There were two big things we wanted to do while in Alaska. The first was a glacier trek. Check. The second was to do some glacier kayaking. For that, we made our way down to Whittier, Alaska, where we hooked up with the Prince William Sound Kayak Center for gear, guide, and transportation.
There are probably thousands of ways to kayak out to glaciers in Alaska. Most of those ways require multi-day paddles, overnight camping, and a whole bunch of other stuff we weren’t really equipped for.
Kayaking Alaska’s Blackstone Bay
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The nice thing about kayaking Blackstone Bay out of Whittier is that you can do it as a day trip. We left in the morning and were back in time to dine at the Swiftwater Café for the absolute best fish and chips we have ever eaten (including anywhere in the U.K. where we’ve sampled Britain’s national dish.)
The Kayak Center taxied us out into the bay so we got to spend most of our day floating around waterfalls.
And out to glaciers.
Naturally some of the best experiences for us were the impromptu wildlife encounters. We always dig running into critters and expected to be wowed by whales, seals, and sea otters. But probably the most memorable moment was kayaking through a flock of ordinary gulls. They just took off from the shore and completely surrounded us.
Of course, we had no shortage of scenic beauty to enjoy as well.
And after a long day of paddling ourselves around, we’re not too proud to admit delighting in the sight of our water taxi arriving to ferry us back to dry land and some well-earned beers.
