|
 |
|
ACTIVITIES
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Valdez Sightseeing Tours |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
P Bridal Veil Falls P Keystone Canyon P Columbia Glacier
P Exxon Valdez P Alaska Pipeline Terminal P Worthington Glacier
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Valdez is located on the north shore of Port Valdez, a deepwater fjord in Prince William Sound. It lies 120 air miles east of Anchorage, or 305 miles by the Richardson and Glenn Highways.
After seeing the breathtaking mountain scenery you'll understand why this area has been dubbed the "Switzerland of Alaska". Valdez was the center for the massive oil-spill cleanup after the "Exxon Valdez" disaster in March of 1989. During the 1970's, construction of the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline terminal and other cargo transportation facilities brought rapid growth.
Seeing the famous Trans Alaska Pipeline Terminal is high on many visitors' lists of things to do in Valdez. Day-long or extended tours of Prince William Sound will take you to be best vantage points of glaciers, sealife, and shorebirds. Flightseeing trips over some of the most impressive mountains anywhere are regularly made throughout the summer in helicopters and fixed-wing craft. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy both inland and ocean options in Valdez. Guided raft trips will take you through Keystone Canyon and past towering waterfalls. Wilderness river journeys will bring you camping or to remote lodges in the Copper Basin. Kayak rentals for the experienced paddler are available along with guided nature tours in Port Valdez and Robe Lake. Ground sightseeing tours will take you up close for photo stops in Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass. One can take a walking trail right to the edge of Worthington Glacier. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6 - 7 Hours
|
$85 Adult / $42 Child
|
|
This journey through Prince William Sound features the amazing icebergs from Columbia Glacier. takes you to the mighty Columbia Glacier, the second-largest tidewater glacier in the North America and largest in Prince William Sound. Experience the results of the rapid calving of a glacier in retreat. On board this 80 mile glacier and wildlife tour, you will have a chance to view the Sounds' wildlife: whales, sea otters, harbor seals, birds, and a visit to the Bull Head Sea Lion haulout. You will learn about the mining, oil, earthquake, and fishing history and you will hear stories about the first people to explore and live in the Sound. On board a light meal is served.
Departure Times: 8:00 am / 12:00 pm / 2:00 pm
|
Keystone Canyon Rafting Adventure
|
1 1/2 Hour
|
$40 Adult
|
|
The Lowe River, through Keystone Canyon, is one of the most spectacular and exciting river runs in the state. This class III trip starts approxiamtely one mile above the canyon and proceed 4.5 miles downstream. We will float past Bridal Veil Falls and get a close-up look at the water cascading off the rock wall from 900 feet above. We provide rubber rainsuits, life jackets and rubber boots.
Departure Times: 10:00 am / 12:00 pm / 2:00 pm / 4:00 pm / 6:00 pm
|
|
|
5 - 6 Hours
|
$75 Adult
|
|
Experience the power and beauty of the Valdez Glacier safely and initmately, via hiking and kayaking. Your guides will transport you by van to the glacial lake where we will kayak safely in inflatable double kayaks between large icebergs to the face of the glacier. Here we start our hike on the glacier enjoying expansive views, crossing crevasses safely, and passing glacial streams which have cut deep ravines in the ice and formed shimmering sky blue pools on the glacier. Our experienced and knowledgeable guides will conduct interpretive glaciology discussions as well as share the many tales of miners and fortune seekers who traversed the glacier during the Valdez Gold Rush of 1889.
|
|
|
3 - 4 Hours
|
$55 Adult
|
|
Join our naturalist guides in a sea kayak tour from the Small Boat Harbor into the waters of Port Valdez. Your guide will relate information about the town's unique past, from its early Gold Rush days to the devastation of Old Town Valdez destroyed in the 1964 Earthquake. Wildlife highlights on the trip include up-close encounters with curious sea lions, shy harbor seals, sea otters and marine birds. This tour is ideal for travelers with limited time in Valdez, cruise ship passengers and children of all ages.
|
Shoup Glacier Kayaking Tour
|
8 Hours
|
$139 Adult
|
|
Our most popular day trip to date, Shoup Glacier, is unique to Prince William Sound because it has two tidal basins. Abundant with sea-life, marine birds, ducks, sea otters and harbor seals, Shoup Bay has the fastest growing Kittiwake rookery in Prince William Sound with more than 20,000 birds and 6,000 nests. Great for hiking, kayaking near icebergs, and observing harbor seals hauled out on ice floes, Shoup Bay is the ideal trip for beginning kayakers and kids. Our efficient and comfortable water taxi, The Bluff Watch, is used for round trip transport to kayak departure point (40 minute boat ride each way).
|
Columbia Glacier Kayaking Tour
|
10 Hours
|
$179 Adult
|
|
The largest tidewater glacier in Prince William Sound and the second largest in the entire state of Alaska, Columbia Glacier is 25 miles from Valdez and covers more than 400 square miles. The face is more than 3 miles wide and is rapidly moving backward at a rate of 4 feet per day in the summer! Enjoy an hour boat ride to the glacier, then kayak amid towering icebergs, gliding through bays that are completely inaccessible by motorized boats, and observe sea otters and harbor seals hauled out on the ice floes. Keep a close lookout for sea lions, bears and, quite often, whales! Hike on recently uncovered landscape and in the adjacent old growth forest.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
