Portage Creek

Quick Facts:

• Drive time from Anchorage: 1 hour

• Activity: Whitewater rafting

• River distance: 6 miles

• Difficulty: Class I/II

• Put in/Take out: Begich Boggs Visitor Center/Seward Highway

This is a beautiful and mellow paddle from Portage Lake to the Seward Highway, which is about 6 miles in total. I recommend putting in at the first parking lot on your right headed to the Begich Boggs Visitor Center, then paddle a few hundred feet to the mouth of the river. There is no ramp for trailers here or at the takeout so whatever boat you’re taking needs to be hand carried down to the water.

We did this in late August, so the low flow took us about 3 hours. Early season or heavy rain can sometimes cause the first couple miles to be closer to Class II. Per usual in Alaska, the water is freezing! We wore dry suits because it was also raining, but as long as your boat keeps you out of the water, you can do without.

Best take out is just past the Seward Highway bridge on river left, there’s a small parking lot that didn’t seem to be used for much else. Option to take out earlier at the Portage Valley Recreation Area. For shuttling: the simplest is dropping a car, but we also talked to some kayakers that ran bike shuttle. We only had one car, so Andy walked down to Portage Glacier Road and hitchhiked from there with no issue.