The family-friendly Glacier Lake Trail weaves among spruce and cottonwood stands before emerging onto broad beaches. This relatively flat stroll yields big results with glorious vistas of the ice and surrounding peaks. Most visitors prefer to hike the 5.3-kilometer (3.3-mile) path, then exit via the 1.5-kilometer (less than a mile) Saddle Trail for boat or floatplane rides back to Homer. Don’t plan a roundtrip without researching the weather: Afternoon breezes often complicate pickups at the Glacier Spit Trailhead.