Icy Strait Point, Alaska

After a very rough day at sea and feeling sea sick for 24 hours we awoke to calm seas in the inside passage of Alaska heading to Icy Strait Point.  The Quantum of the Seas docked at Icy Strait Point around 1:00 pm so we had the next eight hours to explore.

Calm seas in the inside passage of Alaska,
heading to Icy Strait Point

Icy Strait Point is Alaska Native owned-and-operated, with all profits directly supporting the community of Hoonah, Alaska’s largest Native Tlingit village. No matter if they were working in the restaurants, gift shops, or excursions, the workers at Icy Strait Point were so friendly!

Nature hike with ship in view

Icy Strait Point is part of Chichagoff Island which is home to more brown bears than humans.  In fact, as soon as we disembarked the ship we headed to a hiking trail that went from the gang plank up to the Transporter Landing (transportation between high and low areas of Icy Strait Point)and spotted fresh bear scat even though there were many tourists in the area!

Cannery building from walk to Hoonah

View of ship from walk to Hoonah

Sea lions feeding in Port Frederick near the Duck Point Smokehouse

Icy Strait Point is a place where eagles soar overhead and whales are regularly seen just offshore - we saw two and also several sea lions feeding in the area.  Surrounded by towering rainforest and set against the backdrop of mist-shrouded mountains, guests can truly immerse themselves in our wilderness environment.

With over 30 exciting tours, a restored 1912 salmon cannery and museum, nature trails, and even a beach! Icy Strait Point is the port for adventure. 

Cannery museum buildings

Riding the Transporter to the a higher level

We had booked an excursion to hike Chichagoff Island but it was canceled so we decided to explore the area ourselves.  When we first left the gang plank of the ship we headed to a walking trail at Wilderness Landing that hugged the beach but then moved up into a rainforest before popping out at the landing for the Transporter and the beginning of the gondola. 

We rode the Transporter (free that day) down to the lower part of Icy Strait Point and found Dr. Pepper on tap at the Duck Point Smokehouse Station.  That made our day as we did not purchase any drink packages on our ship and had trouble getting our daily dose of Dr. Pepper!

After feeling refreshed we headed to the restored cannery, which is now a museum, to learn of the history of Icy Strait Point and shop for souvenirs. 

Next we decided we would walk to into the town of Hoonah, however, after talking to some people coming back from town we learned that the walk was about 2 miles and there was not much to see or explore.  We decided to ride the Transporter back up to the mountain to the Gondola ride which took us up the mountain to where the zip lining started.  We did not ride the zip lines, however we did enjoy the beautiful views from the mountain and played in what snow was left (over 5 feet deep in some areas).

After riding the Gondola back down we had to take the Transporter one more time to go back down to the beach level of Icy Strait Point.  We decided to get a cold beer at the Duck Point Smokehouse Station which we enjoyed next to a wood burning fireplace before heading back to the ship.  

After being sea sick the day before we arrived at Icy Strait Point it was energizing to walk on land and breathe the fresh mountain air.  We truly felt we had arrived in Alaska!  Our next stop would be Skagway!

We were lucky enough to see a few humpback whales from
our ship's balcony

Sundown near Icy Strait Point

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