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Haines

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Located 75 miles north of Juneau, Haines is one of the Inside Passage’s most scenic communities and a crucial link to the Alaska Highway. Every summer thousands of travelers, particularly RVers, pass through Haines on their way to Canada’s Yukon and Interior Alaska. But it would be a mistake to rush through this friendly town of 2,300 residents. Scenic and not overwhelmed by cruise-ship traffic, Haines is a place worth stopping to explore.

Interesting museums, a thriving arts community, campgrounds located within walking distance of downtown and restaurants that are not part of a national chain all beckon visitors to take a break from the road and savor small-town Alaska. Haines not only offers a tangible sense of peace and tranquility, but also beautiful natural scenery. Located at the head of the Lynn Canal, America's longest and deepest fjord, Haines is surrounded by glacier-covered mountains, rivers filled with salmon and lined by eagles and foot trails that will allow you to climb above the tree line to view it all.

As travelers get back on the road — more than 50,000 travelers in cars and RVs drive the Haines Highway annually — they can consider the road’s history. Originally a stronghold of the wealthy Chilkat Tlingit Indians, a gun-toting entrepreneur named Jack Dalton put Haines on the map when in 1897 he turned an old Indian trade route into a toll road for miners seeking an easier way to reach the Klondike Gold Fields. The Dalton Trail quickly became such a heavily used pack route to mining districts north of Whitehorse that the army arrived in 1903 and established Fort William H. Seward, Alaska's first permanent post. But it was the Haines Highway, a 146-mile link between the Haines and the Alaska Highway, built during World War II as an evacuation route that had the most lasting effect on this town.

Haines

Haines has something most Inside Passage communities do not: a way out that doesn’t involve a boat. The Haines Highway, a National Scenic Byway, leads 146 miles north to Haines Junction where you can pick up the Alaska Highway and continue north or south. The Alaska Marine Highway also serves Haines providing transport for people and vehicles to other Inside Passage ports while a commercial ferry connects Haines with Skagway. At the Haines Airport, you’ll find regularly scheduled flights to Juneau and Skagway.

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Haines

Haines has a wide range of attractions, tours and places to play outdoors. For information on sights, organized tours and outdoor activities contact the Haines Convention and Visitors Bureau. The main attraction in Haines is bald eagles. In late November, more than 4,000 migrate to feed on a late salmon run in the Chilkat River, but they’re also easy to spot throughout the summer.

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Attractions

Alaska Bald Eagle Festival +

The best time to see the eagles gather along the Chilkat River is during the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival. The five-day event attracts hundreds of visitors from around the country to Haines in the second week of November for speakers and presentations at the Sheldon Museum and the American Bald Eagle Foundation Center. The main event is trooping out to the Chilkat River on 'expedition buses' with noted naturalists onboard and viewing eagles.
American Bald Eagle Foundation +

The American Bald Eagle Foundation is focused on the nearby Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and its museum features an impressive wildlife diorama, displaying more than 180 specimens and almost two-dozen eagles. Another highlight of the museum is the live video feed from a remote camera trained on an active eagle's nest. A new raptor center featuring eagles and raptors opened in 2010 designed to educate the public, rehabilitate injured birds and provide a home for those that cannot return to the wild.
Dalton City +

The movie “White Fang” was filmed in Haines and eventually the set was relocated at the Southeast Alaska State Fairgrounds in Haines. False-front buildings and wooden sidewalks line the one-street town that is the home for gift shops and a small brewery.
Fort Seward +

In 1902, ongoing border disputes between the U.S. and Canada provided the justification for the first permanent army post in Alaska. The white buildings of Fort William H. Seward still stand and are a distinctive landmark of Haines. Decommissioned in 1947, the fort was bought by a group of war veterans with hopes of creating an arts and commerce community. The buildings are now privately owned homes, accommodations, restaurants, galleries, and shops.
Hammer Museum +

This unusual museum is dedicated to hammers, telling an intriguing tale of one of the most basic of all tools. Inside there are over 1,500 hammers on display, from one that weighs less than a quarter of an ounce to another weighing more than 40 pounds. You can’t miss the Hammer Museum; there is a 20-foot high hammer outside.
Sheldon Museum +

Sheldon Museum houses a collection of indigenous artifacts upstairs with an interesting display of Chilkat blankets. Downstairs is devoted to Haines' pioneer and gold rush days and includes the sawed-off shotgun that Jack Dalton used to convince travelers to pay his toll.
Southeast Alaska State Fair +

Haines' biggest festival is the Southeast Alaska State Fair at the end of July. It includes four days of live music, parades, logging, volleyball, softball, horseshoe tournaments and livestock shows that draw participants from all Inside Passage communities.