Icy Strait Point
There are ports you visit and promptly forget, and then there are ports that stay with you long after the ship has sailed. Icy Strait Point in Hoonah, Alaska is firmly in the second category. I first visited in 2018, and was charmed by its raw, unhurried beauty and the quiet pride of a community that had built something truly special. When I returned in 2022, I was not prepared for just how much had changed. And how much had stayed beautifully the same. That visit, along with my earlier experience, found its way into the pages of my book Northwest to Love, but this blog is my chance to share those observations more personally, the way you would share a favorite discovery with a friend over coffee.
Icy Strait Point is not your typical Alaska cruise port. There are no chain stores, no tourist traps and no sense that the destination exists purely for the convenience of passing ships. What you find instead is something far more meaningful. It’s a place where the land, the wildlife and the people tell a story that has been unfolding for centuries. Whether you are planning your first Alaska cruise or looking for reasons to return, Icy Strait Point deserves a place at the top of your list.
A Community-Owned Port Unlike Any Other
Not all Alaska cruise ports are created equal, and Icy Strait Point sets itself apart from the moment you step ashore. Opened in 2004, this remarkable destination is privately owned and operated with one singular purpose — to support the community of Hoonah, the largest Tlingit Native village in Alaska. There are no outside corporate interests pulling the strings here. Every dollar spent at Icy Strait Point flows directly back into the hands of the people who call this place home, and you can feel that authenticity on every corner of the port.
The Tlingit people have inhabited this region for thousands of years, and their presence is woven into the very fabric of Icy Strait Point. Their culture, their craftsmanship and their deep connection to the land are not merely on display as a tourist attraction, they are living, breathing elements of daily life here. As a visitor, there is something quietly humbling about walking through a place where history is not something that happened long ago but something that continues to unfold with every generation. It gives Icy Strait Point a depth and sincerity that is increasingly rare in today’s world of commercialized travel destinations.
What strikes you most, perhaps, is the sense of purpose behind it all. The community of Hoonah made a deliberate and courageous decision to open their home to the world on their own terms, and the result is a port experience that feels less like a scheduled stop and more like a genuine invitation. For travelers who appreciate meaning behind their adventures, there is no better introduction to Alaska than this.
Where Nature Reigns Supreme
If the community of Hoonah gives Icy Strait Point its heart, then the surrounding landscape gives it its soul. Situated on Chichagof Island within Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States, Icy Strait Point sits at the edge of one of the most breathtakingly wild places on earth. This is not a landscape that has been groomed or tamed for visitors. It is raw, ancient and gloriously untouched. The kind of place that reminds you just how small we are in the grand scheme of things.
A Wilderness Like No Other
Chichagof Island is home to more brown bears per square mile than humans. To me, that is a fact that feels both thrilling and humbling. Eagles soar overhead with an effortless grace that never gets old no matter how many times you look up. Humpback whales roam the surrounding waters, and the cold, clean depths below are rich with halibut and salmon that have been sustaining this community for generations. Every element of the natural world here feels interconnected, purposeful and alive in a way that is difficult to put into words but impossible to forget once you have experienced it firsthand.
Can you see the waterfall?
The atmosphere itself is something to behold. A cool, misty dampness hangs in the air, softening the edges of the dense rainforest and giving everything a dreamlike, almost ethereal quality. Moss clings to every surface, trees stretch impossibly tall toward a sky that shifts between silver and blue, and the sounds of the forest — birdsong, rustling leaves, the distant rush of water — create a natural symphony that soothes. For anyone who has ever felt the pull of wild places, Icy Strait Point delivers in the most magnificent way imaginable.
The Restored Cannery – History, Culture and Local Heart
Some of the most meaningful travel experiences are the ones that teach you something, and the restored Hoonah Packing Company canning factory at Icy Strait Point does exactly that. What could have been left to crumble as a relic of the past has instead been thoughtfully and lovingly brought back to life. It now offers visitors a genuine glimpse into what the working cannery would have looked like in its heyday. Walking through it, you get the sense that no detail was overlooked. This was not a rushed renovation but a deliberate act of preservation, a community choosing to honor its own story with care and intention. To me, that speaks directly to the character of Hoonah and the pride these people take in who they are and where they come from.
A Living Piece of Alaskan History
The museum’s salmon canning line display is fascinating, the kind of exhibit that draws you in and holds your attention far longer than you expected. It is one thing to know intellectually that Alaska’s fishing industry has been the backbone of countless communities for generations. It is another thing entirely to stand in the very space where that history happened and see it brought to life before your eyes. As someone who appreciates a good story, I found myself lingering longer than my travel companions, quietly soaking it all in. There is a narrative here that deserves to be told, and the people of Hoonah are telling it beautifully.
Shopping, Dining and a Bookstore with Heart
Beyond the museum, the cannery complex offers a lovely collection of local arts and crafts shops where you can browse handmade treasures that reflect the rich cultural heritage of the Tlingit people. The restaurants serve fresh, delicious seafood that reminds you exactly where you are in the world. There is nothing quite like sitting down to a meal of Pacific halibut or wild Alaska salmon steps away from the waters they came from. And then there is the small bookstore that quietly stole my heart. Every cent of its proceeds goes directly to the local school system, which I thought was such a wonderful and purposeful touch. I did my part, happily walking away with a book about the 1964 Valdez Earthquake, a piece of Alaska history I was eager to learn more about.
It is worth noting that the quality and completeness of the cannery restoration feels very much like the work of a community that had a vision and the resources to execute it properly. Looking back, it is difficult not to connect that level of investment to the COVID recovery funding that made so much of Icy Strait Point’s transformation possible. More on that later — but the cannery alone is proof that when a community is given the tools to tell its own story, the results can be extraordinary.
Icy Strait Point Zipline and the Gondola Experience
If you are the kind of traveler who likes a little adrenaline with your scenery, Icy Strait Point has you more than covered. The port is home to the world’s largest zipline, stretching an impressive 5,330 feet across a landscape so spectacular it almost seems unfair that you get to see it at that speed. From the moment we arrived, the zipline was buzzing with activity. There was a steady stream of brave souls launching themselves across the Alaskan sky with varying degrees of whooping and hollering. It was genuinely thrilling to watch, and I will admit it looked like an awful lot of fun. If I were twenty years younger, I might have joined them!
Instead, my husband, good friend and I opted for what I would argue is the equally spectacular, more leisurely gondola experience. The gondolas were a welcome addition since my 2018 visit, and they turned out to be one of the highlights of the entire trip. A shorter ride takes you partway up the mountain, offering views that are already enough to make you catch your breath. But the second gondola carries you all the way to the summit, where the full, sweeping majesty of Icy Strait Point and the surrounding wilderness unfolds before you in every direction. The ship we had arrived on was just visible on the far right, tiny against the vast and ancient landscape, a perspective that puts the whole experience beautifully in context.
We enjoyed it so thoroughly that we rode the gondolas a second time, which I think says everything you need to know. On our way down, we were treated to an unexpected bonus, deer grazing peacefully below the lower gondola, utterly unbothered by our presence. As for bears? We were perfectly happy not to encounter any, thank you very much! It was one of those simple, joyful travel moments that you do not plan for but never forget, and it was the perfect ending to an already memorable morning on the mountain.
On our way to the top! An amazing view from the gondola. Can you see the Ship on the far right?
Nature Trails, Rainforests and the Shoreline
If the gondola takes your breath away with its sweeping views from above, the nature trails at Icy Strait Point bring you back down to earth in the most magical way possible. And I mean that quite literally. Stepping into the dense, misty rainforest of Chichagof Island feels like entering another world entirely. A world where time moves a little slower and every step reveals something new and extraordinary. The trails wind through a cathedral of impossibly tall, moss-draped trees that filter the light into something soft and almost otherworldly. The air carries that clean, cool dampness that only exists in places that have never been rushed or overdeveloped. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to speak in hushed tones out of sheer reverence.
Into the Rainforest
Shuttle rides are available for those who prefer a more guided experience through the rainforest, and they weave a wonderful path past hidden waterfalls and lush, dripping vegetation that spills over every surface in every shade of green imaginable. But it is the walking trails themselves that truly impressed me. There’s something deeply personal about moving through a landscape at your own pace, pausing when something catches your eye, doubling back to look again at a waterfall tucked between the trees or a particularly magnificent cluster of moss-covered roots. The rainforest rewards the curious and the unhurried, and I found myself grateful for every quiet moment I spent within it.
Down to the Shoreline
Icy Strait Shoreline. In 2018, we visited the far shoreline, saw eagles in the pine trees.
The trails eventually lead you down to the shoreline, where the mood shifts from the hushed intimacy of the forest to something wilder and more expansive. The shore at Icy Strait Point is a place of genuine wonder. On my 2018 visit, I spotted eagles perched high in the pine trees along the far shoreline, their white heads unmistakable against the dark green of the forest behind them.
There is an observation deck along the way to the canning factory that offers a brisk, cool vantage point over the water, accompanied by a beautifully rendered statue honoring the whales that roam these rich and ancient waters. It is a small but deeply fitting tribute in a place where nature and community are so profoundly intertwined.
Observation deck on the way to the canning factory that offered a brisk, cool view and statue honoring the whales.
What struck me most about the nature trails at Icy Strait Point was how seamlessly they connect the visitor to the environment without ever feeling manufactured or forced. This is not a theme park version of the Alaskan wilderness. It’s the real thing, accessible and welcoming but never diminished. For a nature lover, a photographer, or simply someone who needs to be reminded of the extraordinary beauty of the natural world, these trails are not to be missed.
Icy Strait Point After COVID – A Transformation Worth Seeing
There are destinations you revisit with a quiet hope that they will be just as you remember them, and then there are destinations that surprise you by becoming something even better. Icy Strait Point fell firmly into the second category when I returned in 2022. From the moment I stepped ashore, it was clear that something significant had happened here. Not in a way that erased what made the port so special in the first place, but in a way that amplified it. The community of Hoonah had taken the adversity of the COVID pandemic and turned it into an opportunity, and the results were nothing short of remarkable.
A Community That Chose to Grow
Like so many tourism-dependent communities, Hoonah faced enormous challenges during the pandemic years when cruise ships stopped sailing and visitors stopped coming. But rather than waiting for things to return to normal, the community made a deliberate and forward-thinking decision to use available COVID recovery funding to invest in the future of Icy Strait Point. What emerged from those difficult years was a destination that felt both familiar and transformed. It had the same authentic, community-driven spirit at its core, but with new experiences, enhanced facilities and a renewed sense of energy and purpose that was impossible to miss.
The gondola experience is perhaps the most visible and memorable example of that transformation. Where once the zipline was the primary draw for thrill seekers, the addition of the gondolas opened up the mountain’s spectacular views to a whole new audience, those of us who prefer our adventures with a little more comfort and a lot more lingering! But the gondolas were far from the only change. The restoration of the Hoonah Packing Company cannery to its former glory, the enhanced nature trails and the overall polish and thoughtfulness of the visitor experience all spoke to a community that had taken the time to ask itself a very important question, not just how do we survive this, but how do we grow from it?
Returning to Icy Strait Point in 2022 was one of those travel experiences that restores your faith in people and in the power of community. The Tlingit people of Hoonah have always known who they are and what they value, and that clarity of purpose shines through in everything they have built here. For anyone who visited Icy Strait Point before the pandemic and has been wondering whether it is worth returning to , the answer is an emphatic and unqualified yes. It was good before. Now it is extraordinary.
Key Takeaways – Why Icy Strait Point Belongs on Your Alaska Itinerary
Some destinations check a box on your travel list. Others change the way you think about travel altogether. Icy Strait Point, Alaska is the latter, and if my two visits — in 2018 and again in 2022 — taught me anything, it is that this remarkable port only gets better with time and with knowing.
What to Expect at Icy Strait Point Alaska
- It is unlike any other Alaska cruise port. Community-owned, culturally rich and deeply authentic, Icy Strait Point offers something that no corporate-run destination can replicate, a genuine connection to the people, the history and the land.
- The wildlife and wilderness are the real deal. From brown bears and soaring eagles to humpback whales and wild salmon, the natural world at Chichagof Island and Tongass National Forest is breathtaking in every sense of the word.
- The cannery restoration is a must-see. The Hoonah Packing Company museum is a masterclass in honoring community history, and the arts, crafts, restaurants and bookstore surrounding it make for a wonderfully rich cultural experience.
- The gondolas are worth every minute. Whether you are brave enough to tackle the world’s largest zipline or prefer the leisurely magic of a gondola ride to the summit, the views from above Icy Strait Point are unforgettable.
- The nature trails will stay with you. The misty rainforest, the hidden waterfalls, the moss-draped trees and the eagle-lined shoreline are the kind of natural beauty that reminds you why travel matters in the first place.
- The transformation is real and it is impressive. The community of Hoonah used the challenges of the COVID pandemic as a springboard for growth, and the results are a destination that is more vibrant, more complete and more compelling than ever before.
If you are planning an Alaska cruise and wondering whether Icy Strait Point deserves a place on your itinerary, I hope my experience has answered that question with a resounding yes. And if you have already been, I hope it has inspired you to go back, because trust me, it is even better the second time around.
Parts of my Icy Strait Point experience also appear in my book Northwest to Love, where Alaska comes to life alongside the many other remarkable destinations that stole my heart along the way. I would love for you to come along on the full journey.
Ready to explore more of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest through my eyes? You can find it on my Books page or follow my Northwest to Love board on Pinterest for more travel stories, photos and inspiration from some of the most beautiful places on earth. The adventure is just beginning!