Past Girdwood, drivers bound for a glacier cruise leave the Seward Highway and follow the Portage Glacier Highway toward a mountain with a hole in it. The Whittier Tunnel is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, a shared rail and highway bore that carries traffic through to Whittier in alternating turns. It charges a toll, keeps its own hours and has no room for walkers or cyclists.
What is the Whittier Tunnel?
The Whittier Tunnel is the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the largest combined rail and highway tunnel in North America, and it is the link that carries the Portage Glacier Highway through the mountain to the city of Whittier. Cars, motorcycles, buses and RVs use it, and so do the trains of the Alaska Railroad. The tunnel runs on a traffic schedule rather than letting vehicles come and go as they please.
Where it sits on the map
The Portage Glacier Highway connects the Seward Highway in Portage to the Alaska Marine Highway ferry terminal in Whittier. It covers 11.59 miles on the way, crossing the Chugach National Forest and passing through the tunnel itself. Portage Glacier country sits in that same forest, so the drive in is framed by national forest land before the mountain closes over you.
On the far side is Whittier, a small city at the head of the Passage Canal, about 58 miles from Anchorage. Whittier is a port for the Alaska Marine Highway and operates a seaplane dock, so the tunnel is only one of several ways a place this tucked away connects to the rest of Alaska.
What the passage is like
Motor vehicles are limited to 25 miles per hour inside, which means the crossing takes about ten minutes from one portal to the other. It is a slow, steady roll through rock, with the railroad sharing the same bore. Nobody stops to look around, and nobody is allowed to walk it.
Pedestrians and bicycles are prohibited from the tunnel. The single exception is the annual Walk to Whittier event, described under the hours. At any other time, anyone on foot or on a bike has to arrive by some other means.
The toll
The toll is collected from eastbound vehicles, so you pay once on the way in and not on the way back. The amount depends on what you are driving, from a regular passenger vehicle up to oversize rigs, which pay per use.
| Vehicle | Toll |
|---|---|
| Regular vehicle or motorcycle | $13 |
| Vehicle pulling a trailer | $22 |
| Small bus or regular RV | $38 |
| Large bus | $137 |
| Oversize vehicle, 10 to 11 feet wide and 14 to 15 feet high | $330 per use |
| State government agency or school district vehicle | $11 |
Some vehicles do not pay at all. Those owned by the Alaska Railroad or the Alaska DOT&PF are exempt, and so are emergency and law enforcement vehicles.
When is it open?
The tunnel is open for most of the day, with longer hours in the summer months than in the winter months. The doors open earlier and close later when summer schedules apply, and the schedule shifts inward by a little over an hour at each end once winter hours begin.
| Season | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| Summer months | 5:30 a.m. | 11:15 p.m. |
| Winter months | 7:00 a.m. | 10:45 p.m. |
Taking turns in the tunnel
Inside the open hours, the tunnel does not carry two-way traffic at all times. Vehicles are let in for 15 minutes from one direction, and then the flow switches so the other side gets its turn. The effect is a rhythm: a stretch of cars rolling through, a pause, and then the opposite stream.
That rhythm is part of why the tunnel feels like a gate more than a road. The railroad shares the same passage, which is what makes the schedule necessary. For the traveler, the practical meaning is that a trip to Whittier is paced by the tunnel, and the ferry terminal and the harbor on the far side sit behind it.
The one day on foot
Once a year the rules bend. Whittier holds the Walk to Whittier event in June, and on that day pedestrians walk through the tunnel. It is the only time anyone on foot is allowed inside.
The event has been held since 2002, with the exception of 2010. Because it happens only in June, it is a thing to plan a visit around rather than something you can slip into on a whim. On every other day of the year, the tunnel belongs to vehicles and the railroad.
What the hours mean for a day in Whittier
Whittier is the kind of place where the tunnel hours set the edges of the day. A visitor coming for a glacier cruise or a hike is working inside the same window as everyone else, and the last opening of the tunnel at night is the point to keep in mind when the harbor is busy and the town is bright.
The Glacier Discovery Train, which also passes through the tunnel, is built around a day trip with time for a cruise before heading back to Anchorage. That kind of round trip shows how the schedule works for a day visit: a morning arrival, time on the water, and then the return.
What should you know before you go?
Before you go, know that the tunnel is only the doorway and that Whittier on the other side is a small, very wet, tightly packed town built around the water. The visit is about glaciers, boats and trails, and about a place where almost everyone lives in one building.
The town under one roof
Whittier is nicknamed The Town Under One Roof because almost all of its residents live in the Begich Towers Condominium. It is a small place with a harbor, a ferry terminal and a seaplane dock, and the feel is of a port rather than a resort.
Lodging is limited. There are two small hotels and vacation rentals in the apartment complex where most of the town lives, and many visitors stay in nearby Girdwood or in Anchorage instead. The climate is extremely wet, with an average of 197.31 inches of precipitation a year, so rain gear belongs in the plan rather than in the trunk.
On the water and on the trails
Prince William Sound near Whittier has the world’s largest concentration of tidewater glaciers, which is the reason most people make the trip. The 26 Glacier Cruise offers a no-seasickness guarantee, a detail that tells you the day is spent on open water. Sea kayaking tours launch from the docks, and kayak drop-offs reach more remote parts of the Sound.
Jet ski tours in Prince William Sound provide dry suits and expert guides to lead visitors to glaciers and scenic viewpoints. On land, Whittier has several hiking trails, including the short Whittier Creek Trail and the popular Portage Pass Trail, which offers views of Passage Canal and Portage Glacier.
By train through the same tunnel
The Alaska Railroad’s Glacier Discovery Train offers round-trip service from Anchorage to Whittier, with time for a day cruise before returning. Its route runs from Anchorage to Girdwood, Whittier, Portage, Spencer and Grandview, and it follows much of the same line as the Coastal Classic train, with an added turn off the main line to Whittier and a turnaround point at Grandview.
At Whittier the train goes through the mountain tunnel and connects to a glacier and wildlife cruise in Prince William Sound. At Girdwood it stops briefly at the resort town before continuing on.
Stops along the rails
The Glacier Discovery Train also stops at some areas reachable only by train, with day trip options for all ages and energy levels. At Portage, passengers may get off to visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, home to black and brown bears, moose, caribou, wood bison and more.
The Spencer Glacier Whistle Stop is a backcountry area in the Chugach National Forest, developed with the U.S. Forest Service. A 1.3-mile gravel path leads to Spencer Lake and views of Spencer Glacier, and rafting, hiking and kayaking around the glacial lake are available as day trips.
Good to know before you go
Money matters here come down to the toll, which is paid by eastbound vehicles and is set out above. The tunnel is closed to walkers and cyclists, and its schedule of alternating directions is part of every trip through it.
Whittier is wet, so plan for rain on the water and on the trails alike. Because summer and winter hours differ, the opening and closing times are worth matching to your day, whether you are heading for the harbor, the ferry terminal or a cruise on Prince William Sound.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Whittier Tunnel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittier_Tunnel), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Anderson_Memorial_Tunnel), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Whittier, Alaska (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whittier,_Alaska), checked October 11, 2026
- Alaska.org, dest whittier (https://www.alaska.org/destination/whittier), checked October 11, 2026
- Alaska Railroad, Glacier Discovery (https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/our-trains/glacier-discovery), checked October 11, 2026