We are planning our trip to Alaska this year and have Valdez, Homer, Seward, Kenai all dialed in. We would like to know if stopping in Portage to see the Whittier Glacier is a good use of time? Or, should we visit Whittier via boat from Valdez?

Portage Valley RV Park 2013 was the best park we were in and had a common covered fire pit and BBQ's, with a great manager. Good place to stop and you can see the sights along the way to Whittier and experience the unique tunnel. Whittier itself was interesting and nice scenery. Don't know that I would make a second visit. But a water trip is another matter as you're in the beauty of SE AK.

On the way to Seward from Anchorage, you will pass Portage Glacier. It is much easier to get to Whittier from Seward than it is to take a boat from Valdez.You can also take Glacier Cruises from Whittier.I really don't understand your question so I hope the above information helps.

While Whittier may not be considered to be a destination location to most it is worth a day trip to me. The Camping in the Portage area is some of the best in the lower Anchorage bowl area. Whittier is, I believe the farthest north, ice free US port for shipping. It was developed during WWII, same time frame as the building of the Alaska Hwy by the US military as a way to get troops into Alaska, all year around. So it is a bit of a strange place due to all these factors. The military built two huge building in Whittierr, one is now the Begich Towers and the other sets abandoned. At the time they were built they were the largest building in Alaska. The Begich building was bult mainly as an apartment build and that is what it is still used for. It is 14 stories tall, has almost 200 apartments to house the just leas than 200 year around residents. The local school is next door and is connected to the apartment building by a tunnel so the students don't have to go outside to get to school or back homeWhittier weather is often very different from that in Portage. Portage may be sunny and warm and Whittier will be low clouds and rain. The military built a rail road tunnl from Whittier to Portage where it connected to the Alaska Railroad which the military also owned and operated at the time.I have been to Whittier, probably half a dozen times over the years. my wife and I like to ride our motorcycle, from Nenana where we lived for 13 years over to Delta, south to Valdez and catch the ferry over to Whittier. At that time we would have to put the bike on a flat bed rail car and ride with it through the tunnel to be off loaded in Portage, where we could go south to the Kenai or north to head back home.Now days you can drive vehicles through the train tunnel. Directions alternate every 30 minutes as I remember and trains still have priority use. Just the drive through the tunnel is a fun experience for us. In Whittier, there is a large small boat harbor, several day long boat tours around the area, good places to eat, etc. It is a cruise ship docking town, but the people are mainly getting off the cruise ships and onto buses or trains to head to Anchorage. A large majority of all ocean freight headed into main land Alaska enters through the Port of Valdez. The rail barges out of the Seattle area and Prince Rupert load and unload here.While Whittier is not somewhere we go every trip, for someone that has never been there, to me it would be worth a days time, to do the trip. Would just depend on how tight your time schedule was at the time.

The ferry from Valdez to Whittier does pass by College Fjord, but I believe that the fjord's glaciers are no longer visible from the ferry (they were in the 1970s). So, if you want to see the College Fjord glaciers, you have to take a day cruise from Valdez. Many who have taken both say it is better than the Kenai Fjords NP boat tours from Seward. Others will have to chime in on that because I have only taken the Kenai Fjords tour--three times over 20 years--and not the Valdez tour.As suggested earlier, there are day-long glacier tours from Whittier as well. However, the well-publicized Portage Glacier tour is NOT a tidewater glacier tour in Prince William Sound. It is a small cruise boat on Portage Lake to see a small mountain glacier, which BTW has massively receded since I first visited it in 1972.Wherever you decide to do a glacier boat tour, be sure to buy the 2015 Great Alaska Toursaver coupon book before you go. You will save the cost of the Alaska coupon book on just one person's glacier tour. Then all the other things you can use it for really are 2 for 1. They are still $99.99 and you can order one on-line at Toursaver or buy them at Fred Meyer, Safeway, and many other stores in Alaska.

We enjoyed our stay in the area. You can read about it and see some of the photos we took while there on our blog. We stayed at the National Forest Service Willawaw Campground and found it very nice.

Is a visit to Whittier with RV a good use of time?

sue_t
Explorer
Feb 21, 2015
Whittier, Alaska: Most of town's residents live in 1 apartment building
Only road to town is a 4-km, one-lane tunnel through a mountain

Isolation is a defining characteristic of life in the North.

For many residents, this means log cabins in the woods, long drives to metropolitan centres, or hiking on the tundra. But it's something entirely different for the 220 residents of Whittier, Alaska.

Read more in this Feb 2015 article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/whittier-alaska-most-of-town-s-residents-live-in-1-apartment-building
Raymon
Explorer
Feb 21, 2015
We made the trip in the summer of 2006. The tunnel is worth the trip. Not sure, but when we were there, we were told that no one actually lives in Whittier. There are only fishing fleets, charter fishing, and a few restaurants and shops. Enjoy it.

Ray
EsoxLucius
Explorer
Feb 18, 2015
jnharley wrote:
We also stayed at Williwaw USFS campground and it was one of the nicest campgrounds we stayed at. We used our Access Card and paid for a double site. Great paved roads and paved sites, something that is rare in Alaska campgrounds. The drive through the Whittier tunnel was worth the stop.
+1
We stayed at Williwaw and took the toad into Whittier. You can read about it here:jtappen.wordpress.com
Get the Alaska Tour Saver book and do the Blackstone/Beloit glacier cruise.
fanrgs
Explorer
Feb 17, 2015
PA12DRVR wrote:
The Portage Glacier is a freshwater glacier that one used to be able to walk to from the road (long before the current B-B visitor center) but has now receded to the point of needing a boat to get to it.
One way to get good views and photos of Portage Glacier without taking the boat ride is to hike to the top of Portage Pass from Whittier. It is only a 2-mile round-trip with a 750-foot elevation gain uphill from Whittier. Use the gravel "Forest Access" road just after the Whittier end of the tunnel to get to the trailhead. Wear boots as the trail can really get muddy, but, on a sunny day, the views from the top are spectacular!

Of course, my favorite glacier view is at Hyder, where you can drive up above Salmon Glacier and see most of it all the way to the ice field. Even more spectacular on a sunny day!
fanrgs
Explorer
Feb 17, 2015
PA12DRVR wrote:
The Portage Glacier is a freshwater glacier that one used to be able to walk to from the road (long before the current B-B visitor center) but has now receded to the point of needing a boat to get to it.
One way to get good views and photos of Portage Glacier without taking the boat ride is to hike to the top of Portage Pass from Whittier. It is only a 2-mile round-trip with a 750-foot elevation gain uphill from Whittier. Use the gravel "Forest Access" road just after the Whittier end of the tunnel to get to the trailhead. Wear boots as the trail can really get muddy, but, on a sunny day, the views from the top are spectacular!
SkipStock
Explorer
Feb 16, 2015
Sue.T...............

yep, top of Long Lake hill w' King Mountain in all it's glory
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Feb 16, 2015
I'd recommend the Portage Valley Rd area. Whittier itself is interesting but it's somewhat more of the same except for the tunnel. If I was making a tradeoff in time then I'd stay at Deep Creek Beach instead of Whittier because it's so very unique.
jnharley
Explorer
Feb 16, 2015
We also stayed at Williwaw USFS campground and it was one of the nicest campgrounds we stayed at. We used our Access Card and paid for a double site. Great paved roads and paved sites, something that is rare in Alaska campgrounds. The drive through the Whittier tunnel was worth the stop.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Feb 16, 2015
If camping the Portage Galier CG Whittier is a great day trip. Go right through town & there is a gravel road that continues out some miles & deadends at a very beautiful waterfall. There are a number of scenic turnouts overlooking the inlet along the way.
sue_t
Explorer
Feb 16, 2015
SkipStock wrote:
Sue.T - many compliments on your photo journal of your trips. We live in Alaska, have a cabin in the King Mtn Area, our son's wedding was in McCarthy, we often fish out of Whittier etc etc. Your photos as a collection for anyone who wants to get a feel for the land are really quite amazing. Good job, I enjoyed them

Thank you for the kind words!
We made many RV trips before moving here so many photographs.

Since moving to Yukon in 2011, my solo drive to Anchorage last March was one of the most spectacular for scenery. Loved the area though King Mtn! It was a bit tricky taking photos as I drove :B
http://yukonsights.ca/20140322_Whrs-Tok.html
http://yukonsights.ca/20140322_Tok-Anchorage.html

And then home a week later...
http://yukonsights.ca/20140328_Anch-Tok.html
http://yukonsights.ca/20140328_Tok-HainesJct.html

You likely recognize this spot...