Whittier (Alaska)

Whittier is a small town in Alaska that is famous because all of its 272 residents (2020) live in one building.

Understand
Whittier is an unusual town in a stunning natural setting. It is set on the shores of Prince William Sound, and nearly the entire year-round population lives in a single building called the Begich Towers, known as “city under one roof”. Whittier was built to provide a safe port for access to central Alaska during World War II, with a tunnel to allow access to the other side of the Chugach Mountains.

Get in
The only road access to Whittier is via the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel through a mountain. The tunnel was built for rail use only. It is now a one-way-at-a-time tunnel that is shared by the railroad and road traffic. It is considered to be the longest road tunnel in North America. Coming from Anchorage, you go south on the Seward Highway and turn onto Portage Glacier Road, and the tunnel is at the other end. There is a fee, and you will must wait until the tunnel is open for traffic moving in your direction, so plan ahead if you are connecting with a boat on the other side. The tunnel is closed to vehicular traffic at night depending on the seasons. Motorcycling through the tunnel requires extra cautions, and non-motorized traffic is banned. It is to Anchorage and  to Seward from the other side of the tunnel (outside of town).

Whittier has docking facilities for and the. It is possible to go straight from the docks to the for the train to Seward or Anchorage as it is across the road from the cruise terminal.

There is a small airport with a single gravel runway, but there are no scheduled flights.

Get around
Whittier is quite small: basically the whole town is within walking distance of the tunnel and the docks. Most of the populace live and work within the (100 Kenai St) and the few blocks surrounding the Begich Towers. The tower contains a convenience/grocery store, Laundormat, indoor playground, City Hall, police station, a conference center, a Baptist church (in basement), Post Office and B&B units on the 14th & 15th floors (see also under 'Sleep' in below). A new school building was built behind the tower and is connected to the tower's basement by a tunnel that students use to walk to and from school during the winter months.

See
Whittier exists to create a link between southcentral Alaska and Prince William Sound. There isn’t much to see in the town, but there are ample opportunities to venture out on the water and see the Sound. Whittier is known for poor weather (it's the wettest city in the United States), so come prepared for wind and rain. The following are a couple of places to see in town:



Do
You'll find numerous charter fishing and sightseeing operations for hire at the docks. Both sides of the tunnel are within Chugach National Forest, the Portage Valley has a visitor center, a system of hiking trails, and boat tours on Portage Lake that go to Portage Glacier.

Go next
At the end of Portage Glacier Road heading out of town, turn right to get to Anchorage, left to get to Soldotna, Homer, and Seward.