Things to Do in Valdez, Alaska: Our Road Trip + What to See
Valdez was one of the stops on our Alaska road trip with our 4-year-old, and getting there ended up being a big part of the experience.
We drove from Anchorage to Valdez in September, following the Richardson Highway through mountains, glaciers and Keystone Canyon. We stopped at Worthington Glacier, three waterfalls and the old railroad tunnel before reaching Valdez. Once we were in Valdez, it rained during part of our stay.
We spent one night in Valdez in our RV. Along the way, we stopped at Worthington Glacier, saw three waterfalls in Keystone Canyon, poked around the old railroad tunnel and walked around Valdez Glacier Lake.
If you’re deciding which things to do in Valdez Alaska are worth fitting into your trip, these are the places we visited plus other activities to consider if you have more time.
Quick Answer: What Are the Best Things to Do in Valdez, Alaska?
Top things to do in Valdez include driving through Keystone Canyon, seeing Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls, visiting Worthington Glacier and Valdez Glacier Lake, taking a glacier cruise, hiking, kayaking and fishing.
If you’re driving into Valdez, leave extra time for the Richardson Highway. Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass and several waterfalls are along the route before you reach town.
We spent one night in Valdez with our 4-year-old and stopped at Worthington Glacier, Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail Falls, Rudleston Falls, the old railroad tunnel and Valdez Glacier Lake.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. They don’t cost you anything, but they help keep SheRoamsMiles running.
Where Is Valdez, Alaska?
Valdez is a small coastal community at the head of Port Valdez in Prince William Sound, surrounded by the Chugach Mountains.
Driving from Anchorage takes you on a long loop through Alaska rather than directly across Prince William Sound. The approach to Valdez follows the Richardson Highway through Thompson Pass and Keystone Canyon.
That makes the drive part of the trip. Some of the places we wanted to see were already along our route before we reached Valdez.
1. Drive the Richardson Highway to Valdez
If you’re arriving by road, don’t treat the Richardson Highway as dead travel time.
The mountain scenery gets better as you approach Valdez, with Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass and then Keystone Canyon along the way.
We stopped repeatedly rather than driving straight through.
That worked especially well with our 4-year-old. We’d drive for a while, get out when we found something we wanted to see, explore and then continue toward Valdez.
By the time we reached town, we’d already seen some of the places I remember most from Valdez.
2. Stop at Worthington Glacier
Worthington Glacier is along the Richardson Highway north of Valdez, making it one of the easiest glacier stops to add when you’re driving into town.
We stopped here before continuing toward Valdez.
Worthington Glacier is one of the easiest glacier views to add to a Valdez road trip. The Worthington Glacier State Recreation Site is directly off the Richardson Highway, with road access and glacier viewpoints.
3. Drive Through Keystone Canyon
The Richardson Highway eventually drops into Keystone Canyon, where steep rock walls rise beside the road and waterfalls spill down toward the highway.
This was one of my favorite parts of the drive.
It was raining when we visited in September, and we stopped at three waterfalls: Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail Falls and Rudleston Falls.
The stops are close enough that you don’t need to choose only one.
4. See Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls is one of the best-known waterfalls in Keystone Canyon.
The waterfall drops down the canyon wall beside the Richardson Highway, and there’s a turnout where you can stop.
This wasn’t a long hiking stop for us. We could get out the RV, see the waterfall and continue exploring the canyon with our daughter.
5. Stop at Horsetail Falls
Horsetail Falls is another easy waterfall to combine with Bridal Veil Falls.
It’s only about half a mile away, so we saw both as part of the same drive through Keystone Canyon.
If you’re trying to fit Valdez into a larger Alaska road trip, stops like these give you quite a bit to see without requiring half a day for each attraction.
6. Find Rudleston Falls
We also saw Rudleston Falls, our third waterfall in Keystone Canyon.
It’s less prominent than Bridal Veil and Horsetail, but it was another stop along our route and is near the old railroad tunnel.
With the rain we’d had, waterfalls were a recurring part of the drive into Valdez.
7. Explore the Old Railroad Tunnel
Near Rudleston Falls, we stopped at the old railroad tunnel in Keystone Canyon.
We poked around and walked closer to see it rather than making it a major stop.
The unfinished tunnel dates to an early attempt to build a railroad through Keystone Canyon. It’s a quick historical stop that fits naturally with the waterfalls if you’re already driving this route.
Our daughter could get out of the vehicle, look around with us and then continue on the road.
8. Walk Around Valdez Glacier Lake
After reaching Valdez, we also went to Valdez Glacier Lake.
We walked around the shore and looked at the glacier landscape and water.
We didn’t kayak or take a tour here. For our short visit, simply being able to drive out and walk around gave us another very different Valdez landscape to explore with our 4-year-old.
Check Current Valdez Glacier Conditions
Conditions around Valdez Glacier have changed since our September 2024 trip.
The City of Valdez currently warns that the glacier is actively changing, with collapsing sections, new crevasses and hidden caverns among the hazards. Check the city’s current glacier information before heading out and keep a safe distance from lake ice.
City of Valdez — Valdez Glacier hazards
9. Take a Glacier and Wildlife Cruise
If you have more time in Valdez, a glacier and wildlife cruise through Prince William Sound is one of the major activities you can add.
Cruises from Valdez travel to glaciers including Columbia and Meares, with wildlife viewing also part of many trips.
Columbia Glacier is particularly notable. It’s the largest tidewater glacier in Prince William Sound, and there isn’t a road or hiking trail to the glacier. Reaching it requires traveling by water or air.
A cruise will take a much larger portion of your day than the roadside sightseeing we did, so account for that when deciding how many nights to spend in Valdez.
10. Visit Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery
Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery is another popular stop, especially when salmon are returning.
The hatchery is on Dayville Road outside downtown Valdez. There are walkways and viewing areas where visitors can learn about the hatchery and watch for salmon during the appropriate season.
The concentration of fish can also attract wildlife to the area, so stay aware of your surroundings and follow local wildlife guidance.
If you’re traveling with children, this could be an easy addition because it doesn’t require committing to a long excursion.
Discover Valdez — Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery
11. Go Hiking
There are hiking options around Valdez for both short walks and longer outings.
For something relatively short, Dock Point Trail and Overlook Trail are among the easier options listed by Discover Valdez.
Longer possibilities include Meals Hill Trail, Mineral Creek Trail and John Hunter Memorial Trail. The latter is a moderate 3.8-mile round-trip hike with about 700 feet of elevation gain.
There’s also Shoup Bay Trail for hikers looking for a considerably longer backcountry outing.
Choose the trail based on how much time you have and check current trail conditions before heading out.
12. Go Kayaking
Water is a huge part of the Valdez landscape, and kayaking gives you another way to experience it.
Guided trips are available around Prince William Sound and glacier areas, including Columbia and Shoup Glaciers.
Valdez Glacier Lake has also traditionally been used for kayaking, but current glacier and lake hazards make checking conditions particularly important before planning recreation there.
If kayaking is one of your priorities, build the guided trip into your Valdez itinerary before adding the shorter stops.
13. Go Fishing
Valdez is also a major Alaska fishing destination.
Depending on the season, fishing opportunities include salmon, halibut, rockfish and lingcod. Visitors can book charters or find shore-fishing opportunities around the area.
We didn’t build fishing into our short Valdez stop, but it can easily become a major part of a longer stay if that’s one of the reasons you’re traveling to Alaska.
14. Visit a Valdez Museum
A museum makes sense if you want more context for what you’re seeing around Valdez—or if Alaska weather changes your outdoor plans.
The Valdez Museum covers local and regional history including Alaska Native heritage, the Gold Rush, the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
The Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum at Prince William Sound College is another option, with a large collection of Alaska Native art and artifacts.
These are easy additions if you have another day in town.
15. Explore Valdez and the Harbor
We didn’t schedule an attraction for every hour we were in Valdez. We also drove around town and looked around.
Valdez sits between the mountains and Port Valdez, so even driving around gives you a very different setting from inland Alaska.
If you have more time, the harbor and downtown are natural places to walk around, eat and slow the trip down between the bigger outdoor activities.
Things to Do in Valdez With Kids
Valdez worked well with our 4-year-old because we didn’t need every stop to be a long hike or organized tour.
On our trip, Worthington Glacier, the Keystone Canyon waterfalls, the railroad tunnel and Valdez Glacier Lake could all be incorporated into a road-trip day.
That gave our daughter regular opportunities to get out and explore without us building the day around one long activity.
For families staying longer, the hatchery, shorter hiking trails, museums and a glacier cruise add other possibilities depending on your child’s age and interests.
How Many Days Do You Need in Valdez?
We spent one night in Valdez, and it worked for the road-trip version of Valdez we wanted.
The reason was simple: we didn’t wait until we arrived in town to start sightseeing. Worthington Glacier, Thompson Pass and Keystone Canyon were part of our drive in.
If you want to add a glacier cruise, kayaking, fishing or a longer hike, two or three nights gives you much more room to build those activities into your stay.
Weather matters too. Valdez is an outdoor destination, so extra time gives you more flexibility if conditions affect a cruise, hike or other planned activity.
When Is a Good Time to Visit Valdez?
We visited in September. It rained while we were in Valdez, so our experience included some wet weather once we reached town. If you’re visiting around the same time of year, pack for changing conditions and check the forecast for the specific days you’ll be there.
Summer is the main season for glacier cruises, kayaking, fishing and hiking. September brings early fall conditions, with some summer activities still operating depending on timing.
If there’s one activity you particularly want to do, check its operating dates before setting your Valdez dates.
Is Valdez Worth Visiting?
For our Alaska road trip, Valdez was worth the drive.
or our Alaska road trip, Valdez was worth the drive. The Richardson Highway was a big part of the experience.
We saw Worthington Glacier, crossed Thompson Pass, stopped at three waterfalls in Keystone Canyon, explored around the old railroad tunnel and walked around Valdez Glacier Lake—all with our 4-year-old.
If you’re planning a short Valdez road trip, give yourself time for the Richardson Highway and Keystone Canyon stops, then choose what you want to do in town based on the time you have left.
Continue Planning Your Alaska Trip
Valdez was one piece of a much larger Alaska trip for us.
See our 10-day Alaska itinerary to follow the larger route, then read about our Alaska train journey and our experience dog sledding on a glacier for more ideas from the same Alaska trip.
