SUMMER ACTIVITIES: EXPLORE PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND
Go straight to Summer businesses | See the interactive Summer presentation

Day-long or extended tours of Prince William Sound will take you to the best vantage points for glaciers, sealife, and shorebirds. Excursion vessels, rental boats, charters, and sail boats depart from the Small Boat Harbor for fishing, sightseeing and lodge transport. Flightseeing trips over some of the most impressive mountains and glaciers anywhere are regularly made all summer in helicopters and planes.

Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy both inland and ocean options in Valdez. Guided raft trips will take you past towering waterfalls of Keystone Canyon. Fly-outs and drop-offs are possible to remote locations in the Sound and Chugach Mountains. Skim the seas on a guided nature kayak tour or take an extended camping trip. Be sure to sample Valdez's rich history by visiting one or all three of the local museums.

WINTER ACTIVITIES
Go straight to Winter Operators | See the Winter in Valdez presentation

Valdez has the freshest snow on earth. With a long standing reputation for great snow, more than 300 inches is measured annually in the city. Nearby Thompson Pass has recorded more than 900 inches.

As one might expect with this much snow, Valdez celebrates winter with alpine and cross country skiing on world class trails, as well as with snowboarding, snowmobiling, dog sledding, and ice climbing. Access the backcountry on foot or by helicopter and snowcat for amazing big mountain skiing and snowboarding. Valdez guides provide vacation packages of the unbelievable once-in-a-lifetime order.

SUMMER & WINTER
Don't forget that many Valdez businesses are open year-round! Look for the special symbol to tell.

FISHING
Go straight to Fishing Charters and Related Businesses
Check out fishing facts & hints
Check out fish chart
Check out fishing photo gallery

Valdez is a premier fishing destination and open all year. Many of the biggest fish caught in Alaska are reeled in from Prince William Sound. Valdez offers an angle on a fishing trip that is right for everyone.

The salmon runs are colossal — the pinks return in the millions and the silvers by the hundreds of thousands. One of the most popular ways to go in quest of them is on a salmon charter for either a full or half-day. Halibut charters from Valdez take you to the flatter waters of Prince William Sound. The longest-running derbies in Alaska are held for each of these and award tens of thousands of dollars in prizes each season.

Wilderness fishing is accessible from Valdez to remote lodges, back country lakes and ponds, and through guide services. Year-round, a charter trip on a calm day into Prince William Sound can have the added bonus of a wildlife-viewing excursion. Seabirds, whales, sea lions, and eagles among other species may be observed.

During winter, ice fishing in upcountry lakes and ponds can be done. In the warm season, fly fishing in these fresh water bodies usually excites most anglers in search of trout, grayling and Dolly Varden. Other land-based fishing is accessible shoreside at locations at Port Valdez and are particularly popular during the salmon runs. Also, services for processing and shipping your catch are available in Valdez. The Valdez Small Boat Harbor team is prepared to meet all of your needs with information, boat launch facilities, state-of-the-art fish cleaning stations, and much more.