Page 87 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

ANCHOR A GE  85

Tips for Drivers
Starting point: 12 miles (19 km)
S of downtown Anchorage.
Length: 50 miles (80 km).
Stopping-off points: The
McHugh Creek Wayside at Mile
112 offers pleasant picnic spots.
Potter Section House at Mile 115
houses the Chugach State Park
Headquarters. Bird Point Wayside
at Mile 97 has lovely views of the
3 Girdwood and Alyeska Resort surrounding forests and peaks.
The village of Girdwood, 40 miles (65 km) from Anchorage, revolves Campgrounds: Bird Creek at
around Alyeska, Alaska’s most popular ski resort. Summer visitors Mile 101 offers good, basic sites.
can ride the gondola to the top of Mount Alyeska for sweeping
views over the fjord and surrounding mountains.
4 Crow Creek Trail
From Crow Creek Road, a 4-mile (6-km) trail
climbs past Gold Rush relics to Crow Pass,
which has fine views of Raven Glacier, then
continues through Chugach State Park to
the Eagle River Nature Center.
Crow Pass Raven
Chugach Glacier
Bird Creek State Park

5 The “Drowned Forest”
At the head of the fjord, the highway passes
through a ghostly “drowned forest” of bleached
dead trees, created after the 1964 earthquake
Mount Alyeska
3,900 ft (see p29) caused the land to slump 4 ft (1.2 m),
allowing salt seawater to rush in.
Bird Point
6 Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
Turnagain Arm
Twentymile This center houses and cares for displaced
animals, including bears and wood bison,
in a wonderful natural setting, presenting
great photo opportunities. It also focuses
Sixmile Creek Portage Chugach on public education and conservation of
Alaskan wildlife.
National
Forest
SEWARD HIGHWAY
Anton Anderson
Memorial Tunnel
Chugach National Forest
Whittier
Portage 0 km 5
Lake
0 miles 5
7 Begich-Boggs 8 Portage Glacier
Visitors’ Center One of Alaska’s most
Built on a terminal moraine visited glaciers, Portage
left by the receding Portage Glacier extends into
Glacier beside Portage Lake, Portage Lake and is best
the center has exhibits on viewed on cruises from
Alaskan glaciers. The film the visitors’ center.
Voices from the Ice is screened A level 2-mile (3-km) loop
hourly and des cribes the track leads to the foot of
dynamics of valley glaciers. nearby Byron Glacier.
Alaska Railroad train travelling along Turnagain Arm between Anchorage and Seward

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