Sound Eco Adventures presents

A Virtual Drive from Anchorage to Whittier

Part II: Girdwood to the Whittier Tunnel

[ Back to Part I: Anchorage to Bird Point ]
[ Jump to Part III: Whittier ]

This virtual drive is courtesy Sound Eco Adventures, a biologist-led tour operator located in Whittier. Sound Eco Adventures does various kinds of tours but specializes in whale watching.

Click the thumbnails to see larger versions. Look beneath the map, and on the enlargement pages, for captions.

Entrance to the Whittier Tunnel Driving toward the tunnel entrance The lanes where vehicles await the Whittier Tunnel opening A Whittier Tunnel toll booth Entrance to the Bear Valley staging area for Whittier Tunnel Placer Creek Short tunnel at Portage Creek, with visitor's center in background Crop of directional signs just before Portage Lake Directional signs just before Portage Lake A view toward Explorer Glacier along Portage Glacier Road Railroad crossing just after turn onto Portage Glacier Road Left turn at Portage Glacier Road 1500 Feet to Portage Glacier Road Portage Train Stop 20 Mile River Chugach National Forest entrance Girdwood cutoff

Girdwood to the Whittier Tunnel

14. Girdwood cutoff. The road to Girdwood cuts off to the left. At the corner there are various amenities. Girdwood is home to the well-known world-class ski resort, Alyeska.
15. Chugach National Forest entrance. Just behind where this picture was taken is a large "Chugach National Forest" sign. As you move closer to the head of Turnagain Arm some snowcapped peaks, with glaciers, will come into view.
16. Twenty Mile River. The largest river along the route, 20 Mile River is set in a scenic but very marshy valley. It's one of three streams that drain into the head of Turnagain Arm.
17. Portage Train Stop. Until a few years ago the tunnel was railroad-only, so people bound for Whittier either drove onto the train's flatcars or parked their cars and stepped into the train's passenger cars. Previously much-used, the old train stop parking lot is now mostly empty. A tourist info area remains.
18. 1500 Feet to Portage Glacier Road. At this point, get ready to make the only turn (to the left) along the route.
19. Left turn at Portage Glacier Road. Take a left turn here onto the Portage Glacier Road. The turn takes place at the beginning of a long sweeping curve to the right as the Seward Highway bends around the head of Turnagain Arm. You'll immediately cross the train tracks that appear in the next picture.
20. Railroad crossing just after turn onto Portage Glacier Road. The beginning of the Portage Glacier Road; the sign says there are 12 miles to Whittier. Speed limit on this road is back to 55 MPH. There's a cafe off to the right of this picture.
21. A view toward Explorer Glacier along Portage Glacier Road. The scenic Explorer Glacier, a "hanging" glacier, greets you as you wind toward Portage Lake.
22. Directional signs just before Portage Lake. A mile or so before Portage Lake you will see yellow light poles like those above, and then these directional signs; just after them is the cutoff to the Begich Boggs Visitor Center. To get to Whittier, keep on the main road (i.e., bear left).
23. Crop of directional signs just before Portage Lake. A close-up of the directional signs says there's a mile to go to Bear Valley and 5.5 miles to Whittier (via the tunnel). 		  24. Short tunnel at Portage Creek, with visitor center in background. Just past the last driveway to the visitor center is a bridge over Portage Creek, followed by a short tunnel to Bear Valley, where the Whittier Tunnel staging area is. As you cross the bridge, glance to your right for a view of Portage Lake and (usually) some icebergs.
25. Placer Creek. Placer Creek marks the western boundary of Bear Valley. Just past the creek, on your right, is a small parking lot and viewing area. There are also some nice scenic spots to stop in the half mile or so before the creek.
26. Entrance to the Bear Valley staging area for Whittier Tunnel. After Placer Creek and the parking lot, the road curves to the left, then back to the right, and then this scene comes into view. Prepare to stop and pay a toll ($12 for most traffic).
27. A Whittier Tunnel toll booth. A ticket handed out for the tunnel. The toll for this car was $12 for a single ticket. There is no toll for the return (Whittier to Bear Valley) trip. See the tunnel toll page for current info, including the schedule.
28. The lanes where vehicles await the Whittier Tunnel opening. Drivers are directed to lanes where they wait for the tunnel to open. Unless you're in a very large vehicle (like an RV), you'll probably go to lane 1.
29. Driving toward the tunnel entrance. From this (the Bear Valley) side, the tunnel opens hourly at "the bottom of the hour" (7:30, 8:30, etc.), for fifteen minutes. It's recommended that you arrive a little early. Expect the drive from Anchorage to this point to take around 50 minutes, but to be safe, allow an hour and a half.
30. Entrance to the Whittier Tunnel. A driver's view of the tunnel entrance. Pay attention to the signs. Speed limit is 25 MPH. In our experience traffic usually settles in at a speed of 25-30. The tunnel authority suggests keeping 25 feet between each car; passing is impossible. The tunnel is 2.5 miles long and will take around 6.5 minutes to get through. Once on the other side, to get to Whittier, head straight (so, do not take a left toward the tank farm), winding around next to the right (south) shore.


Back to Part I: Anchorage to Bird Point
Go to Part III: Whittier

Photos, text, HTML, and Perl scripts made by Larry Sanger and Rita Sanger. Images and text copyright © 2003 by Sound Eco Adventures. All rights reserved.