Alaska's Coastline Offers Natural Wonders, History, Wildlife, and a Unique Outdoor Culture
Ever since Alaska became a state in 1959, people have been enthralled by its natural beauty and unique culture. Close to three million visitors come to Alaska by ship, plane, or train each year. Tourism generates substantial revenues and jobs for the state government and attractions located in popular coastline towns and wilderness destinations. Alaskans remain committed to preserving the resources of the Last Frontier, so that the natural wonders, marine life, animals, and culture of the state can continue to be enjoyed by visitors and its 740,000 residents. This article focuses on popular destinations along the coastline's Inland Passage.
SHORT HISTORY OF ALASKA
Alaska has always been affected by changes in the world's climate. During the warming periods of the Stone Age, humans migrated into Alaska and down into North America across the Bering land bridge from Asia. Some native peoples established arctic settlements in Alaska that endured. However, the region had limited contact with other civilizations for thousands of years until explorers from Denmark, Russia, Great Britain, and Japan visited the Alaskan coast in the 18th century. Russia established a few settlements in Alaska, but it sold the territory to the United States for $7.2 million in gold in 1867. Ironically, after reports of gold strikes circulated, over one hundred thousand people arrived in the state from 1888 to 1900 to seek their fortune.
While most prospectors were unsuccessful, some of them remained in Alaska encouraged by federal legislation that allowed settlers to claim 160 acres of public land as a homestead. The 20th century saw the slow but steady development of Alaska that led to statehood in 1959 and efforts to respect the land interests and civil rights of Alaska’s Native People. Perhaps the most challenging issue facing the state in recent decades has been to strike a balance between developing the oil deposits, fishing, and other natural resources of the state, while managing the huge public lands controlled by the federal and state government for conservation and appropriate tourism.
THINGS TO DO ON THE ALASKAN COAST
Most of the people who visit Alaska arrive on cruise ships because some coastal cities cannot be reached by train or highway. Nevertheless, there are plenty of interesting destinations to explore from the ship or to visit on side trips. Here are some things to do in several major destinations:
SKAGWAY EXPERIENCES
Skagway is a small town today with only 1100 permanent residents, but around the end of the 19th century it became the largest city in Alaska. Thousands of prospectors from the continental United States and abroad flocked to the region and western Canada at that time to seek riches in the Klondike Gold Rush. Now thousands of cruise ship passengers and other tourists fill the downtown streets and visit the attractions of Skagway from May to September. The "wild west" climate created during the Gold Rush era and the town's proximity to the beauties of nature remain at the heart of Skagway's culture. Jack London was inspired to write "The Call of the Wild" based on his experiences in the wilderness there. Skagway’s leading destinations include:
Ride the White Pass & Yukon Railway- The quest for gold that began here in 1897 led thousands of mostly inexperienced men to attempt to climb up two rough trails with tons of supplies and pack animals to begin the long journey to the Klondike over mountains, forests, and lakes. Incredibly, a group of visionary investors headed by Michael J. Heney developed a plan to build a twenty-mile-long railroad up the mountains to an elevation of three thousand feet. This Herculean project cost $10 million and employed thousands of men who built tunnels, bridges, and tracks up the mountain in 27 months. For the next 82 years, the railroad carried prospectors, settlers, adventurers and eventually mining materials and helped open the Yukon.
In 1988, the White Pass & Yukon Railroad Company reopened the rail line as a tourist attraction which operates a narrow gauge, roundtrip route between downtown Skagway and the White Pass Summit. The railroad relies on two steam engines, twenty diesel-electric locomotives, and six brand new engines to pull restored and replica coaches holding up to five hundred passengers on double benches. Along the way, passengers will climb through tunnels and over bridges and see majestic mountains, the roaring Skagway River, miles of forests, a Canadian border crossing, melting glacial lakes, and unparalleled views of the region's mountain ranges. Train guides narrate the trip and help passengers access the train platforms to photograph the best sites. The most popular train experience takes about 2.75 hours, but some train packages include extended excursions to Bennett, British Columbia and Carcross, Yukon, or feature side trips to replica mining camps and outdoor activities.
Days of 98 Show- Another popular activity in Skagway is the 100-year-old "Days of 98 Show" presented at a comfortable theater and small museum on Broadway & Sixth Street. This one-hour long vaudeville type musical tells the loose story of one of Skagway's notorious characters from the Gold Rush days named Jefferson "Soapy" Smith. Considered a con man and crime leader by some and merely an enterprising businessman by others, Soapy and his associates took advantage of the thousands of men passing through Skagway. Soapy specialized in providing them with the opportunity to drink, gamble and fulfill other pleasures while in the town. Eventually, Soapy's associates created such a ruckus and corrupt reputation for the town that concerned citizens formed a committee to deal with him which ended in a tragic shootout that killed Soapy and the committee chairman. In the show, Soapy and two of his parlor dancing girls tell their stories by singing some familiar anthems and risqué ones. With a few surprises, it is an entertaining show presented with enthusiasm and talent by the actors three times a day during the tourist season.
Downtown Shops and Restaurants- The main Skagway Street of Broadway and the adjoining avenues are close to the cruise ship docks and it is easy to browse them on a raised board walk. Along the way, there are shops offering souvenirs, crafts, animal related items, jewelry, and Alaskan clothes. There are plenty of restaurants and eateries in the town also. One popular stop is the Red Onion Saloon which was voted the best small-town bar in Alaska because of the light fare, drinks, and Brothel Museum. Another stop is the Visitors Center for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park where a free 25-minute film is offered, and information is available about other nearby historic buildings and museums to visit.
JUNEAU EXPERIENCES
Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is located about eight hundred miles north of Vancouver, Canada within the Tracy Arm Fjord of the Inland Passage. Founded by a prospector named Joe Juneau in 1881 who struck gold at the mouth of the Gold Creek, the area produced huge quantities of gold over the next six decades. Reachable only by plane, ferry or cruise ship, Juneau has a population of 32,406 residents spread around a small urban center and surrounding woodland and mountain neighborhoods. This remote location has over 1,000 millionaires and most residents work for governmental entities, tourism, fishing, and mining. Some activities for visitors to enjoy in Juneau are:
Mendenhall Glacier- Mendenhall Glacier is one of the most accessible glaciers in Alaska and is a great place to learn about glaciers and their changing condition in the current global warming period. Located in the Tongass National Forest about twelve miles from the city, Mendenhall has a large Visitors Center with views of the 1500 square mile Juneau Icefield. It is useful to start there and watch the center's 15-minute movie describing the formation of the glacier during the Ice Age and the changes that have taken place in its depth, composition, and length over the past century. Many people who visit the glacier walk along the trails adjacent to Mendenhall Lake to get closer views of the glacier’s blue tinted ice or to visit the Nugget Falls that race down into the Lake from the towering mountain next to it. Others fly over the glacier by helicopter or approach it on raft and kayak trips. Some years 700,000 people travel to this glacier.
Macaulay Salmon Hatchery- Huge numbers of salmon return to the rivers of Juneau and other Alaskan communities each from July to September to fight upstream to spawn. Places like the Macaulay Hatchery run by a private non-profit seek to sustain and enhance the valuable salmon resources of Alaska and promote public understanding of the industry. The Visitors Center allows tourists to learn about the life cycle of the salmon, their marine environment, and how the hatchery works. It is fascinating to see the fully grown salmon splashing their way up the concrete fish ladder from the river into huge holding tanks to spawn and die, or to look down on the tens of thousands of small salmon alevins that will be fed and eventually placed in the river to migrate to the ocean until they return in future years. The Visitor’s Center has exhibits and guides that explain the process along with a gift store with all kinds of salmon related products and merchandise.
Gold Creek Salmon Bake and Other Food Outlets- There are many eating establishments to enjoy in Juneau, but one popular establishment visited on tours is the Gold Creek Salmon Bake located at a private campground in the woods near the Salmon Creek Waterfall. This two-hour excursion is held at a covered outdoor pavilion in the rain forest where patrons are served an all-you- can-eat meal including grilled and marinated salmon, baked chicken, beans, and potato, along with hot and cold drinks. The meal also includes desserts, a marshmallow roast, and folk music by local musicians. If a picnic style meal is not to your taste, two other food outlets that are popular in town are Tracy King Crab Shack and the Red Dog Saloon.
KETCHIKAN EXPERIENCES
Ketchikan is a popular Alaskan destination located at the southern entrance to the Inside Passage. The town is long and narrow with buildings on the waterway and on the hillsides. Founded in 1885, Ketchikan developed a reputation as a rough town with a focus on the fishing, salmon cannery business, and logging industries. The modern community of approximately 8,000 residents has expanded with many workers providing government services or serving the tourism businesses that bring more than one million people to town each year by ship or plane. Ketchikan has the largest collection of standing totem poles in the world in various locations around the town, serves as the headquarters of the Tongass National Forest, and receives an average of 141 inches of rain annually making it one of the rainiest places in America. Some of the activities for visitors to enjoy in Ketchikan are:
Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show- One of the most popular attractions to see in Ketchikan is the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show presented in a logging camp themed arena on the waterfront of the city. Timber sports competitions are held throughout Canada and parts of the United States. The Ketchikan show provides newcomers with a fast-paced introduction to ten different events by setting up a contest between two teams with two experienced young lumberjacks. The men are put through their paces by a perky young woman who grew up in the industry herself. Using a lot of friendly repartee, the Canadian and American teams are each assigned half of the audience to cheer for them. Once the games begin, the lumberjacks engage in speed chopping with axes, axe throwing at a bullseye target, team speed sawing, and power sawing. The most impressive event requires two of the lumberjacks to climb up a tall pole in a matter of seconds with a harness and then slide back down. The finale involves log rolling where two of the lumberjacks get on logs in the middle of a small pond and roll them back and forth until one falls off. This one-hour show is upbeat, professional, and something that the young and old will enjoy together. The lumberjacks are quite skilled, and the competition reminds me of one that I watched as a child at the New York World's Fair in 1964.
Creek Street- The Ketchikan Creek located a few blocks from the commercial docks was an estuary used for centuries by Native clans and then by early pioneers as a place to fish and catch salmon. With the town's development as a logging and canning center, homes and shops were built there in the early 1900s on stilts with elevated walkways along the creek. For decades thereafter, independent women owned property and worked in this area as prostitutes providing a service sought after by the lumberjacks, fishermen and adventurers coming to the town. After prostitution was outlawed in 1954, it took several decades before the houses there were restored, and the area was revitalized into a local and National Historic District. In addition to houses dedicated to some of the best-known women and the bordellos that once operated there, Creek Street has shops that sell a variety of local merchandise, souvenirs, clothes, and food products while providing a scenic view of the creek.
Totem Heritage Center and Native Culture Attractions- Many totem poles were erected by members of three local Native tribes - the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian - during the 1700s and 1800s. Totem poles were originally built in tribal villages, but many were left behind as native peoples moved into larger communities and settlements. These poles tell stories through their carvings and artwork. Today, old totems and replicas have been gathered in Ketchikan and can be seen and explained at the Totem Heritage Center or the Saxman Village Totem Park.
OTHER OUTDOOR ALASKAN EXPERIENCES
Depending on the time you have and the weather, there are many other activities that people pursue with local guides on an Alaskan vacation or cruise ship experience. One of the most popular ones is to view marine life as part of a whale watching excursion or visiting the habitats of local seals, sea otters, seals and more. Another approach is to go into the forest or the tundra on a search for land animals. Nature is all around you when visiting Skagway, Juneau, or Ketchikan, and with skilled assistance you may be able to see eagles, bears, moose, wolves, and other wildlife on an overland tour. People who love adventure can also find tours that involve visiting dogsled camps, ziplining or kayaking in scenic locations.