Views from the Trail: Hiking in Prince William Sound

 

Beautiful lake view on Esther Island

The hiking here in Prince William Sound has been incredible. I have been running expedition trips onboard the Safari Explorer, pioneering a new destination experience for our UnCruise guests. Many of these guests have been out with us before down in the Inside Passage of Alaska, and they have been clamoring for a new Alaska experience for years. Finally this year we are breaking free of SE Alaska, running seven day trips out of Whittier, all around Prince William Sound. The trip is filled with glaciers, wildlife, kayaking, rainforest, mountains, and of course, amazing hikes. The hikes really range from shorewalks and forest pokes, to bushwhacking and mountain climbs. Either way you go, the views are going to be amazing, and you will get immersed into a temperate rainforest.

I've been really impressed with all of the hikes that we have discovered here in the Sound. It is the real Alaskan experience. Take a look at some of the fun views from my hikes over the past two months.

Hiking past flowering shooting stars and hidden ponds on Esther Island.

Incredible scene to discover with our guests. First time visiting this beautiful lake on Esther Island.

Hiking on Glacier Island at the mouth of the Columbia fjord. Jellyfish in the water and long secluded bays.

Hiking through the town of Cordova brings you to this beautiful lake view; Eyak Lake.

I'm not sure any guests will see this lake, it was a crazy bushwhack to get here. But I couldn't help but think how cool it would be to have a kayak or paddle board up here. This was on Eleanor Island.

Another beautiful hidden lake. This one was so big that it almost looked like we were back in the saltwater of the sound.

There are a lot more of these open meadow type areas here in Prince William Sound than in SE Alaska. It makes hiking farther and high a little more accessible.

I hike through the lovely Nirvana Park in Cordova brought views like this.

Reflections of the forest in muskeg ponds up at elevation.

This is a hike in the South Esther Island State Marine Park. The boardwalk was very well maintained. I appreciated the boardwalk providing access to some very sensitive muskeg areas while providing protection for the soft ground underneath.

Another beautiful view from a different style hike. This is the Mt Eyak Ski Hill climb in Cordova.

Beginning of June in Prince William Sound means snow all the way to shoreline in some areas.

Another unusual hike near Meares Glacier which brought us to the face of an advancing glacier.

View of out the rainforest as we listened to ice calving off the glacier ahead.

So many different views from all of our different hikes here in Chugach National Forest.

This view was from my very first hike with guests on Knight Island. We climbed high up these rocky outcroppings and were treated to amazing views across the sound.

Playing peek-a-boo with a glacier.

Another incredible view of snow capped mountains and rainforest cascading down to the water's edge.