Portage Pass Trail

A question I asked myself when I came across this review by Andrew H was, why have I not done this one yet?! If you are in the Anchorage area, you will be asking yourself this as well.
As already mentioned, check the weather before you head on out! After a string of poor weather conditions and Anchorage being under a dark cloud the past week, we sped at the chance of check this out, after checking the FAA Aviation Weather Cameras. (On a side note you can check the FAA Aviation Weather Cameras around your area here:
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Anyways, plan your drive down accordingly. To get to the Pass you will need to pay your way through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel — it’s about $ 13 per vehicle without anything in tow. Bring some friends on for the adventure and carpool! Going into Whitter, the tunnel is open for 15 minutes every hour on the half hour. And coming out every hour for fifteen minutes on the hour.
After the tunnel proceed forward and make your first right, across the train tracks. Make another right and you can see cars lined up on the side of the road making their way towards the trailhead at the end. Really you can not miss the trail. It is well visible, and very rocky so watch your footing. Don’t be intimidated by the 800ft elevation gain either. We had a 4 year old in tow and met an 80 year old man visiting who had just gotten his hip replaced a few weeks ago. Both of which did awesome!
From the top of the pass, in the distance you can see Portage Glacier. And while it is still far, you can certainly feel the cool breeze coming off the massive ice queen. Sit on the rocks at the end, throw down your jet boil and beautiful view. You can follow your way pretty much to the base of the glacier if you so choose, which if we didn’t have a kiddie in tow, we would have. I might have to save that for my next trip!

My main tip for doing this hike would be:
Watch the weather in Whittier like a HAWK.
There is a reason that a certain word starting with «S» and ending in «ittier» is often rhymed with Whittier.
This place gets over 200 inches of rain a year. Not sure if that’s a lot? Seattle gets about 36 inches.
Anyway, watch the weather, and if you catch a sunny day, high-​tail down the Seward Hwy, pay the man at the tunnel, exit the tunnel, and hook an immediate right.
This brings you to the trailhead, parking is limited. Carpool if you can.
The hike is fairly moderate but is the classic «uphill both ways» hike. You go up to a pass, then back down again to Portage Lake. It’s about 2 miles with 800 ft of gain, one-​way.
As far as what it looks like, check my photos. They describe it better than I ever could.
You can walk along the lake to scramble right up to the Portage Glacier. I wasn’t able to do this since I wanted to make dern-​sure that I didn’t miss the last (11pm) tunnel crossing.
If you want to watch the sunset on the Portage Glacier (worth it) you can even throw down a tent on the shores. I might try to do that next time.

Outstanding trail. It has everything you want to see in Alaska– soaring peaks, colossal glaciers, icy rivers and waterfalls, berries for forgaing, trees and tundra alike, and views of Prince William Sound to die for. And that’s all in the first mile.
Granted that first mile is entirely uphill… it takes my fat ass well over 90 mins to make the 800 foot elevation gain. But it is Soooo so worth it. The trail is murder on your calves and knees because it’s all loose rock at about a 15 degree incline. Going up and down is hairy even with a walking stick. But it’s definitely doable, even for the elderly or out of shape if you just pace yourself.
The signage isn’t great to find it. AS SO ON as you come out of the Whittier tunnel on the right start looking for the small sign that points you to the park. Go down the dirt road and make the first right. There’s no parking lot it’s just a free for all. Get ready for an amazing experience!
Enjoy!