Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 8, 1990 TAG: 9004080294
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JAMES T.YENCKEL THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"The biggest obstacle we have to face is the perceptions and fears of people who listened to all of the reports last year," says Ral West, marketing director of the Prince William Sound Tourism Coalition.
"We don't want to underplay the tragedy of the spill, but we do want to put it into perspective. Most of Prince William Sound was not touched by oil. Out of 2,700 miles of shoreline, 2,000 of those miles were spared. They are the most heavily traveled tourist routes."
Last summer, a big problem in the Prince William Sound area was the lack of lodging for tourists. Most of the hotel and motel rooms and campground spaces were filled by cleanup crews, investigators and others working on the oil spill. This summer, these accommodations will be freed up for visitors, and oil spill workers will be housed elsewhere.
Curiously, the heavy demand for rooms last summer sparked a large growth in bed-and-breakfast lodgings in such seafront communities as Valdez, Seward and Kodiak. Though they housed emergency crews last year, many of the new B&Bs are expected to seek the tourist trade in the months ahead. The Prince William Sound area may well have more lodging capacity than it has ever had.
Predictions are that all of the area's other diverse tourist facilities - some of which were involved in the cleanup operation last summer - also will be back in full operation. Among the facilities:
\ Tour vessels from Valdez and Whittier. Carrying up to 150 passengers each, they explore glacier-filled bays on half-day and full-day excursions. At Columbia Glacier, passengers are apt to see huge walls of ice sliding into the sea.
\ Charter fishing boats from almost every community. Called "six-packers" because they carry six passengers, the boats seek giant halibut and several species of Pacific salmon - often in plentiful supply just 20 minutes from port.
\ Wildlife cruises from Seward. Half-day and full-day trips visit the cliff-lined inlets of Kenai Fjords National Park in search of sea otters, sea lions, whales, dolphins and a wide variety of shore birds.
\ Ranger-led hikes to the Harding Icefield at Kenai Fjords. On this spectacular all-day round trip, the trail climbs steeply for three miles to a chilly frozen world where you can go cross-country skiing in midsummer - if you have carried your skis along.
\ Kayaking outfitters in Whittier and Seward. Travelers with solid outdoor experience can rent kayaks to explore the wilderness shoreline on their own, camping at beaches along the way. Experienced guides can be hired.
\ Hunting outfitters on Kodiak Island. The prey in spring and fall is the huge Alaskan brown bear often called the Kodiak. Bookings are strong already.
\ Float plane charters. The pilot will deposit you and your camping gear just offshore from Kenai Fjords. In a week of backpacking in the park, you may not see another soul. The plane will return at the time you specify.
\ Wilderness lodges. Stan Stephens, a cruise operator out of Valdez, puts up 40 overnight guests on Growler Island near Columbia Glacier. The small cabins on the two-mile-long island are rustic - they have heat and chemical toilets but no running water for baths or showers. But the view of the glacier is magnificent, says Stephens, and stray icebergs often bump ashore, giving guests a close-up look.
\ Motorcoach tours from Anchorage. Gray Line of Alaska offers a scenic two-day excursion to Valdez by bus that includes a day cruise to the face of Columbia Glacier and a call at the little port of Whittier.
Meanwhile, it is still too soon, say tourism officials, to assess how effective the stormy winter weather has been in cleansing the oil-damaged stretches of the southwestern Alaskan shoreline. The Prince William Sound area has experienced one of its snowiest winters on record - in Valdez, snow is reported at second-story levels - and much of the affected land has been buried deep for most of the winter.
The most serious oil damage was centered south of Valdez in Prince William Sound - where the spill actually occurred - and along stretches of the coastline to the southwest, where the oil drifted. The area affected by the drift included 20 miles of the 400-mile shoreline of Kenai Fjords National Park, parts of the northern and western shorelines of Kodiak Island and other islands and the remote eastern coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve.
None of the affected areas is a major tourist destination, say tourism officials, and the only visitors who might spot oil damage are kayakers and backpackers exploring the remote wilderness areas.
Travelers visiting Prince William Sound and southwestern Alaska will find magnificent wilderness scenery, huge glaciers and excellent wildlife-spotting opportunities in a relatively compact area that is accessible from Anchorage. The region is served by good highways, rail lines, commercial flights, the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system and large cruise ships.
Anne Castellina, superintendent of Kenai Fjords National Park, suggests the region is the place to visit if you don't have a lot of time in Alaska. "It's all here," she says.
Among the many points of interest:
\ Valdez: Reached by scenic highway from Anchorage, Valdez is a busy port community at the foot of soaring mountains. It is home to charter fishing boats and cruise vessels making day trips to Columbia Glacier.
\ Whittier: The little port of Whittier is just a short distance south of Anchorage, but to cover the last 10 miles you must travel by train. (The train carries both passengers and vehicles.)
Brad Phillips's daily catamaran cruises of College Fjord originate here, beginning at $99 per person. For information: (907) 276-8023). And the community is the summer home of the Prince William Sound Kayak Center. Owner Lois Solmonson says her rental business - she has 35 kayaks - dropped to 30 percent of normal last year but she is optimistic about this summer.
Solmonson will be surveying the Whittier area in early May to be able to direct customers away from any oil-damaged shorelines that remain. Many of her customers like to explore the coastline about 25 miles south of the town - a two- or three-day paddle away - but some of the beaches got hit by oil. Kayakers can paddle from Whittier or they can arrange to be dropped off by boat on a remote shoreline. For information: (907) 562-2866.
\ Seward: This small fishing community sits just north of Kenai Fjords National Park at the head of Resurrection Bay. Easily reached by car or train from Anchorage, it is headquarters for the national park and home port for Kenai Fjord Tours. In season, the tour company offers daily wildlife-spotting cruises along the shoreline of Resurrection Bay and the national park. The company operates a fleet of four ships carrying 45 to 150 passengers each. The full-day cruise, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., is $70 per person. The half-day cruise of Resurrection Bay only is $45. For information: (907) 224-8068.
\ Kenai Fjords National Park: Cut by countless fiords, the coastline of this rugged wilderness park is spectacularly scenic. Hundreds of waterfalls spill down high cliffs into the sea. The interior is a vast realm of ice.
The park's most accessible feature, according to Superintendent Castellina, is Exit Glacier, reached by driving nine miles over a gravel road from Seward. A short trail of about one-fourth of a mile leads to the face of the glacier. Last year, it drew 42,000 visitors.
\ Kodiak Island: Reached by state ferry from Homer or Seward, this large mountainous island is very popular with fishermen, whether they prefer stream fishing or deep-sea fishing. Charter fishing vessels charge about $125 to $150 a day for six passengers. The fishing is so good, says Tom Watson of the Kodiak Convention and Visitors Bureau, you should catch your limit and still have plenty of time for wildlife sightseeing.
by CNB