To A Guide to Whittier

Click on each photo to greatly enlarge it.

Cruising on the MV Ptarmigan to Portage Glacier makes a great side-trip on the way into Whittier. At a cost under $30 (2007), this is also probably the best tour value in Alaska. This photo was taken on June 13, 2004.

Approaching the first tunnel on July 3, 2004. The Portage Lake Tunnel is only 400 feet long. That's the Portage Glacier Visitor Center (the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center) on the right. Photo by Kip Murphy.

The entrance to the road/rail tunnel to Whittier. July 3, 2004. The 2.5-mile-long Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel opened to vehicle traffic in the summer of 2000 - prior to that time, vehicles were driven onto Alaska Railroad flat-cars for the trip through the tunnel. Traffic in the tunnel can only go in one direction at a time, so coordinating your arrival time with the tunnel schedule can save a great deal of time.

Driving through the tunnel on July 3, 2004. The engineering is very impressive. Among many other features, at eight locations in the tunnel there is a vehicle turnout for use if a vehicle is disabled, and at each turnout there is a safehouse for use in the event of a tunnel fire. Photo by Kip Murphy.

The new cruise ship docking area as seen on July 3, 2004.

Approaching the community from the tunnel on July 3, 2004.

The Begich Building was built in 1948 as the Hodge Building. Originally the Army bachelors' quarters and family housing, it is now a condominium, and houses most of Whittier's 183 residents. This photo was taken on August 3, 2004.

Construction on the Buckner Building also began in 1948, but it wasn't completed until 1953. It was once the largest building in Alaska, and was called the "city under one roof." Now empty, it may one day become a hotel. This photo was taken on August 3, 2004.

In the summer of 2004, much of the town was torn up as new services were installed to handle the new cruise ship traffic. This photo was taken August 3, 2004.

The police vehicles in Whittier have beautiful paint schemes. August 3, 2004.

The small boat harbor on August 3, 2004.

A glacier tour boat leaves Whittier on August 3, 2004.

The other way in and out of Whittier is by sea. Here, the state ferry Aurora is loading passengers and vehicles for Valdez on August 3, 2004. For more information about Valdez, click here.

From the ferry, you can see the Glacier Island sea lion haulout, but for a close look at the hundreds of sea lions you need to be on one of the small tour boats such as the catamaran seen just off the beach.