At 140 miles long and more than 2,230 square miles, Prince of Wales Island is the country's third-largest island, after Alaska's Kodiak Island and Hawaii's Big Island. A three-hour ferry ride from Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island is a vast, rugged island, the perfect destination for adventurous visitors who come to Alaska with a paddle or backpack in hand or with hopes of landing a trophy salmon or halibut.
The 990-mile coastline of Prince of Wales Island meanders around numerous bays, coves, saltwater straits and protected islands, making it a kayaker's delight. Chains of inland lakes are better suited for paddlers willing to portage a canoe, and the island is scattered with U.S. Forest Service cabins for those who want to spend a night on their own in the wilderness. The island has the most extensive road system in the Inside Passage, with 1,300 miles of paved or maintained gravel roads that lead to small villages, rustic campgrounds, fishing lodges and numerous trails. There are also several hundred miles of logging roads that many visitors explore on mountain bikes.
Among Prince of Wales Island’s more unusual attractions are fish ladders and caves. On the island's southern half, you can watch salmon attempt to negotiate ladders at Cable Creek Fish Pass and Dog Salmon Fish Pass. Both have viewing platforms from which to see spawning salmon and hungry black bears. On the north end of the island are karst formations of more than 850 grottos and caves. The most popular cave is El Capitan. The cave is northwest of Thorne Bay and U.S. Forest Service rangers lead two-hours tours into it daily during the summer. For more information about caves, camping, trails and public-use cabins, contact the U.S. Forest Service Craig Ranger District office (907-826-3271; www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/pow/crgrd.shtml).
Access to the island has recently increased with the Inter-Island Ferry Authority, a privately run ferry that replaced the Alaska Marine Highway with daily service from Ketchikan. Once on the island, visitors can head off to a dozen small communities with most offering accommodations and other services. Hollis, population 172, is where the Inter-Island Ferry docks. The largest towns best equipped to handle visitors are Craig, population 1,117, and Klawock, population 785, only seven miles apart but still a 31-mile drive across the island along the paved Hollis-Klawock Highway. Also supporting lodging, restaurants, small grocery stores and other visitor amenities is Thorne Bay, population 440, 38 miles northeast from Klawock, and Coffman Cove, population 141, 55 miles north of Klawock. Prince of Wales Island now has 150 miles of paved roads that connects all five of these towns.