60 ° 46' 10.412" N,
148 ° 48' 22.262" W
Anchorage
118 ft (35.97 m)
From Anchorage head down the Seward Highway, go around 40 miles and turn left on to Portage Glacier Rd. The turn will be just past the train station as the highway makes a wide sweeping hook to the right. Head into Portage Lake there are good signs several miles down the road pointing to the visitors center and parking.
Portage Lake was a popular attraction from Anchorage, so much so that they built the visitors center. Up until around the turn of the century the west end of lake would fill with icebergs as they would stack against the shore. As the glaciers retreated the calving left the lake to be stranded on the shore. These days occasionally a small chunk of glacier ice will float down the lake every so often, but nothing close to its prime.
The lake is still beautiful and the visitors center is still operational. If heading down that way Portage Lake is still worth the drive out and for anyone who's never been there before the visitors center is still worth going inside to see.
Naming: Local name, derived from nearby Portage Glacier, which used to cross the end of the lake at the time of its naming. The glacier was named such because it was the major glacier along the portage path between Prince William Sound and Turnagain Arm.
Pictures of, from, or near Portage Lake.
Sorted by Most Common to Least Common Viewings
Sandhill Crane, Common Gull, Tundra Swan, Dark-eyed Junco, Bald Eagle, Fox Sparrow, Herring Gull, Mallard, Common Merganser, Violet-green Swallow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Varied Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Yellow Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Glaucous-winged Gull, Arctic Tern, American Robin, Pine Siskin, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Harlequin Duck, Least Sandpiper, Bank Swallow, Common Redpoll, Lincoln's Sparrow, Northern Shoveler, Barrow's Goldeneye, Alder Flycatcher, Tree Swallow, Buff-bellied Pipit, Savannah Sparrow, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Dipper, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Pine Grosbeak, Gadwall, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-necked Grebe, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Boreal Chickadee, Barn Swallow, Swainson's Thrush, Red Crossbill, Northern Waterthrush, Blackpoll Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Surf Scoter, Spruce Grouse, Rufous Hummingbird, Semipalmated Plover, Wilson's Snipe, Red-throated Loon, Common Loon, Osprey, Golden Eagle, Northern Harrier, Northern Goshawk, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Western Wood-Pewee, Northern Shrike, Steller's Jay, White-crowned Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird
Peterson Creek Glacier, Bartlett Glacier, Beloit Glacier, Blackstone Glacier, Burns Glacier, Byron Glacier, Carroll Glacier, Concordia Glacier, Cotterell Glacier, Deadman Glacier, Explorer Glacier, Glacier G210995E60941N, Glacier G211045E60968N, Glacier G211014E60947N, Glacier G211029E60937N, Glacier G211036E60963N, Glacier G211071E60936N, Glacier G211071E60936N, Glacier G211107E60948N, Glacier G211110E60758N, Glacier G211176E60873N, Glacier G211226E60788N, Glacier G211235E60779N, Glacier G211254E60750N, Glacier G211360E60891N, Kern Creek Glacier, Lawrence Glacier, Learnard Glacier, Lowell Glacier, Marquette Glacier, Milton Glacier, Northland Glacier, Portage Glacier, Ripon Glacier, Shakespeare Glacier, Skookum Glacier, Spencer Glacier, Taylor Glacier, Trail Glacier, Twentymile Glacier, Whittier Glacier,
Islands:Lakes:Airstrip Pond, Alder Pond, Carmen Lake, Divide Lake, Luebner Lake, Portage Lake,
Mountains:Baird Peak, Bard Peak, Begich Peak, Blueberry Hill, Boggs Peak, Byron Peak, Carpathian Peak, Kinnikinnick Mountain, Lingon Mountain, Mount Luther Kelly, Maynard Mountain, Nagoon Mountain, Shakespeare Shoulder,
Mountain Passes:Peaks:Bearberry Point, Berg Peak, Explorer Peak, Highbush Peak, Learnard Peak, Lowbush Peak, Lowell Peak, Mismapped Mountain, Pico España, Portage Peak, Roost, Vigesimal Peak,
Rivers:Glacier River, Placer River, South Fork Upper Carmen River, Twentymile River, Upper Carmen River,
Streams:Billings Creek, Cove Creek, Placer Creek, Portage Creek, Skookum Creek, Whittier Creek, Whittier Creek,
Routes:Byron Glacier Trail, Portage Pass Trail, Trail of Blue Ice,
Valleys: