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Starting its 25th season, the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center in Portage is now open to visitors seven days a week.

"Big tour ships don't bring busloads of visitors until this week," said Lezlie Murray, visitor services director Chugach National Forest, who spends much of her week at Begich, Boggs.

Beginning Thursday, Portage Glacier Cruises will resume trips across the lake to within 300 yards of the receding glacier, which hasn't been visible from the visitor center for years as it continues receding.

By next week, there will be five trips a day, seven days a week.

Early season can be among the better times to visit.

"The whole lake fills up with ice because of all the calving that took place all winter long," said Russ Reno, site manager for Portage Glacier Cruises. Most years, he said, the glacier moves 500 feet forward during winter and then loses 520 feet when it warms up for a net loss.

"It looks like the lake ice is way ahead of schedule," Reno said. "There was very little snow out there this winter."

After a week of gorgeous weather, rain and windy blew in on Saturday.

"That brought chunks of ice down to our end of the lake," Murray said.

One of the biggest days at Portage this summer is the 25th anniversary celebration on July 17. Workers, contractors and visitors will reunite and share stories at the center.

Another Portage attraction is the Trail of Blue Ice, the 6-mile route linking the Seward Highway with the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center. Cyclists, joggers, skiers and walkers can enjoy its flat profile and scenic meandering that take the traveler off the main road and into some of the area's most spectacular scenery.

Along the way are three bridges, intricate rockwork and hundreds of feet of elevated boardwalk. Most impressive is the section between the Black Bear and Williwaw campgrounds that includes a 65-foot tied-arch bridge that rises from the forest yet also blends in naturally.

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.