Valdez AK

A few weeks ago we drove down to Valdez for a little Alaskan Vacation.  We stayed at the Valdez KOA and the staff were excellent as well as the location.  The drive down said 6 hours on google…that is not accurate with Alaskan roads and towing your home.  We also stopped for fuel in Delta and Glenallen which didn’t help with drive time.  We picked up a burrito in Glenallen, right by the gas station, it was pretty meh.  It was a beautiful drive though and we did see two moose.  There are lots of mountains, lakes and rivers.  The Thompson Pass/Blueberry Lake area is awesome!  Our co workers took an extra hour of our Saturday shift to get us in to Valdez at a decent time and it was greatly appreciated.  We still arrived close to 9pm.    

On day one, we biked into town on the paved path from the KOA.  We drove out to the fish hatchery before that…spoiler alert, mid June is too early for bears.  The town is cute and everything is surrounded by snow capped mountains.  We think that Valdez is what most people picture in their heads when they think of Alaska.  There are also 17 bald Eagle nests in a 1/2 mile radius of downtown.  The Eagles are everywhere, especially by the marina at fish filleting time.  

If you find yourself in Valdez, try the Nat Shack for Halibut tacos and the dip and chip sampler.  It’s worth a stop.  Later in the trip we visited Valdez Brewing Company and met a fellow Michigander working behind the bar and enjoyed their beers and seltzer.  We also had a fun conversation.  Poor Betty’s is the food truck outside and they had one of the best halibut fish and chip baskets I’ve had.  

Day two found us out on Prince William Sound with Stan Stephens Cruises.  Even if the tickets weren’t comped, I would still give them a 5 star rating.  We did the 6 hour Columbia Glacier Tour.  The views were amazing, the water was relatively calm and we saw tons of wildlife to include Puffins, Whales, Sea Lions, Otters and we even spotted a bear on a hillside with our binoculars.  

The boat we were on was a 90’ catamaran built in 2017.  It looked brand new and the crew took care of us.  We were even allowed to go up and visit the captain and catch his view, Wow!  If you get a little sea sick or are prone to motion sickness, Stan Stephens is a great option as catamarans are more stable in the water than a mono hull.  As I said before, we saw two whales.  Did you know that grey whales can hold their breath for over ten minutes and dive over two thousand feet?  Our captain was spot on with his facts and when we could expect the whales to resurface.  

The ride into Columbia Glacier is breathtaking, actually, the whole sound is.  There are multiple glaciers in the bay that all used to be connected.  We got to about 4 miles from Columbia but had to divert to the west glaciers as the ice bergs were too plentiful.  It was still magnificent and I highly recommend this tour.  The LuLu Belle is another glacier and wildlife cruise we would like to try.  The captain is in his 80’s and has been using the boat he built for the past 40ish years to conduct tours.  

Day three was back out to the hatchery…no bears.  We also headed up the highway leading out of town to several waterfalls.  It was easier to explore them without the trailer.  Back into town we went to explore more and grab a snack.  The Safeway in Valdez is reasonably priced.  We heard it was really expensive, but it was no where near Skagway prices.  We made a quick stop up to Valdez Glacier lake on the way home.  The weather was cool and rainy so we didn’t stay long.  The mosquitoes were also next level so that didn’t help.  The ride home was just as beautiful as the ride down and we saw a momma moose with her calf.  If you are touring AK, you can’t miss Valdez.