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- Valdez Small Boat Harbor
- Whitney Museum
- Valdez Museum
- Remembering Old Valdez
- Columbia Glacier
- Keystone Canyon
- Worthington Glacier
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| | | | Valdez Small Boat Harbor |
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Valdez Small Boat Harbor is a 511 slip harbor, which is operated by the City of Valdez. The Harbor has a staff of 5 full-time employees and hires several part-time employees during the summer. The Harbor is open seven (7) days a week all year. Office hours are 0800 to 2230 from May 15 to September 1 and 0830 to 1700 the rest of the year. We accept MasterCard and Visa for payment of services.
We have 65’, 50’, 42’, 40’, 32’, 30’, 24’ and 20’ slips and approximately 900’ of transient dock space. Valdez Harbor utilizes the hot berthing system for transient boaters, which means we use tenant slips for transients when the tenant is out of the harbor.
Boaters arriving at the harbor via water should call the office on VHF channel 16 to request moorage, we switch to channel 7 for our working channel. Boaters are to traverse the entrance, breakwater and harbor at a speed not to exceed three (3) miles per hour or at the slowest speed to safely maneuver. Once tied up at the dock, check in with the office to complete paper work for the vessel and pay any harbor fees that may be due.
Boaters arriving via the highway should stop at the office, 300 North Harbor Drive, to register their boat and pay any fees that may be due before launching the boat. There is also a self-pay station at the launch ramp for those vessels that do not require moorage in the harbor. |
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| Whitney Museum |
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| The Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum has its roots in the generous donation of Mrs. Maxine Whitney of what is reportedly the largest private collection of Native Alaskan art and artifacts in the world. For more than 50 years, Jesse and Maxine Whitney traveled throughout the Native villages of Alaska buying directly from the artists. Mrs. Whitney assumed ownership of the Eskimo Museum in Fairbanks in 1969 and operated it until the mid 1980s. Prince William Sound Community College accepted the collections in the Fall of 1998, and opened the facility to the public the next summer. |
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| Valdez Museum |
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Valdez's first museum was established in 1901 by prospector, Joseph Bourke, who put together a small exhibit of curios that was displayed in various Valdez buildings until 1964. These objects are part of the Valdez Museum's core collection. Throughout the years, many individuals and volunteers acquired artifacts and documents that helped build the museum's collection.
In 1964, the Alaska Earthquake struck and resulted in the condemnation of the Old Town site. The community was relocated to its present site. Numerous concerned residents took the initiative to save and relocate the museum collections as well.
In 1967, a centennial grant from the State of Alaska (centennial of purchase by the U.S. from Russia) funded the construction of the "centennial building" at 217 Egan Drive. Half of this building was used as a museum in the summer. A federal bicentennial grant, received in 1976, funded renovation of the centennial building to make it more appropriate for museum purposes. That same year, the Valdez Heritage Board formed, hired a curator, and opened the Valdez Museum. Initially, the Museum functioned as a City of Valdez department with an advisory board providing input on operations. The Friends of the Valdez Museum formed in the late 1970s to support the museum. They ran a membership program, raised money, hosted receptions and events at the museum, and opened the museum store. The Phyllis Irish Memorial Fund was established in 1985 to fund special projects. The Museum's first policies, adopted in 1986, defined the Museum's purpose, region, programs, collections and methods.
The Egan Commons was added to the centennial building and the permanent exhibits underwent a major remodel in 1989. The first admission fees were established at the museum in 1990 and the proceeds were deposited into the museum's new endowment fund. Grants from state, federal, and private sources were received for projects, equipment purchases, and collection acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s. The "Archives Alive" program, operated by a local Valdez resident, was acquired by the City of Valdez and incorporated as a museum operation during this period.
In 1997, the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive Association, Inc. (VMHA), a private non-profit corporation, formed. Its purpose was to contract with the City to manage and operate the Museum with the goals of decreasing dependence on City funding, increasing the Museum's ability to care for and manage the community's heritage materials, and to continue to serve the community of Valdez. The VMHA Board of Directors governs the corporation and is accountable to the voting membership, made up of the members of the City Council. The membership, in turn, represents the residents of Valdez. The collection remains the property of the City.
In 1998, a full-time curator and a part-time museum educator were hired. The Museum Annex opened in the summer of 1999 to display the Old Town Model. Today, museum programs are carried out in approximately 12,700 square feet. A non-voting associate membership program that was merged with the Friends of the Museum in 1999 consists of 300 individuals and businesses. |
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| Remembering Old Valdez |
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| Visit the "Remembering Old Valdez" exhibit where you can view an interactive exhibit about Prince William Sound's earthquakes and particularly the 1964 Earthquake that rocked Alaska. View footage from this great event. See what Old Town Valdez looked like as you explore the streets of the 1:20 scale replica of the original town site. The hours of the "Remembering Old Valdez" Exhibit are 9am to 6pm Memorial Day through Labor Day. Prices below include admission to the Valdez Museum. |
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| Columbia Glacier |
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Columbia Glacier is Alaska’s largest tidewater glacier at 435 square miles. It is located just 30 miles from Valdez (about an hour by boat) and is a premier attraction.
Glacier Tours are offered by several companies to view the Glacier and the massive amount of icebergs that it produces. Columbia Glacier itself is receding, leaving huge blocks of ice and an impassible moraine. It is always changing and each day the bay is filled with floating ice. Some of this ice floats all the way out to the Gulf of Alaska, where it becomes a hazard to shipping. One cause for the Exxon Valdez’s departure from its shipping lanes was the icebergs. |
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| Keystone Canyon |
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When driving into Valdez, you will pass through Keystone Canyon. It is a place of spectacular waterfalls, magnificent geology and fascinating history. Keystone Canyon is located at miles 14 through 17 on the Richardson Highway.
From 1910 to 1916, copper and gold mining flourished in the Valdez area. There were attempts to build a railroad through the canyon and into the copper country. Rival railroad corporations fought a gun battle in the canyon to secure a right-of-way-north of valdez. A tunnel, which was built at the time, can still be seen as you drive through the canyon.
For all you thrill seekers, Keystone Canyon is the place for you. You can raft or kayak the Lowe River. You can also climb the magnificent, steep-sided, rock walls. During the winter the canyon is a popular place for ice climbing. For those of you who prefer to keep your feet on the ground, the Valdez Goat Trail is a great place to hike. It is located at mile 13.5 in Keystone Canyon, and begins at the Bridal Veil Falls turnout.
Don't forget to take along your camera to capture the scenic waterfalls on film. The best known falls are Horsetail Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. |
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| Worthington Glacier |
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The Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site, located in the Chugach Mountains, is easily accessible and features a short trail that leads directly to the blue ice of the glacier. High alpine tundra, hanging glaciers and a spectacular view of the grand valley make this an excellent area for photography.
It is too dangerous to walk on the ice, but visitors can explore cracks and pools at the glacier terminus and follow the maintained trails to several viewing areas.
Worthington Glacier, which covers an area of about eight square kilometers (almost 5 square miles), also serves as the object of an extensive research project funded by the National Science Foundation. The project aims at improving the understanding of glacier flow through detailed, three-dimensional measurements. Worthington Glacier serves this purpose well because it is actively moving. In the warmest time of the summer it flows, on average, more than 22 feet per month.
The glacier descends from Girls Mountain, passing within a few feet of the parking lot and viewing shelter. Located near Thompson Pass, the snowiest place in Alaska, Worthington Glacier receives a significant amount of snow in the winter.
In the 1990s, the upper areas of Worthington Glacier became a movie setting for Steven Seagal's film "On Dangerous Ground." | |
Save time, money and stress! For reservations: Fill out the vacation planner to be contacted by a Valdez vacation specialist.
Contact : Travelwizard.com
Phone: 1-800-330-8820 or 1-415-446-5252
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