To help you plan your trip, we've included stories about trips we've taken for The MILEPOST®. For more detailed information on any destination in the following itineraries and tours, refer to a current edition of The MILEPOST®. Also, click here to view three basic itineraries from the 2007-59th edition of The MILEPOST® (Adobe Acrobat Reader is required).
Spring trip to the Rainforest Islands
by Kris Valencia
Editor's note: This is an account of a working trip we made in late May 2006 to take the Inter-Island Ferry Authority's (IFA) new northern service connecting Mitkof, Wrangell and Prince of Wales islands. Although this itinerary is round-trip from Anchorage, both the inbound and outbound legs of this journey will work for visitors from the Lower 48 and Canada. We do, however, recommend allowing more time in your trip itinerary to explore the sights.
Anchorage to Haines
We left Anchorage on Monday, May 22, heading for Haines and a Tuesday night departure on the MV Taku to Petersburg, where we planned to catch the new IFA ferry and sail the "rainforest islands" route before making our way back north via the traditional Inside Passage route. Driving distance from Anchorage to Haines is approximately 740 miles, so 2 days doesn't leave much margin for error (or any time to stop and explore), but we planned a long day's drive to get as close to Haines as possible the first night.
The days are starting to get longer in late May, with the longest day of the year--June 21st--just around the corner, so motorists can count on plenty of daylight hours for driving. The weather can be very fine at this time of year as well, although it is still early spring in much of the North. While Anchorage had "greened up"--the trees and shrubs had finally leafed out--it was still a brown landscape in interior Alaska and in the Yukon, with ice on Kluane Lake and snow at the Haines Highway summit. (Although upon our return just 2 weeks later, spring had finally sprung everywhere.) But if you needed a reminder that it was spring in the North, you need look no farther than the roadside ponds where trumpeter swans were making their nests.
We spent the first night of the trip at Kluane Wilderness Village at Historical Mile 1118 on the Alaska Highway, 525 miles from Anchorage and 215 miles from Haines. Although open year-round for gas, food and lodging, Kluane Wilderness Village had just opened up their log cabin accommodations and was getting ready to start full-service hookups in the RV park. (Many private campgrounds in the North do not open until Memorial Day weekend.) We turned in about midnight, the mountains to the east still silhouetted by a golden sunset.
The drive to Haines the next day was a breeze. The 152-mile-long Haines Highway provided a study in contrasts, from the snow-covered summit and brown landscape of early spring in the Yukon to the lush green of the Chilkat River valley at Haines. Ptarmigan scratched for food near Chilkat Pass, their head and neck feathers the reddish brown of summer while the rest of their plumage was still winter-white.
We arrived in Haines about noon, leaving us almost a full half-day to explore before our ferry's scheduled departure at 10 p.m. Check-in time for passengers with vehicles is 2 hours before sailing. When we reserved our Alaska Marine Highway System itinerary a few weeks before, the ferry was scheduled to depart at 5:30 p.m.--as shown on our ticket--but a phone call from the AMHS notified us of the later departure a week or two before we left.
These kinds of schedule changes are not uncommon on the ferry system. Indeed, the sailing we reserved space on for the last leg of our trip--from Juneau to Skagway--also changed. A mechanical problem put the high-speed ferry Fairweather out of service for May (and much of the summer). Our June 2 sailing departing Juneau at 9:45 a.m. and arriving in Skagway at 11:45 a.m. turned into an 11:45 a.m. departure that didn't arrive in Skagway until 6:45 p.m. The lesson for travelers is: Make sure you allow for some flexibility in your itineraries if you are using the ferry system, and make sure you have an up-to-date printed itinerary rather than relying on your printed tickets.
The hot and sultry afternoon in Haines turned into a soggy evening as we waited to board. By the time we loaded our vehicle and made our way upstairs, the rainy skies had darkened and the cafeteria had stopped hot food service, although cold sandwiches and other snacks were available. We picked up our cabin keys at the purser's office and settled in for the night.
Cabin space is usually at a premium on the state ferries in summer, but there were plenty of empty cabins on our late May southbound sailing, and the 2-berth cabin on the older MV Taku was quite spacious compared with the 2-berth cabin we'd had on the newer MV Kennicott the previous summer. If cabins are available and your budget allows, we recommend reserving a cabin if your ferry trip includes an overnight. Spending the night on the ferry without a cabin, or going "deck passage," can be a sublime experience or an endurance test. It depends on many factors, among them the weather and your threshold for discomfort. Best deck passage experience: sleeping out in the open on a plastic chaise lounge on the solarium deck on a wonderfully warm summer night on the Inside Passage. Worst deck passage experience: sleeping on the floor of the recliner lounge on a crowded northbound ferry.
After a relaxing night in which we slept through calls at Juneau and Kake, we sailed down Frederick Sound under sunny skies to Petersburg, located on the northern tip of Mitkof Island. A small town with a good bookstore, gift shops, art galleries and a busy waterfront, Petersburg was settled by Norwegian immigrants (the Clausen Museum features area history). Attractions include whale watching, sea kayaking and tours out to LeConte Glacier.
But we're here to try out the Inter-Island Ferry Authority's new northern service, dubbed the "rainforest islands" route, serving Mitkof, Wrangell and Prince of Wales Island Thursday through Sunday. We leave downtown Petersburg about noon the next day, allowing plenty of time to drive to the new South Mitkof terminal (consisting of a large gravel parking area and loading dock), located at Mile 25 on the Mitkof Highway. The MV Stikine, a twin to the IFA's MV Prince of Wales, arrives on time and departs on schedule for the 1-hour trip to Wrangell.
Although Wrangell is one of the "rainforest islands," we enjoy dry, sunny weather for most of our stay. Our bed and breakfast, the Grandview, provides just that: a spectacular view from the lounge of the sun setting over Zimovia Strait. We also drive up to Nemo Point for some great views of Zimovia Strait.
Attractions in Wrangell include the excellent museum at the Nolan Center and Chief Shakes Island and Tribal House in the harbor. We don't have time to experience 2 of the area's biggest draws: Anan Wildlife Observatory and the Stikine River. Local outfitters offer all-day boat trips to Anan to observe bears, and up the Stikine to see glorious scenery. We did, however, have time to eat. If you're hungry, we recommend the halibut at the Stikine Inn and the taco pizza at Marine Bar & Pizza.
We board the MV Stikine at the Wrangell ferry dock Saturday afternoon for the almost 3-hour trip to Coffman Cove on Prince of Wales Island.
Prince of Wales Island is the third largest island under the American flag (Kodiak is second, the Big Island of Hawaii is first), and its extensive forest road system--left over from its logging days--provides a unique driving experience. Although narrow, winding and mostly gravel, the roads have good surfacing, very little traffic, and many sections have been improved.
The road from Coffman Cove out to the main island highway is one of the sections that have been recently upgraded. Although still gravel, most of the Coffman Cove road has been widened and its former serpentine course reduced to easy turns. The main road, from the Coffman Cove turnoff to Thorne Bay, Craig and Hollis, is paved.
With its hundreds of miles of road, great freshwater and saltwater fishing and Forest Service recreation sites (most of the island lies within Tongass National Forest), Prince of Wales Island can keep you busy for a week. We're only here for a few days. One of those days is a Sunday.
Some communities in Alaska, like Wrangell, for example, pretty much close down on Sundays (although the Marine Bar & Pizza is open daily). Other communities, because the northern summer is such a short season and weekend and holiday travel a given, are open for business pretty much 7 days a week. If you are in a town on a Sunday, you can take part in the spiritual life of the community by attending one of the local churches.
We end our rainforest island tour by taking the afternoon sailing of the MV Prince of Wales from the IFA terminal at Clark Bay/Hollis to Ketchikan.
The rain missing from the rainforest island part of our itinerary returns when we get to Ketchikan. Despite the rain, cruise ship passengers are out in force, shopping downtown gift shops, touring the city and visiting sights like the Totem Heritage Center and Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery and Eagle Center.
From Ketchikan we make our way back north via the Inside Passage. It is now the beginning of June and the northbound ferries are much more crowded than the southbound ferries. Fortunately, we reserved a cabin ahead of time for the 18-1/2-hour trip from Ketchikan to Juneau. We board the MV Matanuska for a 10 p.m. departure and collapse in our berth.
We arrive at the Auke Bay ferry terminal north of Juneau on Wednesday afternoon and check in to our hotel near the airport. Again, it is fortunate we made reservations ahead of time, as hundreds of Alaska Natives have gathered in Juneau for a cultural event and rooms are scarce.
Like Ketchikan, Juneau's streets are full of cruise ship passengers. The impact of cruise ship passengers on the local economy in Southeast may make independent travelers feel somewhat overlooked: many businesses cater to the cruise ships, their tour times tied to when cruise ships are in port. But there are also local tour operators, like Adventure Bound Alaska's Tracy Arm cruise (www.adventureboundalaska.com) and Captain Larry's whale watching cruises (www.alaskawhalewatching.com), that also cater to independent travelers.
Other top attractions in Juneau include the Mount Roberts Tramway, Mendenhall Glacier and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. And don't forget to stop by Alaska's number one brewing company: The Alaskan Brewing Company (www.alaskanbeer.com) is responsible for Alaska's favorite beer, Alaskan Amber.
We depart Juneau for Skagway on Friday, June 2. The fast-ferry is still not operating, so instead of a 2-1/2 hour trip, we have a 7-hour trip, arriving in Skagway about 7 p.m. Skagway and Haines are the 2 Southeast Alaska communities connected to the Alaska Highway system, Haines via the Haines Highway to Haines Junction, and Skagway via the South Klondike Highway.
The Alaska Highway
Driving distance from Skagway to Anchorage is about 800 miles, or roughly 60 more miles than driving from Haines. The South Klondike Highway is shorter than the Haines Highway and equally as scenic, although when we make the drive it is raining, with low clouds obscuring the summit.
After stopping to fix a flat tire outside Carcross, we continue on to Whitehorse, capital of Yukon Territory and a must stop for supplies (in our case, a new tire) and as an introduction to the Yukon and its history. The excellent Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre, Yukon Transportation Museum, MacBride Museum and Old Log Church Museum (www.yukonmuseums.ca) should be included on everyone's itinerary.
But we don't have time to sample the delights of Whitehorse. Scheduled to be back in Anchorage by Sunday evening, we leave Whitehorse after lunch, planning to make it to Tok by nightfall (which this time of year is about midnight).
What can we say about the Alaska Highway? From Whitehorse to Haines Junction it is in great shape. Around Kluane Lake, you'll run into some smooth new sections of road and a few old winding sections along the water. By the time you get to Beaver Creek, you'll have learned to slow down when you see those little orange pennants on the side of the road.
Winter is hard on northern roads, and the Alaska Highway is a good example of what happens to pavement when the roadbed freezes. It is a little like driving on an old lava flow--the smooth kind--with dips and depressions in the surface rocking your vehicle as you pass over the frost heaves. Although having to slow down for these flagged spots adds to our driving time, we still make Tok by 10 p.m., giving us all of the next day to drive the 328 miles from Tok to Anchorage.
Miles driven: 2,110 Gallons of gas: Approximately 100 gallons (driving a VW Eurovan) at an average cost per gallon (for premium, where available) of $3.48. Total gas cost was about $425. Per gallon cost ranged from $3.09 in Anchorage to $4.03 in Whitehorse, YT, with an average cost per gallon of $3.48. Ferry costs: Inter-Island Ferry Authority (www.interislandferry.com) Northern Route, 2 adults and 15-foot van, $393.54.
Alaska Marine Highway (www.ferryalaska.com) for 2 adults, 2-berth cabin and vehicle to 15-feet in length, Haines to Petersburg, $458; 2 adults, 2-berth cabin, vehicle to 15 feet, Ketchikan to Juneau, $540; 2 adults, vehicle to 15 feet, Juneau to Skagway, $191.
