Things To Do In Whittier

1. Take a Day Cruise

With the world’s densest concentration of tidewater glaciers, a day cruise in Whittier is perfect for getting out on the water and experiencing the thrill of seeing glaciers calve.

Choose a shorter or longer day cruise and head out onto the calm waters of Prince William Sound to see glaciers and look for wildlife while surrounded by towering cliffs and waterfalls.

Choose Your Day Cruise

2. Paddle a Kayak

The calm waters of Prince William Sound make for the perfect place to take out a kayak and paddle among the spectacular glaciers.

Plus, because kayaks cause less disturbance, it’s easier to get close to wildlife like sea otters, sea birds, and even whales.

Launch from a dock or drop-off point and enjoy the view of shimmering waters backdropped by snow-capped peaks.

Choose A Kayak Tour or Rental

3. Pilot a Jet Ski

A Jet Ski is one of the best ways to explore the glaciers around Whittier—you’ll get the close-to-the-water intimacy you won’t find with a day cruise, and you can cover more territory than you would in a kayak.

And if you love to Jet Ski (or want to try it), this is the only place in Alaska to do it!

Go Jet Skiing in Whittier

4. Try a Small Ship Expedition

If you have a few days and really want to explore this scenic area of Alaska, an expedition on a yacht or small ship cruise offers an intimate way to do it.

With just a few other passengers (usually up to 12 or so), you’ll have the flexibility to relax while sailing around and enjoying sports like kayaking and fishing along the way.

Find a Yacht or Small Ship Cruise in Whittier

5. Hike Portage Pass, Horsetail Falls, and More

Whittier offers a couple of short hiking trails that make for easy exploration of this scenic area.

Hiking Horsetail Falls and Portage Pass trails will give you some fantastic views of waterfalls, glaciers, and Prince William Sound.

Explore Whittier Hikes

6. Drive the Anton Anderson Tunnel & Explore Other Historic Sites

Take a trip back through time to explore Whittier’s fascinating history.

Drive the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, North America’s longest highway tunnel that cuts through the base of a mountain. Be sure to check the schedule in advance. The tunnel is one-way and trains use it, too!

There’s also some WWII history here, as the town was built to transport food and supplies during the war. Learn all about it at the Prince William Sound Museum.

See All Whittier Points of Interest

7. Go Fishing For Halibut & Salmon

Whittier offers the closest deep-sea fishing experience to Anchorage, Alaska. Just a little over an hour's drive from the city, Whittier provides an ideal location for anglers looking to explore the rich waters of Prince William Sound. With convenient half or full-day charters, you can easily overnight in Anchorage and spend your day fishing without the need for extended travel. Fish for King and Silver Salmon, rockfish, and halibut.

Go Fishing in Whittier

8. Stay in a Public Use Cabin

Get a real flavor of remote Alaska by staying in public use cabins, some of which are set on lush islands.

Reserve well ahead of time, then reach these rustic spots by taking a water taxi with Lazy Otter Charters and spend your days exploring and relaxing.

Explore Public Use Cabins

Whittier Day Tours & Attractions View All

Season: April - October $1025 for up to 5 people

See Alaska’s unique and authen­tic side by hir­ing a guide for a day and cre­at­ing a cus­tom, pri­vate adven­ture for your­self and up to 7 oth­ers. Tours depart from Anchor­age or Gird­wood. Excur­sions include Matanus­ka glac­i­er hikes, ATV tours, gold pan­ning, north­ern lights view­ing, snow­mo­bil­ing, and more.

Season: May 15 - Sept 15 $375, Full Day 8 hrs - Full Day

Lazy Otter offers guid­ed kayak tours and trans­porta­tion to seclud­ed areas of Prince William Sound. The calm waters have a gor­geous back­drop of the Chugach Moun­tains’ ser­rat­ed peaks. Keep an eye out for the crea­tures that walk the shores and swim in the sea: orcas, hump­back whales, sea lions, puffins, seals, sea otters, eagles, goats, and bears. 

Season: May 4 - September 30 $173.95+ 3.75 - 5.75 hrs

Phillips 26 Glac­i­er Cruise, out of Whit­ti­er, will take you to 26 dif­fer­ent glac­i­ers in just 5.5 hours. Enjoy cozy com­forts on the high-speed cata­ma­ran and wan­der its out­door decks as you come with­in 300 feet of mas­sive tide­wa­ter glac­i­ers. In addi­tion to glac­i­ers, the cap­tain will be on the look­out for wildlife like otters, whales, har­bor seals, and marine birds. The trip takes place in the after­noon, and a hot lunch is includ­ed in your tour.   ...more

Season: Year Round $185+ 3.5 to 8 hrs

Lazy Otter offers clas­sic tours, but this is a water taxi, so they’ll also take you any­where you want to go with­in Price William Sound — or just cus­tomize a tour to what­ev­er you want to see. Maybe that’s glac­i­ers, or whales, — or maybe it’s qui­et time on a seclud­ed beach. Lazy Otter can also help facil­i­tate tak­ing you and your fam­i­ly on a camp­ing trip. You’re not held to any strict sched­ule, either: if, on a day tour, you can spend more time in one  ...more

Season: May–September $360 4 - 4.5 hours

Faster than a kayak and more inti­mate than a day cruise, the Jet Ski is a great way to get up close and per­son­al with Alaska’s gor­geous scenery. Go with Whit­ti­er-based Glac­i­er Jet Ski Adven­tures and you’ll be tak­ing your machine out on the water to explore the stun­ning glac­i­ers and wildlife of Black­stone Bay. All equip­ment is pro­vid­ed and no expe­ri­ence is nec­es­sary on this unique 4.5‑hour journey.

Season: May - September
$5,850+ (Inside Passage $2,650+)
5 days / 4 nights
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: M/V Sea Star

Set sail for 5 days and 4 nights with the crew of the M/V Sea Star for small ship adven­ture cruis­ing in Prince William Sound, Kenai Penin­su­la or along the Inside Pas­sage. The well-appoint­ed yacht accom­mo­dates just 12 guests, allow­ing for a per­son­al­ized expe­ri­ence where you are the explor­er! Unplug from day-to-day life and soak up the won­ders of Alaska’s amaz­ing coast­line. All meals pre­pared by an on-board chef and fea­tur­ing fresh local  ...more

Season: May 25 - Sept 15 $78 to $163

The train can be used as a mode of trans­porta­tion, how­ev­er it can also be a round-trip sight­see­ing excur­sion. This pri­ma­ry des­ti­na­tion is the town of Whit­ti­er, a major cruise ship and after­noon day cruise hub. Day Trips from Anchor­age: Whit­ti­er, Gird­wood, Spencer Glac­i­er, Grandview

Season: May—September $415+ 7-12 hrs

Just a 1‑hour dri­ve from Anchor­age, Whit­ti­er is the clos­est town to expe­ri­ence the thrill of fish­ing for hal­ibut. Go with the pro­fes­sion­al guides at Crazy Ray’s Adven­tures and you can also angle for salmon and rock­fish on com­fort­able boats, sur­round­ed by the jaw-drop­ping scenery of Prince William Sound. No expe­ri­ence necessary!

Season: July 7 - August 21
From $4,950+
5 days/4 nights or 6 days/5 nights
Ports of Call: Anchorage, Whittier, Cordova
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: Discovery

Per­fect for the adven­tur­ous trav­el­er, the Hike and Kayak voy­age sees all the same sites as on our Clas­sic voy­age, but with more excur­sions. Kayak among ice­bergs, hike through moun­tain mead­ows, and take in the scenery on this unique trip. Activ­i­ties can be cus­tomized to suit the inter­ests and activ­i­ty lev­el of those on board.

Season: Mid-April – Late September $360+ per driver 4 hours

Tour­ing the spec­tac­u­lar tide­wa­ter glac­i­ers of Prince William Sound is even more excit­ing when you do it on a Jet Ski. Go with Alas­ka Wild Guides out of Whit­ti­er to expe­ri­ence the area’s unique sights and sounds while skim­ming across the top of the water on your own per­son­al watercraft.

Season: May 15 to Sep 15
Call for Quote
Custom
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: The Sea Mist

Design your exclu­sive itin­er­ary then set sail into the vast open waters and wildlife-rich shore­lines of Prince William Sound aboard your own spa­cious and pri­vate yacht. Up to six pas­sen­gers can sit back, relax, and expe­ri­ence an inti­mate tour. Most guests enjoy the 5‑day/​4‑night trips, but you can book longer 10-day/9‑night expeditions.

[{"slug":"anchorage","title":"Anchorage"},{"slug":"whittier","title":"Whittier"},{"slug":"seward","title":"Seward Audio Guide"}]

Whittier Parks & Trails View All

Difficulty: Moderate Distance: 6 miles

This is a 6.6‑mile round-trip trail with very lit­tle ele­va­tion gain, mak­ing it a great option for the whole fam­i­ly. Along the way, you’ll glimpse amaz­ing views of Prince William Sound. It takes about 90 min­utes to hike halfway, out to the cove. And it’s worth the trip: Here you’ll find a lagoon fed by the tide and full of huge starfish.

Difficulty: Easy Distance: 2 miles Elevation Gain: 700 feet

This leisure­ly, 0.75-mile trail begins just south of Whit­ti­er, a lit­tle sea­side town locat­ed some 2 hours south of Anchor­age. The trail doesn’t climb much, but it will take you high enough to get an unob­struct­ed view of numer­ous water­falls, includ­ing the long-drop­ping waters of Horse­tail Falls as it sheets over the sheer rock face of Black­stone Ridge.

Difficulty: Moderate Distance: 2 miles

This 2‑mile-long, fam­i­ly-friend­ly trail, which begins 90 min­utes south of Anchor­age at the far end of the Whit­ti­er Tun­nel, remains the only easy way to see Portage Glac­i­er on foot. And it’s has a spec­tac­u­lar con­clu­sion: After crest­ing Portage Pass, the trail drops through glacial scrub before pop­ping out on the wide grav­el shores of Portage Lake, direct­ly across from the snout of gor­geous Portage Glacier.

Difficulty: Difficult Distance: 6 miles

This is a very steep, 6.4‑mile round-trip trail that’s most­ly unmarked and requires expe­ri­ence with scram­bling and climb­ing over rocks. Your reward for the effort, though, is some very dra­mat­ic views of Shot­gun Cove and the glac­i­ers in Black­stone Bay.

Difficulty: Easy Distance: 1 mile

Whittier’s newest trail is a gem — a gen­tle, ¾‑mile stroll that fol­lows Whit­ti­er Creek from the rail­road cross­ing up to the water­fall. Locals love it: It’s right in the mid­dle of town, but the lush green­ery makes you feel like you’re far from civilization.

[{"slug":"anchorage","title":"Anchorage"},{"slug":"whittier","title":"Whittier"},{"slug":"seward","title":"Seward Audio Guide"}]