The best walks and hikes around Whittier

Once upon a time, you could see Portage Glacier from this viewpoint. Now it has receded behind a corner of the mountains, so from here you can only see the lake left behind by the glacier, and every so often a few icebergs might still float by. Still, the lake itself is wildly beautiful and the small visitor center nearby is interesting to visit... if it's open. More information here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/chugach/recarea/?recid=71946

Portage Lake is a popular destination near Anchorage, attracting visitors with its scenic allure. Once a site for icebergs, the lake's appearance has evolved due to glacier shifts. Though less frequent, glacier ice chunks still float by.

This viewing platform marks the end of the maintain trail. On a clear day, it offers stunning views of Whittier, directly downslope from you, and the deep blue waters of Passage Canal just beyond.

This is one of the better viewpoints for spotting Horsetail Falls on the far side of the valley. However, to the falls are only impressive in the spring when they are running at high volume due to all the melting snow — and you never get very close to them. Instead, I recommend continuing on to the viewpoint overlooking Whittier.

At the moment, the Horsetail Falls trail starts along an old, unpaved road, just past the gated end of a parking area that is also unpaved, but usually passable for passenger vehicles. The city of Whittier is constructing a new connector trail that may make it possible to access this trail from right in town.

Divide Lake is flat, tranquil, and edged with grass, almost as if it sprang out of the tundra on its own. As the trail passes it and begins a downhill grade, you'll catch glimpses of the lake's outflow — Divide Creek — as it races you down to Portage Lake below.

Burns Creek is more of an obstacle than it might appear at first. Its water is fast, cold, and full of silt that makes it hard to judge the depth or spot ankle-twisting boulders littered around the stream bed. If you do choose to cross and continue toward the face of the glacier, please remember that it's very dangerous to walk on the glacier ice or in close proximity to it; falling chunks of ice could crush you.

For most people, the broad, sandy shoreline of Portage Lake marks the turnaround point of this hike — or the perfect picnic spot. The glacier is not terrible active but it does sometimes calve (break off) chunks of ice into the water. If you're in the right place at the right time you might see and hear this happen, and sometimes the resulting icebergs even make it close to shore. If you see a small cruise ship on the water that is the M/V Ptarmigan, which cruises from the visitor center on the far side of the lake to within good views of the face of Portage Glacier; more information here: https://www.graylinealaska.com/portage-glacier-cruises/ Finally, some hikers do choose to continue hiking left (south) from here, in hopes of getting closer to the face of the glacier itself. Be warned, there is a not-insignificant stream crossing in the way, and it's very dangerous to walk on, underneath, or in front of the glacier itself, as chunks of ice can and do break off of it at random intervals.