Haines Alaska is a small seaside town accessible via ferry on the Lynn Canal or via driving the Haines Highway from the Alaska Highway, a 150 mile route south from Haines Junction, Yukon Territory. We opted to drive from the Alaska Highway. While visiting Haines, we stayed at the Haines Hitch-up RV Park. Located at the north end of town, it was an easy walk to downtown, the grocery store and several restaurants. The visitor’s center is a great place to start a visit in Haines. While there, pick up Haines and Fort Seward walking tour guides. If you want to hike, they also have a “Haines is for Hikers” brochure which provides information about the trails near town.
Fort Seward was opened in 1901
While in Haines, we visited Kroschel Film’s Wildlife Center, located about 28 miles north of town; took the pedestrian fast ferry for a day trip to Skagway, Alaska; rafted down the Chilkat River through the Bald Eagle Preserve with Chilkat River Guides; and took a fantastic flight-seeing trip over Glacier Bay National Park with Mountain Flying Service. We also hiked Battery Point and Seduction Point Trails in the Chilkat State Recreation Area and watched bears on the Chilkoot River.
Karen the moose at the Kroschel Film’s Wildlife Center
The Haines walking tour includes information about the older buildings in Haines, which was originally settled during the Klondike Goldrush era. Haines was joined to the Alaska Highway during the building of the ALCAN as another route to get supplies to the highway construction and to Alaska. Nowadays, it is a popular outdoor adventure stop. Some cruise ships stop here. Some visitors come over from Skagway via the fast ferry. Other highlights along the walking tour include the Hammer Museum (home to 1500 hammers), the Haines Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center, the small boat harbor and the American Bald Eagle Foundation. You can also continue onto the Fort William H. Seward walking tour. The fort was built in 1901 in response to a border dispute with Canada during the Klondike Goldrush. It was named for Secretary of State William H. Seward, who arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia.
The Hammer Museum features 1500 hammers
Haines Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center
Small boat harbor in Haines, Alaska
Bear watching at the Chilkoot River and Lake is a popular activity. Located about 10 miles southeast of town, the Chilkoot River provides salmon spawning grounds. During salmon runs, the bears have easy pickings at the fish weir, an obstruction placed in tidal waters or across a river, to direct the passage of fish. The Alaska Fish & Game Rangers count salmon here. The bears visit the area several times a day to gorge on fish as part of their fall feeding frenzy known as hyperphagia. In preparation for winter hibernation, the bears have to pack on the pounds. We stopped by twice during our time in Haines and saw bears during both visits.
A female Grizzly at the Chilkoot River
This woman was far too close to the mother grizzly with two 2 year old cubs
Chilkoot bears
Chilkoot grizzly bears, mother and cub
A bald eagle along the Chilkoot River
Chilkat Bakery and Restaurant
Food & Dining: While in Haines, we shopped at the IGA Grocery Store which had a good selection and the usual slightly inflated prices we’ve come to expect while in Alaska. We checked out Olerudes grocery also and found it to be smaller and felt it didn’t have any benefit over sticking with the IGA. We also got baked goods at the the Chilkat Bakery and Restaurant. The baked goods were tasty, so we decided to have lunch there. They serve Thai food, so we ordered Pad Thai with Chicken and a Green Curry with Beef. The overall flavor of the dishes was fine, but both meats were tough and gristly. We also tried a dinner at the Pilot House Restaurant where we ordered Caribou Lasagne, an Elk Burger with Bleu Cheese. We started with bread with oil & balsamic, which was very tasty. The Elk Burger was good. The Caribou Lasagne was tasty, but had not been heated as much as it should have been. Service was slow, but there was only one waiter and it was fairly busy.
