McMurdo Station

Gateway to the world's greatest ice shelf

McMurdo Station — Antarctica's largest research hub and gateway

✦Chat with AI about McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station Research base

Visit the largest Antarctic research community, supporting over a thousand scientists and staff in summer.

Best time: Nov–Feb — Summer operational season aligns with maximum staffing and visitor access to the base.

Things to do:

• Tour major research station
• Meet scientist staff members
• Learn research programs
• Photograph station infrastructure

Cape Evans Hut Historic site

Explore Scott's remarkably preserved 1911 Terra Nova expedition hut, frozen in time on Ross Island.

Best time: Nov–Jan — Summer conditions and sea-ice access allow rare visits to this historic shelter.

Things to do:

• Enter historic explorer hut
• Observe preserved interior
• Learn expedition history
• Photograph artifacts in situ

Mount Erebus Volcano

Observe the world's southernmost active volcano, its summit crater venting steam above the ice.

Best time: Nov–Mar — Extended summer daylight and ice conditions permit clear views of the volcanic landscape.

Things to do:

• Observe active volcano peak
• Photograph steam plume
• Study volcanic geology
• Photograph dramatic landscape

Ross Ice Shelf Glacier

Travel onto the vast Ross Ice Shelf, a floating expanse of ice the size of a country.

Best time: Dec–Feb — Peak summer offers optimal ice conditions and extended daylight for shelf exploration.

Things to do:

• Stand on continent's ice shelf
• Observe massive ice expanse
• Photograph shelf structure
• Understand glaciology

McMurdo Dry Valleys Viewpoint

Extreme desert environment with exposed rock and mummified seal fossils.

Best time: Nov–Mar — Most extreme terrestrial ecosystem demonstrating Antarctic environmental extremes.

Things to do:

• Hike through Earth's driest environment
• Explore blood falls and meltwater streams
• Collect rock samples and geological data

From the notebook

After weeks of empty coastline, the station felt almost like a small industrial town dropped onto lava rock — dorms, a chapel, the low hum of generators. I ate a slice of pizza in the galley and talked with a researcher who'd wintered over twice. Ordinary conversation, in the most improbable of settings.

Arriving

• Fly into CHC · Christchurch, New Zealand — Fly or cruise from Christchurch into the Ross Sea.
• SIM Buy an NZ SIM/eSIM before departure; no service at the station.
• Money Carry NZ dollars and USD; station costs are prepaid or billed.