Things to see on the drive from Anchorage to Whittier

[Smokeyham]

We are looking at the options for getting from Anchorage to Whittier. Our ship does not sail till 8:30 PM, so we could make an easy day of it, and do a one-way car rental, which would be quite reasonable for the six of us in our group.

 

If we do this, are there things to stop and see on our way down? The other options are the train or bus, so we know we will see scenery whichever choice we make, but are there other opportunities (things to stop and see) which we could enjoy in a rental car?

 

Thanks for your thoughts.....

[mapleleaves]

You might need more than one car .... 6 people and all that luggage!!

Depending on your interests and activity level (and the weather)the drive to Whittier can take 2 hrs or 12 !

Suggested stopping points in this guide:

http://alaska.org/driving/portage-valley-whittier-spur-drive.htm

On different trips we've enjoyed.... walking the boardwalk at Potters Marsh to see the swans, watching the sheep on the cliffs, watching salmon from the viewing platforms at Williwaw, the hr glacier tour at Portage Lake and the Visitor Center, riding the tram at Mt Alyeska. Once we were lucky enough to see the belugas near Beluga Point.

If you drive you need to be mindful of the limited hours of operation for the tunnel to Whittier. Google Whittier tunnel for the schedule.

Here's another guide: http://www.bellsalaska.com/myalaska/seward_highway.html

Edited January 11, 2012 by mapleleaves

[Budget Queen]

If you rent a car, I would suggest you consider FAR more than just the 1 1/4 drive, Anchorage/Whittier. You could add Hatcher Pass, touring of Anchorage, Coastal bike ride, Alaska Heritage Center etc etc etc. With an early start, maybe get an Ice Trekking tour in, tour the Musk Ox farm??

 

Otherwise, consider the train and get yourself to Whittier in time for a fantastic boat tour of Prince William Sound.

 

The train and highway are the exact same scenery, and parallel each other.

 

Also to add on the Seward Highway, the Wildlife Conservation, Crow Creek Mine, stopping at every pull off. etc etc

[AKman2495]

We are looking at the options for getting from Anchorage to Whittier. Our ship does not sail till 8:30 PM, so we could make an easy day of it, and do a one-way car rental, which would be quite reasonable for the six of us in our group.

 

If we do this, are there things to stop and see on our way down? The other options are the train or bus, so we know we will see scenery whichever choice we make, but are there other opportunities (things to stop and see) which we could enjoy in a rental car?

 

Thanks for your thoughts.....

 

Here is what I would suggest (I live in Anchorage and have made the drive many times). I would stop at potter marsh-it is 5 minutes out of town. Then, you could stop at Beluga Point. this is really just a punt out on the highway about 10 minutes from potter marsh. If you are lucky, you might see some Beluga whales.

 

THen keep driving. You will pass Indian and Bird creek. After bird creek, look for Bird Point. This is another turn off that has a parking lot and a small visitors pavilion and a great view. If you like, there is a paved bike/hike trail that you can walk for a while.

 

After you leave, the next stop will be Girdwood. At gird wood, I recommend you drive to the Alyeska lodge for lunch. It is a great spot to eat. You can also look around Girdwood for a while.

 

After that, head South until you reach the alaska wildlife conservation center http://www.alaskawildlife.org/

 

Here, you can drive/walk through the center and see wild animals in natural settings up close.

 

At this point, you are very close to the turnoff for Portage. Take the turn off and head down the road. Go to the visitors center and check it out. Ou can also take a short boat ride out to the glacier if you like.

 

From the visitor's center, you are a 5 minute drive to the staging parking lot for the drive through the tunnel to whittier. YOu have to be careful because the tunnel is open only at certain times for travel to whittier (it is a one-way tunnel and car traffic goes one direction first and the other direction second. It also closes to cars when trains go through. Here is the summer schedule http://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiertunnel/schedule.shtml

 

You want the bear valley to whittier times. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get through the tunnel, return the car and make it to the ship.

 

I would first plan the time to drive through the tunnel and work back from there.

 

Good luck with your trip!

[PennyAgain]

If you want a preview, you can follow the whole route on GOOGLE Street View. The photography was done on a typical Alaska non-winter day. It is a fascinating thing to look at.

[music]

AKman,

 

About how long would it take to do the route you mentioned?

 

I do want to stop and see everything. We will not be pressed for time that day we get to Anchorage. We will be on our way to PWS the next day for a tour.

 

Thanks

[mapleleaves]

AKman,

 

About how long would it take to do the route you mentioned?

 

I do want to stop and see everything. We will not be pressed for time that day we get to Anchorage. We will be on our way to PWS the next day for a tour.

 

Thanks

 

I was serious when I said it can take 2hrs or 12 hrs !

If you make no stops, it takes almost 2 hrs for the Anch-Whittier drive, including the wait time for the tunnel.

But if you're sightseeing .... it depends on how much time you choose to spend at each place and no one can judge that. Are you an avid photographer? I've heard of people spending 3 hrs at Potters Marsh on the boardwalk .... they start taking photos of swans then they find a moose and soon they can't leave!

If you have a sunny clear day, you could spend an hour or 2 at some of the stops, ie Portage glacier cruise, the Conservation Center, riding the tram, hiking the Winner Creek Trail. Whereas stopping at Beluga Point and Bird Ridge might take you 5 minutes.

Look at the alaska.org link I posted to see which stops are of interest to you.

[AKman2495]

AKman,

 

About how long would it take to do the route you mentioned?

 

I do want to stop and see everything. We will not be pressed for time that day we get to Anchorage. We will be on our way to PWS the next day for a tour.

 

Thanks

 

The drive straight from Anchorage to the staging area for Whittier (from Downtown Anchorage not at rush hour) is about 1.5 hours non stop.

 

So, if you leave say at 9am ( of course if you leave earlier, that gives more time), and you should be ready to enter the tunnel at the 6 pm time slot (at least I would) that will give you 7.5 hours with which to play (remember it takes 1.5 hours to drive). The boardwalk at potter marsh could take 1 hour. Lunch at Alyeska -say 3 hours to check out the sights and eat.

 

You could easily do the nature place in 1 hour and that will leave about 2 hours for portage.

 

Of course, you can change those around to your liking. It seems to me that the two limiting conditions are the 1.5 hour drive to get there and the 6:00 arrival at the tunnel-you will have to pay to go through and there may be a line. The tunnel will open at 6:30. It is 7 miles long and it takes less than 15 minutes to go through the tunnel and get into whittier proper.

 

Those are the two limits as I see them. You can fill in the rest as you choose.

 

Remember the sun will be up by 4 am, so you will not have any problems with morning darkness...

Edited January 12, 2012 by AKman2495

[music]

Thanks for the info.

 

I think we will be arriving Sat am, then go pick up the car. maybe we will start the drive and stay over night in Alyeska. Then continue on the next day to PWS.

[Smokeyham]

Thanks for the great information on the wide variety of things to see and do between Anchorage and Whittier!

 

Thanks also for the thought that six people (plus luggage) would be very crowded in a mini-van (which is the largest vehicle Avis has left to rent on the day we will be going).

[Northern Aurora]

The resort at Alyeska is a great place to stay. The tram to the top is wonderful. And you could have dinner at the Double Musky in Girdwood.

 

Another poster mentioned the Portage Glacier cruise. We took it last summer. It is only a one hour small boat cruise, but it was great fun.

[AKman2495]

Thanks for the info.

 

I think we will be arriving Sat am, then go pick up the car. maybe we will start the drive and stay over night in Alyeska. Then continue on the next day to PWS.

 

That's a great plan. Enjoy the trip!

[music]

I did see the Portage Glacier tour. I think we will look into it.

 

Thanks for the help, can't wait for the trip!

[cruisebum50]

Stop at the Turnagin Arm Pit for BBQ! Great name! The food is great and the portions are huge! My husband and I can split one plate!

[oratheeexplorer]

I would like to ask the OP what company they are doing the rental car through.....and are you getting it from Anchorage to Whittier?

[donaldsc]

I would like to ask the OP what company they are doing the rental car through.....and are you getting it from Anchorage to Whittier?

 

When I looked for a 1 way Anchorage to Whittier rental, the only one that came up was Avis.

 

DON

[Glaciers]

The 2012 bore tide schedule is out for Turnagain Arm. If you happen to be driving down it is pretty neat to watch the stand up paddle surfers ride the tide. If they catch a good one they can ride it for miles.

 

Turnagain Arm Bore Tide Schedule

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/chugach/12boretidesched.pdf

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?q=These+standup+paddle+surfers+were+riding+the+bore+tide+in+Turnagain+Arm...&psc=G&filter=1#5608274880920638642

 

You also may be lucky enough to see beluga whales as you’re driving along the arm, particularly during the hooligan run in May/June.

[Smokeyham]

I would like to ask the OP what company they are doing the rental car through.....and are you getting it from Anchorage to Whittier?

 

Like Don, the only company I found was Avis. If anyone knows of another company which does one-way (Anchorage to Whittier) rentals, it would be helpful to know.

 

In the end, we decided to do the train.

[maraleezi]

Here is what I would suggest (I live in Anchorage and have made the drive many times). I would stop at potter marsh-it is 5 minutes out of town. Then, you could stop at Beluga Point. this is really just a punt out on the highway about 10 minutes from potter marsh. If you are lucky, you might see some Beluga whales.

 

THen keep driving. You will pass Indian and Bird creek. After bird creek, look for Bird Point. This is another turn off that has a parking lot and a small visitors pavilion and a great view. If you like, there is a paved bike/hike trail that you can walk for a while.

 

After you leave, the next stop will be Girdwood. At gird wood, I recommend you drive to the Alyeska lodge for lunch. It is a great spot to eat. You can also look around Girdwood for a while.

 

After that, head South until you reach the alaska wildlife conservation center http://www.alaskawildlife.org/

 

Here, you can drive/walk through the center and see wild animals in natural settings up close.

 

At this point, you are very close to the turnoff for Portage. Take the turn off and head down the road. Go to the visitors center and check it out. Ou can also take a short boat ride out to the glacier if you like.

 

From the visitor's center, you are a 5 minute drive to the staging parking lot for the drive through the tunnel to whittier. YOu have to be careful because the tunnel is open only at certain times for travel to whittier (it is a one-way tunnel and car traffic goes one direction first and the other direction second. It also closes to cars when trains go through. Here is the summer schedule http://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiertunnel/schedule.shtml

 

You want the bear valley to whittier times. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get through the tunnel, return the car and make it to the ship.

 

I would first plan the time to drive through the tunnel and work back from there.

 

Good luck with your trip!

 

 

We are sailing SB Anchorage to Vancouver in August...we are arriving in Anchorage 2 days prior to sail....we are renting a car 'one way'...THANK YOU SO MUCH for this...helps so much!!

[mollanjake]

Lots of great info, thanks!

 

 

Laura

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[garycarla]

On our trip, we found a few tour guides that will pick you up in a larger SUV or Van, and add a trailer if needed. Will make a few stops along the way as desired. Works out great.

 

Sorry... do not have any names to refer you to.

[Chenega]

Like Don, the only company I found was Avis. If anyone knows of another company which does one-way (Anchorage to Whittier) rentals, it would be helpful to know.

 

In the end, we decided to do the train.

 

Avis is the only rental company in Whittier and their fleet is extremely limited.

[AKStafford]

On our trip, we found a few tour guides that will pick you up in a larger SUV or Van, and add a trailer if needed. Will make a few stops along the way as desired. Works out great.

 

Sorry... do not have any names to refer you to.

 

Aurora Limousines & BAC Limousines both this.

 

And as mentioned, Avis is the only rental car company in Whittier.