Get complete details on local hikes from the Forest Service’s Crooked Creek visitors center. The easiest local path, the Dock Point Trail, starts from Kobuk Drive across from the boat ramp. This 0.75-mile trail (partially a boardwalk) has a grassy meadow and good viewpoints across Valdez Bay.

Mineral Creek Valley is a beautiful canyon accessible from the north end of town via Mineral Creek Drive. A bumpy gravel road—great for mountain bikes—crosses the creek and then parallels it for the next 5.5 miles, ending at a locked gate. From here it’s a one-mile walk to the abandoned W. L. Smith Stamp Mill (1913), which crushed ore from mines up the mountain. A number of beautiful waterfalls crowd the slopes of Mineral Creek Valley, so be sure to bring your camera.

The Keystone Canyon Pack Trail (a.k.a. Goat Trail or Trans-Alaska Military Trail) begins from a trailhead at Mile 14 on the Richardson Highway, climbing gradually 2.5 miles. The trail was built in 1899 by the Army to provide an “All-American” route to the gold fields, and this short portion was restored almost a century later.

For an excellent overnight trip, hike the Shoup Bay Trail, which begins from the west end of Egan Street. This trail affords views of Valdez and Valdez Bay, and passes a fine camping area along Gold Creek at three miles. It ends at Shoup Bay (across from majestic Shoup Glacier), 10 miles from town.