Grey Glacier on foot: beach, viewpoint, W Trek

Three ways to Grey on foot

Each way of reaching the glacier on foot trades time for distance to the ice.

1. The Lago Grey beach. An hour or so on sand and shingle near Hotel Lago Grey, with icebergs at your feet and the glacier far off across the lake. You can drive there or join a park day;
2. Paine Grande to Refugio Grey. A trail along the lake to a viewpoint above the glacier front. Plan on a long half day each way, and usually a night at Grey;
3. The W Trek. Several days across the park, with the Grey section as one of them.

None of these puts you on the ice. Only the guided ice hike does that, and it starts near Refugio Grey, so the second and third options are also the way in for anyone who wants crampons on their boots.

The Lago Grey beach

From the car park near Hotel Lago Grey, a path leads out onto a long beach and a shingle spit at the southern end of the lake. Icebergs that broke off the glacier drift down Lago Grey on the wind and end up grounded here, clear or banded blue blocks you can walk right up to. The glacier itself sits far away across the milky water at the north end of the lake, a pale band under the mountains when the cloud lifts.

The ground is sand and shingle, flat but tiring in a headwind. Turismo Lago Grey's listing describes a walk of about 3 km (1.9 mi) on Grey Beach from the closest car park, roughly 45 minutes, for passengers heading to the catamaran. One reviewer walking to the boat on another tour did her stretch in about 15 minutes and warned it could feel long for anyone unsteady, so the time depends on where you start and how hard the wind blows. Closed shoes with grip help, and what to wear and bring to Grey Glacier covers the layers.

Without a car, the simplest way onto the beach is Torres del Paine Adventure's park day, from ~$68, which gives you about an hour there and back on the shore as part of a longer loop with the Milodon Cave. Its catch is that you only ever see Grey from across the lake. A cheaper day, W Circuit Patagonia's tour by van, from ~$75, stops in the Grey Lake area too, but its catch is bigger, since the ice stays a distant blue and no beach walk appears in its listing. The one-day guide to the park lines up the full park days stop by stop.

Paine Grande to Refugio Grey

The western arm of the W Trek links the Paine Grande refuge with Refugio Grey, farther north along Lago Grey. Near Refugio Grey a viewpoint looks over the glacier where it meets the lake, its front split around rock into separate tongues. Plan on a long half day each way from Paine Grande, more in a headwind. We leave out a distance here because the figures vary, and the park's own signs are the ones to trust on the day.

Many hikers reach Paine Grande on the ferry from Pudeto. Walking to Grey and back in a single day from there makes for a very long outing, so plenty of trekkers sleep at Refugio Grey or Camping Grey and carry on the next morning.

The Grey III catamaran also helps. Torres del Paine Adventure's sailing listing says the boat makes a stop at Refugio Grey for hikers, so some trekkers walk one way and ride back to the Hotel Lago Grey side. None of the tours we compare sells a one-way seat, so that is something to arrange with Turismo Lago Grey rather than book here. The Grey Glacier boat trip, step by step explains how the sailing runs, and wind can cancel it, so carry enough to walk out if needed.

A night at Grey opens the ice

Sleeping at Refugio Grey or Camping Grey puts you about 10 minutes' walk from Bigfoot Patagonia's base camp, where the ice hike and the Lago Grey kayak start. Howlanders' ice hike on Grey, from ~$365, is the only tour in this comparison that takes you onto the glacier, with crampons and ice axes and about 2.5 hours on the ice. No transport from town reaches it. For the 8:30 am start you sleep at Grey the night before, and for the 2:30 pm start you sleep there the night after, which is why it fits so neatly into a trek. Ice hiking and kayaking at Grey Glacier covers both trips in detail.

The W Trek with Grey as one of its days

If you want the whole W with the logistics handled, Paine Travel's W Trek Express, from ~$1,190, packs it into five days for up to four people and scores 4.7 from 118 reviews. The listing's plan includes these pieces.

• Base Torres with a guide on the first day
• The French Valley
• The Grey Glacier hike, reached by the ferry from Pudeto to Paine Grande
• One night camping at Paine Grande
• Three nights in a tiny house in Puerto Natales, with meals included

The catch is in the details. Five days is a big slice of any trip. The tiny-house rooms are shared, three to a room. The guide walks with you on the first day only, and after that you hike on your own with the bookings done for you. The park entrance, around $49 per the listing, comes on top, as do insurance and tips.

Which walk suits which traveler

• Short on time, or not a hiker. The beach, on a park day or by car. Allow an hour on the shore;
• Fit, with a night to spare. Paine Grande to Grey, sleeping at Refugio or Camping Grey, perhaps with the ice hike the next morning;
• Several days free. The W Trek, on your own or with the Express package;
• Close to the ice face without days of walking. Then the boat is the answer, and what a Grey Glacier tour costs sets the sailing against the park days.

Before you set off

Every option here needs the park ticket, which none of the tours includes; Torres del Paine park tickets and rules explains where to buy it and what the listings ask of you on the trail. The wind is the other planner. It is strongest in spring and summer, and the best time to see Grey Glacier sets out the months. Calving, when ice breaks off the front, is luck wherever you stand, beach or boat. If you are driving in yourself, the road from Puerto Natales covers the gravel and the gate.