Our plan for today was to visit the Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site, about 40 miles east of Valdez, with stops at Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail Falls, and Valdez Glacier Lake.

THE TOWN THAT MOVED

The most powerful earthquake in North America and the second most powerful ever recorded occurred 45 miles west of Valdez in 1964. Thirty-two people in Valdez were killed by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Afterward, the town was declared unsafe for habitation and relocated 4 miles west to its existing location over the next three years. More HERE

PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND

We spent the morning cruising through Prince William Sound before arriving off the coast of Valdez around Noon. It was another beautiful morning of scenic cruising.

VALDEZ

Our tour started at 5 pm so we weren’t in a hurry to get ashore. After our last tender port in Sitka, we decided to hold off for a few hours before going ashore.

We headed to the Rolling Stone Lounge around 2 pm, and within a few minutes, we were on our way to the tender platform. As we boarded the tender, we heard the announcement that they were going to  “open tendering,” where tickets were no longer required.

The weather was beautiful: blue skies, light winds, and temperatures in the 60s. It was now 2:30, and we had two hours to walk around Valdez before returning to the tender landing to meet for our tour.

WHISPERING GIANT

Several restaurants are near the waterfront, and more are a few blocks away. If you want to try something local, you will have plenty of choices.

Our first stop was the Whispering Giant Sculpture. This is one of many sculptures created by Peter Wolf Toth to honor Native Americans. At one time, there were statues in all 50 states, but over the years, many have been destroyed through exposure to the weather. More HERE

If we had continued further, we would have come to the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum, which contains one of the largest collections of Native Alaskan art and artifacts in the world. We didn’t have time to explore both this museum and the Valdez Museum, so we decided to head to the Valdez Museum since it was on the way back to the tender landing, and we wouldn’t be rushed.

VALDEZ MUSEUM

The Valdez Museum covers the history of Valdez and the surrounding area. Admission is $12 for adults and $9 for seniors. Exhibits about the 1964 earthquake and the oil spill and aftermath were particularly interesting. We spent one hour there, and you could easily spend two hours exploring more of the exhibits.

KEYSTONE TOURS

We met Brian, the owner, driver, and guide of Keystone Tours, at 4:30. You can find more about our tour here. Brian will meet you near the spot where you come ashore. This may vary from ship to ship, but expect an email a few days before your visit to confirm the pickup location.

Before our tour started, we discussed an article I read about how Norwegian Cruise Lines pulled out of Valdez in 2023 with little notice, causing financial loss to the local tourist industry. Read the article here.

WORTHINGTON GLACIER STATE RECREATION AREA

Our first stop on our tour was the Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site. Along the way, we passed through Keystone Canyon and Thomson Pass. Most of the grounds were still snow-covered, and we learned that the parking lot was only clear of snow last week (Early June). There are restrooms and a small general store.

We walked about 100 yards across packed snow to a better view of the glacier.  There was enough snow on the ground for  Susan to make a snowball and hurl it in our direction – she missed!

THE FALLS

We headed back to Valdez using the same road and stopped at the Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls along the way, spending about 20 minutes each to get some photos and enjoy the views.

VALDEZ GLACIER LAKE

Our final stop was along the shores of Valdez Glacier Lake. The actual glacier was hidden, but the lake was filled with floating ice and snow from the glacier and surrounding hills. It was now about 7:15, and mosquitos started to appear, so we scurried back to the bus.

We arrived at the tender landing at about 7:45 and said goodbye to Brian. He is a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable and exciting. We highly recommend this tour on your next visit to Valdez.

BACK ON THE SHIP

We arrived back on the Westerdam at 8 pm. Since we missed our 7:30 fixed dining time, we decided to enjoy dinner at Canaletto’s. The food and service were excellent, as always.

MAPS