The tram cabin lifts out of the Girdwood valley, and the glaciers that ring the town slide into view one after another. At the top there is a restaurant, a bar and a gift shop, and below you the hotel looks small against the Chugach Mountains.
What is Alyeska Resort?
Alyeska Resort is a ski resort and hotel complex in the Girdwood area of Anchorage, set in the heart of the Chugach Mountains. It is the largest ski area in the state, and it works as a base for the rest of the year too, with hiking, biking, sightseeing and day trips that start from its doors. The name comes from an Aleut word meaning “great land of the white to the east.” It suits the setting, a valley of snowfields and ice where the mountains close in on every side.
Hotel Alyeska
The resort’s lodging is Hotel Alyeska, a modern hotel of 300 rooms at the base of the tram. In winter its ski-in/ski-out accommodations let skiers step from the building to the snow, and in the other seasons the same position puts the tram, the dining rooms and the trailheads within the resort grounds.
The hotel runs a Green Stay initiative. Guests staying two nights or more can decline housekeeping and receive a $5 per day dining voucher, which makes a natural pairing with the resort’s restaurants and cafe.
The mountain in figures
The ski mountain is bigger than a first glance suggests. Most of its terrain is rated more difficult or most difficult, with a smaller share for beginners, and a lift system that mixes a tram, high-speed and fixed-grip chairs, and magic carpets for the first turns.
| Feature | Figure |
|---|---|
| Trails | 73 |
| Rated easiest | 11% |
| Rated more difficult | 52% |
| Rated most difficult | 37% |
| Lift-served vertical drop | 2,500 feet |
| Total vertical drop | 3,200 feet |
| Lifts | 8 (1 tram, 2 high-speed quads, 2 fixed-grip quads, 1 fixed-grip double, 2 magic carpets) |
| Lift capacity | 10,335 skiers per hour |
Night skiing
Skiing here does not end with the daylight. Under the lights, the slopes stay open on a set schedule, and the holiday stretch brings a nightly rhythm of its own, when the resort’s slopes glow against the dark valley.
| Activity | When |
|---|---|
| Night skiing | Thursday through Saturday, 4 pm to 9 pm |
| Night skiing, holiday period | Nightly, from late December to early January |
Where is it?
Alyeska Resort sits in Girdwood, a resort town in the southern portion of Anchorage, near the end of the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. The town lies 37 miles south of Anchorage, in a valley in the southwestern Chugach Mountains where seven glaciers surround the community.
Girdwood is typically reached by the Seward Highway at Milepost 90. The town as it stands today was moved up the valley after the Good Friday earthquake of 1964, which is why the old townsite and the present one are not in the same place.
Getting there from Anchorage
The drive from Anchorage follows the Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm, and the Alaska Railroad also stops in Girdwood. Two trains serve the town: the Coastal Classic, which runs between Anchorage and Seward, and the Glacier Discovery, which stops in Whittier, Portage and Spencer Glacier.
| From Anchorage by | Time to Girdwood |
|---|---|
| Car | About 1 hour |
| Alaska Railroad train | About 1.5 hours |
A town in the rain forest
Girdwood lies within the northernmost extent of rain forest on Earth. It is also the closest point of access to Chugach National Forest from Anchorage proper, so the setting around the resort is forest first and ski town second.
The Winner Creek Trail winds through that rain forest to a thundering waterfall. Summer in Girdwood is a season of hiking, fishing and rafting, and the whole valley feels like a mountain village that happens to have a large resort at one end.
Festivals in town
Two gatherings mark the Girdwood calendar. The Slush Cup festival takes place the second weekend of April, a spring ski-season send-off. The Girdwood Forest Fair takes place on the Fourth of July weekend and is the community’s most significant visitor attraction apart from resort-related activities.
Beyond the turnoff
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center is a 140-acre facility located 11 miles past the Girdwood turnoff. The resort lists it as an activity in both summer and winter, so it is an outing that fits any visit built around Girdwood.
The resort also names the Portage Glacier Begich-Boggs Visitor Center and Whittier and Prince William Sound among its activities. These are day trips that begin at the resort rather than places inside the valley, and they open up the glacier and fjord country around Girdwood.
What is on site?
On site there is a tram to the summit, three places to eat, a Nordic Spa, a trail up the mountain, and a calendar of seasonal activities that changes with the weather. The resort packages these into a Summer Activities Guide and a downloadable Winter Activities Guide on its website.
The aerial tram and the summit
Visitors can ride the aerial tram to the top of the mountain, where there is a restaurant, a bar and a gift shop. The ride is the resort’s signature outing, and it works as a way to see the valley, the glaciers and the Chugach peaks without a ski or a boot.
Near the top stands the Mt. Alyeska Roundhouse, an octagonal building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. It now houses a museum of local ski history, a small reminder that the mountain has a story as well as a view.
Where to eat and unwind
The resort has several dining options: Forte restaurant, Seven Glaciers restaurant and a cafe. Each fills a different part of the day, from a quick coffee between activities to a sit-down dinner after a day on the mountain.
The Nordic Spa is the place for the end of that day. Guests who have walked the trails or skied the slopes can finish there, with the mountains close by outside.
Hiking and summer activities
Guests can hike the North Face trail to the top of the mountain for big views, an alternative to the tram for those who want to reach the summit on foot. The resort’s summer program adds sightseeing, kid-friendly activities, day trips and biking.
Bike rentals and guided e-bike tours are available, and Ted’s Express Scenic Chair Rides carry visitors up the mountain by chairlift. More on summer in Girdwood is on VisitGirdwood.com.
Winter beyond the lifts
Winter at Alyeska Resort goes beyond the trails. Heli-skiing and cat-skiing tours are offered as winter activities, for skiers who want terrain outside the lift system, and Northern Lights viewing is listed among the winter activities, a chance and never a promise. The Visit Girdwood website carries more winter information for the town, including what is happening around the resort during the season.
Good to know before you go
Alyeska Resort has an activity for each season, so check which guide fits your dates. The Summer Activities Guide and the Winter Activities Guide are both published by the resort, and VisitGirdwood.com covers the town around it. Skiing, the tram and the hiking all start from the same base, which makes the resort a natural anchor for a stay in Girdwood.
Sources
- Alyeska Resort, Girdwood (https://www.alyeskaresort.com/), checked October 11, 2026
- Alyeska Resort, summer (https://www.alyeskaresort.com/summer/), checked October 11, 2026
- Alyeska Resort, winter (https://www.alyeskaresort.com/winter/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Alyeska Resort (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyeska_Resort), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Girdwood, Alaska (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girdwood,_Alaska), checked October 11, 2026
- Alaska.org, dest girdwood (https://www.alaska.org/destination/girdwood), checked October 11, 2026
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