharp and didn’t get to the lake until 4 pm. Because it was running so late what was supposed to be a 2.5 hr raft trip down the creek was cut to 40 minutes puttering around on the lake. While the lake was cool there’s no way I would have chosen to spend $1800 and a whole day of our week long vacation on this tour. Including the ride back to town on a bus, the whole trip was like 10 plus hours. Absolutely do not recommend. If you are looking to raft, find a road accessible location not this place.