One of my best day trips ever was a Columbia Glacier tour with Lu-Lu Belle Glacier Wildlife Cruises out of the port town of Valdez, Alaska. The tours are promised to be 7 or more hours, and our tour clocked in at over 9 hours! For many tourists, this is the best Valdez glacier cruise, or maybe even the best wildlife and glacier cruise in the state of Alaska.
The Lu-Lu Belle
The Lu-Lu Belle is a beautiful custom-made wooden ship with only 40 passengers. There’s lots of room to sprawl out – on the front, back, inside or on the upper deck or even in the comfortable and very warm Captain’s wheelhouse. The boat is available for private booking but most days is used for a Valdez Glacier Cruise to Columbia Glacier.
A Foggy Start
The morning was quite cloudy and foggy and I was hoping the fog would lift by our relatively late Valdez glacier cruise 11 am departure time. But to my dismay, we sailed out of port with clouds and fog all around us and only occasional peeks at the various peaks around us. The captain saw a group of Sea Otters sleeping in the distance and approached them, commenting “I better be careful, it’s foggy and I might be getting too close to the oil terminal”.
Hunted by the Coast Guard
Well, a few minutes later, a Coast Guard boat approached us with flashing lights going. It seems that in the fog we drifted into the imaginary line that surrounds the Oil Pipeline Terminal in Valdez (this is the pipeline that starts in Prudhoe Bay. The oil is stored in huge drums in Valdez and then loaded onto tanker ships). We were let off with a warning but it added some excitement to our trip!
Waterfalls
There are a couple beautiful waterfalls on the way from Valdez to Columbia Glacier. We had nice views despite the fog. But not much later, the clouds and fog began to lift…
Water Spout
Captain Fred told us to look for the white markings of a puffin as he inched us further and further into a cove. But it was a trick! Inside this cove was a natural waterspout. He had us looking high when we should have been looking low. His boat maneuvering skills are excellent.
Wildlife Galore
We saw so many Sea Otters and Stellar Sea Lions on this Columbia Glacier tour! Sea Otters are such amazing creatures and so cute! Fun fact: a group of Sea Otters is called a “raft” of Sea Otters. We saw a few puffins, but not as many as I saw on my wildlife cruise from Seward.
See Local Fishing Practices
We pulled over to a fishing boat to watch them pull in their net full of salmon (look carefully at this photo to see the fish). They utilize a method that uses a larger ship and a dinghy that expands the net. A pole is used to keep the fish from escaping the net. The captain thanked the fishing boat guys by giving them a ziploc bag of fresh brownies.
Dall’s Porpoise
They occasionally encounter Humpback whales or Orcas in the Prince William Sound, but we didn’t see either of these. We did, however, see a group of Dall’s Porpoises. As we approached, I was lucky to be standing on the bow of the ship, because one of the porpoises swam along with the front of the ship.
Approaching the Glacier – Icebergs Ahead!
There were icebergs everywhere as we crept up the fjord/valley towards the Columbia Glacier. Some were the size of a loaf of bread, but others were the size of cars and larger (and consider 90% of an iceberg is below the surface). Lots of the flatter icebergs were inhabited by Sea Otters. Once the boat got too close, they jumped in the water. The captain would regularly announce the water depth and how close we were to the glacier – we seemed close but he was still announcing 3 or 4 miles away.
The Columbia Glacier
The Columbia Glacier is a tidewater type of glacier and is one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world. Therefore, a high activity of calving, or having chunks fall off into the sea. We heard several cracks and saw some new icebergs being formed.
How Long will the Columbia Glacier Continue to Reach the Sea?
Captain Fred indicated where the Columbia Glacier reached when he first took tourists to the Columbia Glacier and it has retreated by MILES. Looking at the Columbia Glacier today, you can see the mountains and valley behind, it may not be that many more years before Columbia no longer reaches the sea and is considered a hanging glacier.
Should You Book the Lu-Lu Belle in Advance?
If you want to guarantee a spot, you should book in advance. When I arrived into Valdez, they only had room on the tour the next day, with the next four days after that being totally booked. If Lu-Lu Belle is full, you can try at the larger Stan Stevens tours, an alternative Valdez Glacier Cruise which does up to two tours daily to the Columbia or Meares Glaciers on larger boats.
Lu-Lu Belle Review
Wow! What can I say? The Lu-Lu Belle was a true highlight on my trip to Alaska. Captain Fred has been doing the trips for 20 years and clearly loves his job and loves giving the passengers a good time. While Lu Lu Belle doesn’t provide lunch on their tour, they do have a reasonably priced snack bar with chili, nachos, hot dogs, popcorn, fresh baked muffins and brownies, and more. I couldn’t pass up having a hot coffee for $1.25 after visiting the glacier. At $145 for a 9 hour tour, this is one of the best valued wildlife and glacier tours in the state of Alaska. As a bonus, for free the crew will take your picture at the glacier and they have Santa Hats and “Merry Christmas” signs if you want to use your photo as your Christmas card.
Where to stay in Valdez
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Most people camp in Valdez, there are several RV campgrounds and boondocking sights around. But there are also a couple of nice hotels around town, I especially like near the harbor. (Check Rates and Availability).
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1 comments
Wow, this was very interesting to read. Have you ever considered submitting articles to magazines?