Exploring Valdez, AK: Ice, Wildlife and a Cruise to Columbia Glacier

Some Alaska towns feel like a quick stop on the way to somewhere bigger. Valdez is not one of them. After a drive past glaciers and waterfalls, Brian and Michelle from Livin’ Our Vision arrived in this small coastal town for a couple of nights, and the trip they had looked forward to the most became a Columbia Glacier cruise through a bay so full of ice that the captain had to slow down and steer around it.

If you travel full-time and wonder whether Valdez is worth the drive down to the coast, their visit gives a clear answer.

A Walkable Harbor Town at the Head of a Fjord

Valdez sits at the head of Port Valdez, a glacier-carved fjord that opens into Prince William Sound. Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo named the area in 1790, and today mountains, waterfalls, and glaciers rise on almost every side of the town.

Brian and Michelle settled into Valdez RV Park, right in town, and noticed quickly how walkable the area is:

• The office, laundry room, restrooms, and showers sit close together.
• The single-room restrooms cost nothing to use.
• The harbor where their cruise departed was an 11-minute walk away.

Because nearly everything was within walking distance, they left the van parked at their site for the whole visit.

A Waterfront Evening and the Day’s Catch

On their first evening, they walked along the waterfront and stopped for dinner with live music. The restaurant had no gluten-free buns, so they got the burger without one and shared an order of rosemary garlic fries.

Back near the harbor, the day’s catch from the fishing boats hung on display, including ling cod and halibut. Brian and Michelle called the halibut the strangest-looking fish in the group, and it’s worth knowing why. Halibut are one of more than 800 flatfish species, and they start life looking like ordinary fish:

• Early life: each one hatches with an eye on each side of its head.
• Growth: as the fish grows, its skull changes and one eye moves across the head to join the other.
• Adult life: the fish settles on the ocean floor and swims sideways, with its pale side down and its darker, camouflaged side facing up.

Boarding Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises

The next morning started cloudy, which Brian didn’t mind, since a few clouds add drama to the mountains as long as they don’t hide them completely. The couple walked to the Valdez Small Boat Harbor and boarded Stan Stephens Glacier and Wildlife Cruises for a six-hour trip through Prince William Sound and into Columbia Bay. The Stephens family has run trips on these waters since 1971, and they also offer a longer 7.5-hour option.

A few details from their time on board:

• Seating: the cabin has plenty of seats, while the top deck is covered but open on the sides, so it gets windy and cold.
• Their spot: they ended up at the front window with a small ledge instead of a table, which let them stand and step outside without anyone sliding out of the way.
• Lunch: the crew offered clam chowder or white bean chili, and the chili was the only gluten-free choice.

Sea Otters, a Humpback Whale and Steller Sea Lions

Wildlife appeared well before the ice. Sea otters floated nearby, and the crew explained that they grow to about 4.5 feet long and live for roughly 20 years. Michelle was surprised by their size.

Later, a humpback whale surfaced nearby, and the captain stopped so everyone could take photos and video while they waited for it to surface again. Further along, a group of Steller sea lions rested at a spot where, according to the crew, they stay year-round.

The Story Behind Columbia Glacier

Columbia is a tidewater glacier, which means it flows out of the Chugach Mountains and ends directly in the sea. When British explorers surveyed it in 1794, its face reached Heather Island near the mouth of the bay, and it stayed close to that position for almost two centuries.

Around 1980, the glacier began one of the most dramatic retreats ever documented. Since then, it has pulled back more than 10 miles and lost about half its volume. Most of that loss comes from calving, when sections break away from the face and float off as icebergs.

Zigzagging Through the Ice in Columbia Bay

As the boat moved deeper into Columbia Bay, icebergs filled more and more of the water. Pieces that looked small from a distance turned out to be much larger once they were close, and passengers could hear chunks hitting the hull. From that point on, there was no straight route, so the captain slowed down and began zigzagging from one opening to the next, trying to bring everyone closer without forcing a path through the ice.

Along the way:

• The crew pulled a piece of glacier ice from the water to use in drinks, and the air bubbles trapped inside were easy to see.
• They crossed the old terminal moraine, where the water was only 32 feet deep.
• Brian and Michelle remembered an earlier Alaska cruise on a much larger ship that could not go nearly as far into the ice.

Their verdict was simple: “We would definitely highly recommend it.” They liked most how hard the crew tried to get as close to the glacier as conditions allowed.

Halibut for Dinner and Hungry Sea Lions at the Hatchery

Back in town, they had a halibut basket for dinner. Their honest review: the fish tasted good but came out slightly overcooked, and each dinner cost about $45. They also bought a frozen piece of halibut for about the same price to cook later in the van.

To end the day, they drove to the Solomon Gulch Hatchery, where salmon were spawning mid-season. They hoped to see bears feeding, and another visitor mentioned that a black bear had passed by half an hour earlier. Instead, they watched sea lions tearing into the salmon just offshore, surrounded by more salmon than they expected.

Why Valdez Deserves a Place on an Alaska Route

Valdez works best when you give it more than a quick look. The town is easy to explore on foot, the boat trips leave from a short walk away, and wildlife appears both on the water and along the shore. For RV travelers in southcentral Alaska, that combination makes the side trip to Valdez easy to justify.