We wanted to explore some of the beautiful areas around Valdez, so we took a day trip to hike and explore at Worthington Glacier Recreation Area, Blueberry Lake Recreation Area, and Keystone Canyon. All of these sites are found along the Richardson Highway, aka Route 4, less than 30 miles from Valdez.
Worthington Glacier Recreation Area is at mile 29 from Valdez. It is a day use area that showcases and has many informative displays about the Worthington Glacier and glaciers in general. There is a paved trail and some viewing platforms. From the closest platform we saw the following sign and an informal trail that led up to the glacier that seemed like an invitation to us.
Unmaintained trail sign
An informal trail leads up close to the glacier
Getting closer to this toe of the Worthington Glacier gave us great views of the waterfalls, the glacier itself, the valley it has created and some of it’s glacial moraine.
The Worthington Glacier
Waterfalls at the toe of the glacier
The valley carved by this glacier including glacial moraine in foreground
Next up is the Blueberry Lake Recreation Site at Thompson Pass. This has day use and a small camping area (tents or small RV/trailers). You can walk in the alpine on a short trail, which feels almost like walking at the top of the world.
Blueberry Lake Recreation Site has a short alpine trail
View at Blueberry Lake Rec Area
And finally a visit to the Keystone Canyon Area. We stopped at the Horsetail and Bridal Veil Falls.
Horsetail Falls
Bridal Veil Falls in Keystone Canyon
From the Bridal Veil Falls pull-out we hiked The Goat Trail, a 3.2 mile/ 500 feet elevation gain trail that parallels the road higher up the canyon wall. The trail is an old road that was built by hand near the turn of the century. It was originally made wide enough for 2 horses to be pulling a wagon. It has been slowly going back to its natural state.
The Goat Trail starts from the Bridal Veil Falls pullout
The Goat Trail was originally built to be 2 horses wide
Flowers, like Western Columbine, were abundant at the beginning of the trail
We also ran into our first Devil’s Club,which appears harmless enough until you take a closer look. The stems and undersides of the leaves are coated with thistles.
Devil’s Club has thistles on the stem and undersides of leaves
From the trail you get a different perspective of the Bridal Veil Falls than that from the bottom of the canyon. There are also scenic views throughout the trail, when you are not in among the brush. While the trail started quite open, the second half deteriorated quite a bit and include some sections of narrow ledges and rocky gullies to cross. The brush became denser and more closed in as you proceeded on the trail.
Bridal Veil Falls viewed from the Goat Trail
View along the Goat Trail including the Lowe River and the road below
We also took a drive out Dayville Road and visited the Solomon Gulch Fish Hatchery. The salmon weren’t running yet, but we did get to view the fish ladder and a quick overview of the facilities and its’ processes. This was a nice day trip introduction to the Valdez area.
