Where Time Stands Still: My Once-in-a-Lifetime Moment at Hubbard Glacier

Let me start by saying this: I hate the cold. I literally moved from New Jersey to Florida just to escape the icy grasp of winter. So when I tell you I stood outside for hours in freezing temperatures, mesmerized by Hubbard Glacier… you know it had to be something extraordinary.

Hubbard Glacier, nestled at the edge of Disenchantment Bay (which, ironically, is anything but disenchanted), is the largest calving glacier in North America. The scenery looks like a page out of a storybook, towering, snow-dusted peaks surrounding a bay scattered with icy chunks, seals lounging lazily on floating wedges of ice, and that endless, crisp blue sky stretching across the horizon. It’s quiet, surreal, and overwhelming in the best possible way.

We watched in awe as massive chunks of ice broke away from the glacier and crashed into the bay, sending echoes through the silence. We saw pockets of ice bubble up from beneath the surface, creating ripples in the calm. It was like watching nature breathe.

And for the first time in my life, I understood those relaxation videos on YouTube, the ones where people fall asleep to the sound of cracking glaciers and water lapping gently. That sense of calm and peace? It’s real. I felt it.

And yes, my hands were frozen, my shins ached, and I probably couldn’t feel my nose—but none of that mattered. My heart was warm, and my brain couldn’t stop trying to process the beauty in front of me. It’s the kind of thing that makes time stop.

As if the moment wasn’t perfect enough, we were lucky enough to do a champagne tasting while soaking in the views. I don’t say this lightly: sipping champagne while staring out at a glacier calving into icy waters is a core memory I will never forget. It was elegant, emotional, and honestly, a little cinematic.

Hubbard Glacier gave me an experience that I didn’t know I needed. A moment to just be with nature, no filters, no distractions. Just the sound of ice, the stillness of the bay, and a reminder that sometimes the cold can bring the most breathtaking beauty.