Those Harbor Lights

Valdez has twice been named an “All-American City.” It has pleasant surroundings, access to mountains and water, and friendly residents. You’ll find Valdez was made for strolling.

This is an excellent place to stay for several days, walking about town. You can go fishing, take a glacier cruise, and just relax from your travels.

Cold As Ice

High in Thompson Pass, 29 miles from Valdez, lies one of the most easily accessible glaciers in Alaska. (The other two are Exit Glacier in Seward, and the Matanuska Glacier on the Glenn Highway.)

Worthington Glacier has been retreating into the mountains over the past decades.

Old postcards of the glacier show the rapid pace.

Like all glaciers, this one has falling rocks and crevasses. Don’t try to climb it.

Headed South?

At many times, you're following an historic route. The Eagle Trail was built to connect Fort Liscum in Valdez to Fort Egbert in Eagle. It follows a telegraph line that was maintained along the route, at times running from tree to tree (you can see a telegraph pole in the historic photo, below).

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline now follows the Richardson along a closely related route.

Thompson Pass

Gold shipments, frozen eggs, and even an entire riverboat, dragged piece-by-piece, were hauled over Thompson Pass by the early gold miners with horses in the winter.

Nowadays, the road over the pass to Valdez is wide and safe. The glaciers are still there, though some are melting at a fast enough clip to be clearly seen by local residents.

A Dramatic Entrance to Valdez

The Lowe River has cut a spectacular canyon through the rocks on its way to the ocean at the head of the bay in Valdez.

A series of beautiful waterfalls cascades down the sides of Keystone Canyon into the river. There are several pullouts where you can take pictures.

(Photo, Robert Gaucher)

Only In Valdez: Climbing the Waterfalls in Winter

Many tourists stop to take a picture at Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls on their way into Valdez at Keystone Canyon. In the winter, the frozen falls are scaled by daredevil ice climbers (enlarged right).

Valdez Folks Will Help You Find Your Way

Stop at the visitor center downtown for information on where to go and what to see. They have guidebooks, maps, lists of places to stay, and where to eat. You can also get a lot of tips from RV campground visitors and operators, who can help you book your glacier tours.

A Beautiful Destination

Valdez is a beautiful destination town on the coast of Prince William Sound.

It has neighborhood schools, a city hall, a hospital, a library, a civic center, the Pipeline terminal, two museums, a fire department, a community college, swimming pools and parks.

An Ice-Free Port

Valdez is Alaska’s northernmost ice-free port. But, during the last ice age, huge glaciers came down from the Chugach Range and covered not only the Copper Valley to the north, but all of Prince William Sound, which is also accessible by Cordova and Whittier/Portage.

When the ice age came to an end, the glaciers retreated across Prince William Sound into the fjords, where you can view their dynamic cycle today.

Bad Luck on Bligh Reef

Captain William Bligh – who you met in the Marlon Brando film, Mutiny on the Bounty – wasn’t the luckiest of seafarers. On the Bounty, Bligh was the villain. But, he was already a ship’s officer in his early twenties, full of promise when he sailed to Alaska with the great Captain Cook.

Cook explored the Prince William Sound area, which includes Cordova and Whittier, and he named Bligh Reef after his protege.

In 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, the resulting oil spill was, among other things, a tragic reminder of Captain Bligh’s bad luck.

(Photo, PK & Julia)

Pipeline Terminal at Fort Liscum Site

You’ll see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline oil terminal across the harbor in Valdez.

From 1900 to 1923 this was the site of Fort Liscum, and was used to monitor the gold rush miners. The fort was also a base for construction of the military road to Interior Alaska.

The Goat Trail is High on the Lower River Canyon Walls

The original trail through Keystone Canyon was called the “Goat Trail.” It is still visible, high on the mountain walls as you enter Valdez through Keystone Canyon beside the Lowe River.

Lt. W.R. Abercrombie explored this route through Keystone Canyon and Thompson Pass in order to build a safer route into the Copper Valley. He followed old Native trails through Keystone Canyon.

You can hike the Goat Trail by starting in Keystone Canyon, and following it for around 2 miles. Ask for a map at the visitor center.

You can also see the old highway tunnel, which has been replaced by bridges.

A second, partially completed tunnel was the scene of an early 1900’s shoot-out. The shoot-out occurred when proponents of the Cordova-to-Chitina railroad confronted and stopped a competing effort from Valdez.

Museums In Valdez

The Whitney Museum at Prince William Sound Community College (303 Lowe Street) features Native dolls, beadwork, baskets and prehistoric artifacts as well as trophy class mounts of Alaska's big game animals.

The Valdez Museum, downtown, has extensive displays on the region’s history, including the gold rush, the 1964 Earthquake, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Watch Salmon Spawn

There’s an underwater video camera at the Crooked Creek U.S. Forest Service information center, as you enter Valdez.

Salmon spawn right in the creek, so you can get a fish-eye view.

Valdez Events

• 53RD ANNUAL FISH DERBY All summer long until September 6th.

• HALIBUT DERBY Starts May 23rd through September 6th.

• FIREWEED 400 Bike race from Sheep Mountain to Valdez & back.

• SILVER SALMON DERBY Starts July 25th through September 6th.

• GOLD RUSH DAYS Fun & games. July 29th through August 2nd.

Fish from the Shore at Allison Point

When the pinks are running in July, the whole town goes over to Allison Point when the tide is coming in.

To get to Allison Point, drive out of Valdez about three miles, turn right onto Dayville Road, and drive about 5 miles.

If you aren’t sure if the fishing is hot, count the cars with Alaska plates. Or just look for fish splashing the water.

Pink salmon make for a fine supper. Many campers smoke them. Pinks are also called “humpbacks.”

Try Fishing at the Dock

If you don’t feel like moving your RV and driving, you can just walk to the city dock.

This dock is not at the Small Boat Harbor. It’s near the ferry terminal. Ask a local person for directions.

When the tide is rising and the fish are coming in, you’ll find the fishing from the dock is just fine.

Shootout at the Canyon

Dueling businessmen, feuding over railroads, shot it out in a Keystone Canyon tunnel.

Traveling Around Valdez

In 1900, Natives from the nearby village of Tatitlek were photographed in Valdez Harbor by P.S. Hunt, paddling their baidarkas.

In 1905, Ford Motor Company sent a touring car to Valdez on the SS Bertha, and P.S. Hunt took a photo of that, too.

(Photos, Dorothy Clifton Collection & Anchorage Museum of History & Art)

Restored Gold Rush Cemetery

This gold rush cemetery was used in Valdez between 1898 and 1917. It’s 1.5 miles out of town, down a gravel and dirt road. There are picnic tables and a great view of the bay.

Spirit of Valdez

Owen Meals (as in Meals Avenue) an energetic citizen of Valdez, flew the “Spirit of Valdez” in 1927.

(Photo, Dorothy Clifton Collection)

Salmon: Telling them Apart

Pink Salmon – The pink salmon is also called a humpback or “humpy” because of the shape of the male’s back. They’re found in abundance in Valdez from mid-June to late July, and are an easy catch from the dock and at Allison Point, near the hatchery. Alaskans think of them as a “small” fish. But they weigh 3 to 4 pounds, and are a couple of feet long. In salt water, the pink is bright, steely blue on top and silvery on the sides, with large black spots. As they near shore, where you’ll catch them, the males get dark on top with a white belly, and the females become green with a white belly. And they develop the hump and hooked jaws. When cooked, they’re pinkish.

Silver Salmon – The silver salmon is often called a “coho.” They live in both salt and fresh water, so you might find yourself catching one in a small lake in the Copper Valley, as well as in Valdez Bay. The ones you’ll find in Valdez are pretty big. They’re at least 8 to 10 pounds apiece, and 24 to 30 inches long. But every year, some really big ones are caught, weighing close to 20 pounds or more. In salt water, they’re bright silver with small black spots on their back. They have a delicious white flesh.

This Is A Pixie

Use it for catching salmon from the shore. The color doesn’t really matter, but the size does. You can cast a heavier lure farther.

Use smaller sizes for pinks, and larger sizes for silvers.

Ask at your RV park or a local tackle shop. Or go over to the dock to see what other people are using.

If you’re on a charter boat, the captain will provide your gear.

Watching the Tide Roll In

If you’re ocean fishing or boating in Valdez – or any other port town in Alaska – it’s very important that you know what the tides are doing.

The difference between high tide and low tide in Alaska is great. This is why the Small Boat Harbor has such long ramps, and the docks are allowed to float up and down.

There are two high and two low tides every day, so you can see the dramatic changes yourself.

If you’re boating, you’ve got to be aware of tides when you anchor your boat, or pull it up to shore, because you can either find your boat stranded, or floating away.

Some people say that fishing is better when there is a big tide, but whether or not this is true, it is certainly true that when you are fishing from the shore on an incoming tide in Valdez you’ll have much better luck. So you should plan your fishing expedition so you’re fishing a couple of hours before high tide.

Tide books are available around town.

Raspberry... Or Salmonberry?

Can you tell the difference between a raspberry and a salmonberry? In Interior Alaska, raspberries are tiny, low plants growing along arid roadsides. Salmonberries are large, delicious berries that grow in wet coastal regions, and look like enormous raspberries. Their fruit is red or pinky-orange.

Clip It!

When you’re fishing in small lakes or streams, for grayling or dolly varden, clip the barb off your hook so you can easily release a small fish without hurting it.

Halibut Fishing

A lot of visitors have eaten halibut, but if you’ve never caught one, you’re in for an adventure. These funny-looking fish are caught from charter boats that take you out into Prince William Sound. Halibut are white on one side (the bottom) and olive to dark brown on the other. When they’re about an inch long, they have an eye on each side of the head.

Then the left eye moves around to the right side of the fish.

So the halibut winds up with both eyes on the pigmented side, which faces up. This way they blend in with the ocean bottom.

Halibut are the largest flat fish, and they can grow to over 400 pounds. Because they get so big, your charter operator will give you heavy duty tackle, and at least 60 lb. line.

Halibut are commonly fished with octopus or herring as bait. Halibut fishing starts in mid-May and Prince William Sound is a good place to catch them because the waters are more sheltered than the Gulf of Alaska.

How Big Are Halibut?

You often see pictures of people with a monster 300-lb. halibut, but you’re more likely to catch a smaller one – and you’ll find they make great eating.

A 35 to 40 inch halibut will weigh about 30 lbs., and will be around 10 years old. A 100 lb. halibut is about 5 feet long.

If you catch a halibut you don’t want to keep, you can release it, if you handle it carefully, because halibut don’t have a swim bladder, so changes in water pressure don’t kill them.

Friends Don't Let Friends Fish Without A Derby Ticket

Valdez hosts a popular fish derby every summer. The derby rules, standings, and prizes are posted near the waterfront downtown, and there are derby weigh stations in Valdez.

There is a halibut derby and a silver salmon derby, with over $80,000 in cash and prizes.

You’ve got to buy your ticket before you go fishing – and check out the rules.

This is one of the state’s most popular fish derbies.