Icy Strait Point: A Tlingit-Owned Port with the World's Largest ZipRider

Ships anchor in the bay and tender passengers to the pier at Hoonah — a 5–10 minute boat crossing. The pier is compact: the 1912 cannery building (museum, shops, crab shack, and restaurant) sits at the dock; the ZipRider base station and whale-watching boat launch are adjacent. Whale-watching tours depart from the pier on small vessels and typically run 2 hours. The Tlingit village of Hoonah is a 15-minute walk along a signed trail from the pier; it is a working community, not a tourist attraction, though residents sell artwork at stalls near the cannery. Weather at Icy Strait Point is variable; dress in layers regardless of the forecast. All activities except Hoonah village access require pre-booked excursions through the port operator.

The pier, cannery, and ZipRider base are all within 100 metres of the tender landing. The ZipRider requires a separate ticket ($109 at time of writing; advance booking recommended). Brown bear viewing tours operate by van to a salmon stream a few km from the pier; availability is seasonal and limited. Whale watches depart from the dock and operate in the protected waters around Chichagof Island. The beach trail to Hoonah is flat and takes 20 minutes each way. No public transport exists — the island has one road.

Icy Strait Point is owned and operated by Huna Totem Corporation, the village corporation of the Huna Tlingit people of Hoonah. The 1912 salmon cannery on the pier was part of the Alaska Packers Association network; the Tlingit-owned redevelopment kept the original machinery and structure. The cultural centre inside has exhibits on Tlingit clan history, the forced relocation of the Hoonah community from Glacier Bay in the early 20th century, and the recovery of traditional culture. Proceeds from excursion fees stay within the community.

The ZipRider and most excursions are booked and paid through the port or your cruise line; standard Alaska gratuity (15–20%) applies to guide services. The cannery crab shack is reasonably priced for Alaska. Bring cash for the village market and cultural centre; card acceptance is limited outside the main cannery building. Weather at Icy Strait Point is often cloudy; the ZipRider operates in light rain.

Icy Strait Point is a privately-owned destination operated by Huna Totem Corporation, a company owned by the Huna Tlingit people whose ancestral village of Hoonah sits three miles away. The experience is designed and run by and for the community. The dining reflects that intent: the food is genuinely Alaskan, the income stays in the Tlingit community.

**Huna House Restaurant (at the cannery complex)** — The main dining option, built inside the restored 1912 fish cannery. Alaskan salmon (wild, from the adjacent waters), Dungeness crab, halibut, prepared in traditional and contemporary styles. The salmon chowder (€12) is the benchmark for the stop. Open during ship hours only.

**The Cannery Café** — Lighter fare in the main cannery building: salmon sandwiches, wild berry smoothies, local Alaskan beer (Alaskan Brewing Company). Covered outdoor seating overlooks the water and the whale-watching channel. Coffee €4, sandwiches €10–14.

**Dungeness crab at the dock** — Icy Strait sits at the confluence of the Inside Passage and the open Pacific. Dungeness crab caught within sight of the dock appear on both menus. The crab chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (€14) is the specific combination worth ordering.

**Icy Strait Brewing Company** — A small brewery on the property, producing a brown ale and a wheat beer that are better than the setting requires and are served cold in a location where cold beer — after the zip line, the whale-watching tender, or the bear-watching excursion — is exactly what is needed.

**Practical note:** This is a single-pier destination; all dining is within the Huna Totem complex. There is no town to walk to, no competing restaurants, and no taxis to Hoonah. The food is genuinely good, and the revenue directly supports a Tlingit community that has managed its ancestral homeland on its own terms.

Icy Strait Point serves Hoonah, the largest Tlingit community in Alaska — a town of roughly 800 people whose roots in this region stretch back more than 10,000 years. The Huna Tlingit (Xunaa Káawu, "people of the protected harbor") developed a complex culture centered on the sea: their cedar canoes traveled hundreds of miles for trade, warfare, and ceremony. Clan identity — organized into moieties of Raven and Eagle, further divided into dozens of named clans — governed every aspect of social life, from marriage rules to the production of art. The totem poles, button blankets, and clan regalia still displayed at Icy Strait Point represent a living tradition rather than museum artifacts.

The Huna Tlingit have a particular relationship with Glacier Bay, visible from Icy Strait on clear days. Around 1750, a period of intense glacial advance pushed them out of the bay entirely; their oral histories describe abandoning their villages as the ice advanced. By the time John Muir visited in 1880, the glaciers had retreated to reveal a newly exposed landscape, and the Huna were returning to their ancestral grounds. The creation of Glacier Bay National Monument in 1925 — and its expansion and redesignation as a National Park in 1980 — restricted their access and fishing rights, creating tensions between federal conservation policy and indigenous land rights that were not formally addressed until the late 20th century.

The original Icy Strait Point infrastructure was the Hoonah Packing Company cannery, established in 1912. In the following decades the cannery processed millions of pounds of salmon from the extraordinary fisheries of Icy Strait, operating through the Great Depression and World War II. When the salmon runs declined and the cannery finally closed, Hoonah's economy contracted severely. The decision by local Tlingit shareholders to convert the cannery into a cruise port (opened 2004) represented a community-owned path to economic revitalization — uniquely, Icy Strait Point is owned by the Huna Totem Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation whose shareholders are Huna Tlingit tribal members.

The Cannery Museum, housed in the original 1912 building with much of the equipment still in place, is the essential historic site at Icy Strait Point. It documents both the industrial salmon cannery era and Huna Tlingit history through well-curated exhibits. The Hoonah Cultural Center in the nearby town preserves traditional crafts and clan regalia. Whale-watching in Icy Strait is historically significant as well: the waters are among the most productive humpback feeding grounds in the world, drawing whales that have been individually catalogued and studied for decades.

Icy Strait Point is a **Huna Totem Corporation**–owned destination, entirely developed and operated by the Huna Tlingit people of Hoonah. The shopping here reflects that ownership directly: a meaningful share of what you buy funds the community.

The **Icy Strait Point Marketplace** (the main commercial building near the pier) houses a curated selection of Alaska Native–made items: hand-carved totem and clan figures, beaded jewelry, robes in traditional Tlingit button-blanket style, and prints of formline art by Tlingit and Haida artists. These are genuine handmade pieces from named artisans — not mass-produced imports. Prices are proportionally higher than souvenir shops, reflecting the authentic craftsmanship: small beaded pieces start around $30–60; larger carved pieces run several hundred dollars.

The **Huna Heritage Foundation gift shop** inside the cannery building sells Alaska history books and educational materials about Tlingit and Haida culture, alongside a smaller selection of art. Proceeds support cultural preservation programs.

**Honest scale-setting**: Icy Strait Point is a small village operation, not a commercial shopping district. The total retail footprint is perhaps a dozen vendors. If your goal is extensive shopping, this is not the right port. But for travelers who want to buy something meaningful with a direct, documented community benefit, it is one of the most authentic retail experiences in Southeast Alaska.

All vendors here accept credit card. The Marketplace's operating hours match ship arrival and departure — shops close when the last ship leaves.

Icy Strait Point is a community-owned port operation managed by the Huna Totem Corporation on behalf of the Hoonah Tlingit people, occupying a beautifully restored 1912 salmon cannery on Chichagof Island. It was designed from the outset as a cruise excursion destination, which means the logistics are smooth, the activity range is broad, and the setting — forested hillside, a protected cove, wildlife in the water — is genuinely spectacular. Families with children of most ages will find something here worth doing.

The ZipRider is the headline attraction: a two-kilometer zip line descending 520 feet from a mountaintop through old-growth Sitka spruce to the cannery complex. Weight and height requirements apply — participants generally need to weigh at least 70 pounds and no more than 275 pounds; check the current operator specifications before your visit. Whale watching excursions from Icy Strait Point consistently deliver humpback whales; the waters of Icy Strait are among the most productive feeding grounds in Southeast Alaska, and the channel geography concentrates the animals in predictable areas. Most excursion operators run small-boat trips with genuinely knowledgeable naturalist guides.

The beach area directly in front of the cannery is safe for younger children to explore at their own pace — tidal pools are accessible at low tide, and the gravel beach stretches far enough that families can spread out. The waterfront Tlingit cultural center presents the history of the Hoonah people and their relationship to the cannery through photographs, tools, and oral history displays that are accessible and respectful in their framing. Brown bear excursions by float plane or small boat are available for families with older teens and interested adults; Chichagof Island has one of the highest brown bear densities in the world.

Icy Strait Point is a community-owned cruise destination developed by the Huna Tlingit people of Hoonah — one of the most authentic and culturally distinctive ports on the Alaska cruise circuit. The port sits at the edge of Icy Strait, where the Inside Passage opens toward Glacier Bay, and the waterfront zone includes a designated beach area where the tidal shoreline can be walked at low tide.

The honest picture about swimming: Icy Strait water temperatures are in the 8–10°C range throughout the cruise season. This is cold enough to cause rapid incapacitation — Alaskans who swim here generally do so very briefly, with intent, and in immediate proximity to shore. This is not a sunbathing or casual swimming destination, and nobody who arrives expecting a conventional beach day will find what they're looking for.

What Icy Strait Point offers instead is among the most memorable experiences on an Alaska itinerary. The ZipRider, which drops over 1,300 vertical feet from the mountainside above the port to the beach below, is one of the highest and longest zip lines of its type anywhere in the world — the descent takes around a minute and ends on the beach. Whale watching in Icy Strait is outstanding: humpback whales feed actively in the nutrient-rich waters near Glacier Bay throughout the summer, and small-boat excursions from the dock frequently encounter surface activity within 30 minutes. Brown bears are reliably spotted in the forest fringe.

The Huna Heritage Museum at the port tells the history of the Huna Tlingit people with a depth and directness that is unusual among cruise-destination cultural sites. The old Icy Strait Point Cannery building, dating from 1912, houses the museum and several local businesses. A beach walk along the tidal shoreline at low tide, with views across to Chichagof Island, is genuinely beautiful — the setting is extraordinary even without swimming.

Icy Strait Point is a private destination owned by the Hoonah Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, Alaska. Ships dock directly at the pier — no tender required. The pier and main village area have paved, flat pathways. The Cannery and Crab and Catch restaurant area are accessible at ground level; the restored 1912 salmon cannery museum is accessible for most visitors. The adventure activities for which this destination is famous — the world's largest ZipRider, aTV excursions, whale-watching boats — have specific physical requirements that vary; confirm with the activity provider before booking. Whale-watching and wildlife-watching boat tours involve boarding from a floating dock; steps and rocking vessels may be challenging. The Cultural Center is accessible. The village trail to Hoonah town (approximately 0.6 miles) is a gravel path through forest — not suitable for wheelchair users. Beach access along the bay is on natural terrain. For travelers with limited mobility, the Cannery area, cultural center, and crab-sampling experience provide the most accessible on-site activities. Pre-book any ship excursion offering accessible transport.