Hoonah-Angoon Census Area: Nature, Water and Tlingit Culture

The Hoonah-Angoon Census Area combines the wild landscapes of Southeast Alaska with waterways, Tlingit culture and special nature experiences. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is located in the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Yakutat Borough. When planning your trip, it is therefore important to decide whether you want to focus on glacial landscapes, wildlife viewing, culture or paddling excursions. A vacation apartment or vacation home should reflect your preferred type of trip—not a generalized idea of the region as a whole.

Experiencing Glacier Bay and Bartlett Cove

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve protects a wild landscape with coastal mountains, glaciers, ice fields, temperate rainforests, scenic coastlines and deeply indented, sheltered fjords. The national park is accessible only by plane or boat. This access situation is one of the most important factors to consider when planning your accommodation and travel arrangements for a stay in this part of Alaska.

Bartlett Cove has a free campground for walk-in tent camping in a rainforest landscape along the shore. Bartlett Cove Campground has bear-resistant food storage containers, composting toilets, a beach fire ring and a small warming shelter. Near the Glacier Bay National Park headquarters, there is also a 2,500-square-foot structure that introduces the public to Huna-Łingít ways of life, ancestral knowledge and the relationship with the National Park Service.

The Bartlett River Trail also brings the landscape to life: it follows a tidal lagoon and passes through a spruce-hemlock forest to the mouth of the Bartlett River. Along the way, visitors may spot coyotes, moose, bears and river otters. Those who want to combine wildlife viewing with a specific trail route will find a distinct focus for planning their day here.

Places Between Mountains, Sea and Sheltered Waters

Gustavus lies on a plain formed by the retreat of glaciers. The town is surrounded on three sides by the distant mountains and ice fields of Glacier Bay National Park, and on the fourth side by the sea. This gives Gustavus a different geographical orientation from places whose travel experiences are primarily based on excursions on the water or cultural offerings.

Angoon is the gateway to Admiralty Island National Monument and also a starting point for kayaking and canoeing trips there. The tribal community houses in Angoon have painted façades that reflect Tlingit heritage. In Hoonah, local totem sites feature carved canoes and totems; local tour operators offer cultural tours covering Tlingit dance, music, art and history.

Hoonah is well suited as a base for different excursion plans: In summer, charter boats offer fishing trips for halibut as well as king, coho, sockeye, chum and pink salmon. Wildlife tours to brown bears, bald eagles, humpback whales, seals, Steller sea lions and Dall's porpoises are also offered in summer. The Hoonah Ranger District also maintains a network of nearby hiking and mountain biking trails. A 40-mile wilderness paddling route runs from Hoonah to Tenakee Springs along the shores of Port Frederick and Tenakee Inlet.

Tenakee Springs and Pelican: Sheltered Waters and Local History

Tenakee Springs has several historic buildings along the shore and along the town's only unpaved road. Kayaks can be rented to explore the quiet, sheltered waters of the inlet. The town's history reaches far back to its hot springs: a public bathhouse was built at a 107-degree mineral spring as early as 1895; the present-day Hot Springs Bath House replaces the original bathhouse.

Pelican offers a different emphasis. Salmon Way is a one-mile-long waterfront boardwalk built on pilings over the tidal zone. Around 40 miles of sheltered waters are available for sea kayaking in the surrounding area, including Lisianski Inlet, Lisianski Straits and Stag Bay. An annual king salmon competition takes place in Pelican in early June. Icy Strait Point is open to all visitors whenever a cruise ship is in port. There, Mountain Top Forest Excursions take visitors more than 1,500 feet up to the summit of Hoonah Mountain by gondola and include a six-mile round trip by open-air tram through old-growth forest.

Choosing the Right Accommodation Region

If you are looking for a vacation apartment or vacation home, first determine the most important part of your trip. For Glacier Bay, the special access options by plane or boat and the nature experiences around Bartlett Cove are key. For kayaking and canoeing trips, Angoon, Tenakee Springs or Pelican take center stage. Hoonah combines water activities, wildlife viewing, Tlingit culture, and hiking and mountain biking trails. This allows you to align your accommodation search with the actual character of the days you have planned.

For further orientation, you can also visit Gustavus, Skagway and Angoon. Other destinations to compare include Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Bristol Bay, Kenai Peninsula, Fairbanks North Star Borough and Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area.

For the broader travel overview: Alaska.