Top McCarthy Outdoor Activities

If you like to learn history, you should try this tour. However, there are several steep staircases along with a ladder.

My wife and I had a great time on our half day hike. It was us plus a mother and her son - so a nice small group. A few weeks before we did the hike a rockslide had necessitated a change towards the end of the hiking trail. However the NPS had done a great job blazing a new trail. The hike is not super strenuous, though the last bit is a bunch of switchbacks down to the glacier, so it is a bit of a leg burner on the way back up. Having proper crampons for the glacier made it a breeze to hike around. It was really fun to get to see some of the different features, and drink nice clear glacier water. Our guide Stephanie made the experience even better. We were back in plenty of time to do the later afternoon mill tour. The tour included transport from the footbridge and back (though at the end of the day they dropped us off at the Potato - which was nice since it saved us a bit of a hike to dinner).

Emma was our guide on the Mill Tour and was fun and informative. She had the right balance of keeping us safe but engaged in the remarkable history. Highly recommend

Hiking the Root Glacier was exciting and a little scary as our first glacier hike. However, hiking with a friendly, experienced, and knowledgible guide, such as Veronica, from McCarthy River Tours made our day. Veronica prepared us for the hike and provided all of the guidance needed. Veronica stayed with us every step, she shared her experience and knowledge to insure a safe hike as well as an interesting experience. We would never have ventured as far and as safely on the Root Glacier if we had hiked without a guide. Veronica made this hike a memorable and fun one.

We were lucky to have a private tour with probably the most knowledgeable and personal guide we’ve ever met. Ben went out of his way to answer every question we had (and we had a lot). His enthusiasm is over the top!

We found the mill tour to be interesting and educational. Emma, our guide, also made it fun. There were quite a few stairs and ladders on our trip down. On every level, Emma told us something about the history of the mill and how the copper was processed.

An amazing view of a real live glacier. A scenic hike along the historic mining town of Kennicott takes you to the bottom of the root glacier where you strap on supplied crampons to hike around a beautiful white ice glacier with the option to swim in a glacial pool. Knowledgeable guides keep you informed about your surroundings and the history of the old mining town.

This was a great day hiking to the glacier and over it. Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.

We had a great mill tour with Liv who did a great job explaining the machinery and sharing the history of this amazing place. We had our 6 year old and 9 year old who had a bit of a tougher time paying attention the whole time but it was still fun.

It was great. We learned a lot about the Mill.

My wife and I visited Kennecott years ago and did not take the tour. While the mill site is remarkable on its own, the tour is next level. Walking though the mill and hearing the history really brought it to life. Our guide, Riley, was energetic and fun. This time we visited Kennecott with our 15yr old son and he enjoyed it. And the discount from Cool Destinations was the cherry on top.

Tour Guide was excellent retelling history of Kennecott and how the Mine shaped everything. Then the 14 storied Kennecott mine! We experienced it floor by floor walking down the stairs (sometimes backwards). You could picture the workers, the heat, the exhaustion. Great tour!

Great tour to learn about the area and history

I love when we travel and see something unique and that I would never see anywhere else. This was one of those one of a kind trips.

The tour was very informative. It was really cool to be able to walk through the mill and learn the mining history of the park. It's a must when visiting Kennicott!

AJ was our guide, he made the tour educational as well as fun. I got more out of it than I expected.