Matanuska Glacier, Valley glacier in Chugach Mountains, Alaska.

Matanuska Glacier is a valley glacier in the Chugach Mountains of Alaska, about 27 miles (43 km) long and 4 miles (6.4 km) wide at its terminus, which feeds the Matanuska River. Its ice runs in a long S-curve between dark rocky slopes, streaked lengthwise with grey and black debris and ending in a rough, blocky white mass. Low clouds and snow-topped peaks rise beyond its upper reaches.

Matanuska Glacier lies on the north flank of the Chugach Mountains, north of Mount Marcus Baker, with Mount Wickersham forming its west flank. Over the past 400 years it lost little size, but it once reached the area of present-day Palmer, 90 km west, and its tongue came close to the Glenn Highway. In the last 13 years it has melted back strongly and no longer reaches the highway.

The glacier gives its name to the MV Matanuska, a ferry of the Alaska Marine Highway. Visitors reach the ice through the Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site, a state park with trails and a small campground, though a private entity affiliated with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. charges a toll on the only bridge linking the park to Alaska Route 1.

Access is via South Glacier Park Road at Mile 102 of the Glenn Highway, where a gravel road crosses a bridge and an electronic gate operated by a private concession. The bridge carries a toll; guided walks with crampons and helmets are arranged by local operators, including shuttles from Anchorage. The glacier lies about 100 miles northeast of Anchorage in Glacier View.

The glacier is the namesake of the MV Matanuska, a ferry of the Alaska Marine Highway. The 27-mile (43 km) ice tongue lies in the Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Site, a state park with trails and a small campground. A private entity affiliated with Cook Inlet Region, Inc. charges a toll on the only bridge linking the park to Alaska Route 1.