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Alaska's
Exciting Ports of Call
Photos:
(Top) Float-equipped fightseeing plane departs from Juneau cruise docks
to view the massive Juneau Icefield. - Mike Miller photo.
(Center) Welcome group of Alaska Natives from the Icy Strait Point
soft-adventure and cultural center paddle out to greet arriving
cruisers. - Photo courtesy of Icy Strait Point. (Bottom)
Escorted hikes through Southeast Alaska forests are a favorite port
activity. - Mike Miller photo
The port cities, towns, and villages you can visit on an Alaska cruise
or ferry ride are a diverse and exciting lot. Some communities, like Anchorage, are big
and busy and business-oriented, yet Alaskan to the core; the Anchorage
Museum of History and Art and the Alaska Native Heritage
Center are both "must see." Skagway
is an authentic 19th century goldrush town. Sitka relishes
the memory of its Tlingit Indian heritage and its Russian
colonial past.
They don't call Petersburg "Little
Norway" for nothing, and if you don't believe it drop by toward the end
of May and help the locals celebrate Norwegian Independence Day. Juneau's three
"G's" (Glaciers, Gold, and Government) make it a favorite stop among
both cruisers and ferry patrons.
Ketchikan's
world class collection of totem poles is much treasured by residents
and visitors alike - as are the magnificent cedar monuments on Chief
Shakes Island within the harbor at Wrangell.
At Haines,
residents likewise embrace historic and contemporary Tlingit Indian
art, as well as the world's largest gathering of American bald eagles.
Tiny Baranof Warm Springs,
as the name implies, boasts natural outdoor warm springs pools in the
woods - sites much appreciated both by locals, itinerant commercial
fishermen and smallboat cruise passengers. Tenakee's natural
springs have similar appeal.
Icy Strait Point, adjacent to Hoonah, is Alaska's
first planned cultural and activity port, reserved for
passengers from no more than one cruiseship a day. Cordova and Valdez, both
located on the shores of glacier-rich Prince
William Sound,
offer unexcelled waterborne sightseeing and angling. Goldrush Nome, the Eskimo
village of Gambell
on St. Lawrence Island, and Little
Diomede Island can only be described as "way far out," in
more ways than one.
The list goes happily on... And on...
Following are Alaska's cruiseship and ferry stops, large and small,
along with California, Washington, and British Columbia ports of
embarkation and disembarkation. If a community has a presence on the
worldwide web, the appropriate URL link is noted. The port
list runs roughly south to north. Happy surfing.
Please
note: Some of the very small villages marked with a star (*) have no
websites of their own. For these communities we have supplied a data
site prepared by the State of Alaska Department of Community and
Economic Development or other agencies.To access the State site, click
on the blue link here or at the bottom of the page which reads: http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_BLOCK.cfm.
When the window opens, (1) scroll the box containing community names
and select the community you are seeking, (2) select "General Overview"
in the other box, then (3) click "submit data"
"E/D" indicates a cruise
embarkation or disembarktion port.
"PoC"
indicates a cruise port of call.
"Ferry" indicates a ferry stop.
CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, B.C. PORTS
San Diego, www.sandiego.org
- E/D
Los Angeles, www.lacvb.com
- E/D
San Francisco, www.sfvisitor.org
- E/D
Seattle, www.seeseattle.org
- E/D, PoC
Bellingham, www.bellingham.org
- Ferry
Vancouver, www.tourismvancouver.com
- E/D
Victoria, www.tourismvictoria.com
- PoC
Pr. Rupert, www.tourismprincerupert.com
- E/D, Ferry, PoC
ALASKA
PORTS
Hyder, www.stewart-hyder.com
- PoC
Ketchikan, www.visit-ketchikan.com
- E/D, Ferry, PoC
Hollis*- Ferry
Metlakatla, www.metlakatla.org
- Ferry, PoC
Wrangell, www.wrangell.com
- Ferry PoC
Petersburg, www.petersburg.org
- Ferry, PoC
Kake*- Ferry, PoC
Sitka, www.sitka.org
- E/D, Ferry, PoC
Angoon*- Ferry
Elfin Cove* - PoC
Baranof Warm Springs (No community web site found. Following is a
private site linked by permission from Online Highways)
http://users.erols.com/ovoss/hot-springs-photos-page3.htm#Baranof
- PoC
Tenakee Springs*- Ferry
Juneau, www.traveljuneau.com
- E/D, Ferry, PoC
Hoonah/Icy Strait Point, www.hunatotem.com/affiliates/icy_strait_point.html
- Ferry, PoC
Haines, www.haines.ak.us
-Ferry, PoC
Skagway, www.skagway.com
-Ferry, PoC
Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay Nat’l Prk, www.nps.gov/klgo/index.htm
- PoC
Yakutat, www.yakutat.net/
- Ferry
Cordova, www.cordovachamber.com
- Ferry, PoC
Tatitlek*- Ferry
Valdez, www.valdezalaska.org
-Ferry
Chenega Bay*- Ferry
Seward, www.sewardak.org
- E/D
Whittier, www.ci.whittier.ak.us-
E/D, Ferry
Anchorage, http://www.anchorage.net
- E/D
Homer, www.homeralaska.org
- E/D, Ferry
Seldovia, www.seldovia.com
- Ferry
Kodiak, www.kodiak.org
- E/D - Ferry
Port Lions*- Ferry
Chignik*- Ferry
Sand Point*- Ferry
King Cove*- Ferry
Cold Bay*- Ferry
False Pass*- Ferry
Akutan*- Ferry
Dutch Harbor/Unalaska, www.unalaska.info
- Ferry, PoC
Nome, www.nomealaska.org
- E/D
St. Paul, Pribilof Islands, www.southwestalaska.com/pribilof/
- PoC
Gambell, St. Lawrence Island,
www.beringsea.com/communities/index.php?community -129 - PoC
Diomede (also Little Diomede)*- PoC
RUSSIAN & JAPANESE PORTS
Petropavlovsk, Russia - E/D
Hakodate. Japan - E/D
Sendai. Japan - E/D
Yokohama.Japan - E/D
Tokyo, Japan - E/D
To access State of Alaska database information about small communities
marked with a star (*), click the following URL:: http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_BLOCK.cfm
You may view our Privacy
Policy by clicking “Site Map-–About Us”
at the bottom of the contents directory in the left-hand column of this
page.
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