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United States

Icy Strait Point, Alaska

Icy Strait Point: An Alaska Native-Owned Cruise Stop Beside the Town of Hoonah

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What to Expect

Ships tie up at floating docks here rather than tendering, on the north shore of Chichagof Island beside the Tlingit town of Hoonah. The site is a privately owned cruise destination run by Huna Totem Corporation, an Alaska Native village corporation, and most of what you will do is either at the old cannery or on an organized excursion.

  • The first floating dock was finished in 2016 and replaced tendering; a second dock, about half a mile from the first, was completed in 2022.
  • The cannery site holds a museum, restaurants and shops, and presenters at the dock introduce Huna Tlingit culture.
  • Hoonah is about a mile's walk away.
  • Hoonah lies about 30 miles west of Juneau, across the Inside Passage, and Alaska Marine Highway ferries call there.
  • Because Icy Strait Point is a private destination, what is included and what costs extra is set by its operator and your cruise line, so check for your sailing.

Icy Strait Point on Your Own

Without booking an excursion, you can look around the restored cannery and the waterfront, then walk the mile into Hoonah to see a working Tlingit town. Wildlife trips, the zipline and whale watching are sold as excursions, so book those ahead if you want them.

  • The cannery: The old Hoonah Packing Company cannery has been turned into a museum, restaurants and shops, and every shop here is owned by Alaskans.
  • Kléet Plaza: Dedicated in 2021, the plaza has a life-size bronze orca by the artist Robert Wyland; kléet is the Tlingit word for orca.
  • Walk to Hoonah: The town is about a mile from the cannery and shows everyday Tlingit life away from the cruise site.
  • Watch for wildlife: Bald eagles are often seen around the area.
  • Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. Note which dock your ship is at, since the two are about half a mile apart, and go by the ship's clock.

Getting Around

The main thing to plan here is the distance between the docks, the cannery and Hoonah.

  • On foot: Hoonah is about a mile from the cannery site.
  • Two docks: The two floating docks are about half a mile apart.
  • Excursions: Bear viewing on the Spasski River, whale watching toward Point Adolphus and the zipline are organized trips; ask what transport is included when you book.

Where to Eat

The restored cannery has restaurants on site, and a demonstration kitchen shows how salmon and halibut are prepared.

  • Salmon and subsistence: Salmon and subsistence fishing are central to Tlingit culture. A demonstration kitchen at the site has local residents showing how salmon and halibut are prepared and cooked.
  • In the cannery: The cannery buildings hold restaurants as well as the museum and shops.

Tipping in the United States

Tipping is expected in the United States, and in a sit-down restaurant 15 to 20 percent of the bill before tax is usual, with many people tipping more for good service. Some restaurants add a service charge for larger groups, so check the bill.

  • Tour and activity guides, including excursion guides, are commonly tipped per person for the outing.
  • The currency is the US dollar, and foreign currencies are almost never accepted.

Tlingit Heritage

Hoonah's people are Huna Tlingit, whose clans once lived in what is now Glacier Bay, along Icy Strait and on the outer coast. Huna Totem's goal in developing Icy Strait Point was to preserve the character of the village and its culture while supporting the local economy.

  • Xunaa: Hoonah's Tlingit name, Xunaa, means the lee of the north wind, a place sheltered from it.
  • Raven and Eagle: Tlingit society is divided into two halves, Raven and Eagle, and then into clans. Descent passes through the mother's line, and clan crests appear on totem poles, canoes, house posts and weavings.
  • Clan houses: The Tlingit built plank houses of cedar, which they call clan houses today.
  • At the dock: Presenters in traditional dress introduce Huna Tlingit culture, and an indoor performance tells it on stage.
  • Tribal government: The Hoonah Indian Association is the federally recognized tribe for the Tlingit people of Hoonah, separate from Huna Totem Corporation, which manages land and business.

A Brief History

The Huna Tlingit came to Hoonah after advancing glaciers drove their clans out of Glacier Bay. Salmon canning brought the 20th-century economy, and since 2004 cruise ships have brought a new one.

  • Leaving Glacier Bay: Tlingit oral tradition tells how a rapid advance of the glaciers in Glacier Bay, and a landslide-driven tsunami in Lituya Bay, forced the clans from their homeland. Clans fleeing the ice settled at Xunaa in the 1750s.
  • Trading post and school: The North West Trading Company opened the first store in Hoonah in 1880, and a Presbyterian mission school followed in 1881.
  • The cannery: The Hoonah Packing Company ran a large cannery north of the town, one of eight in the area in the early 20th century. Canning stopped in the early 1950s, and for years afterward fishermen used the site to store and repair their boats.
  • The fire of 1944: A fire destroyed much of Hoonah, including many irreplaceable Tlingit cultural objects, and the federal government helped rebuild the town.
  • Native claims: The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 led to the formation of Huna Totem Corporation, incorporated in 1973.
  • The cruise destination: Huna Totem bought the cannery site in 1996, and the first cruise ships called in 2004. The ZipRider zipline opened in 2007.
  • Docks and growth: A floating dock replaced tendering in 2016, a second dock followed in 2022, and in 2024 about 240 cruise ship calls brought about 500,000 visitors.
  • Glacier Bay today: Glacier Bay became part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and since 1994 the National Park Service has worked with Hoonah's Tlingit organizations in managing it.
  • On site: The restored cannery at Icy Strait Point now houses a museum.

Traveling with Family

A family day here is mostly about wildlife and the outdoors, and most of the big activities are booked excursions. Check age, height and weight rules for each one before you book.

  • Younger children: The bronze orca at Kléet Plaza and the cultural presenters at the dock are easy introductions, and bald eagles are often seen overhead.
  • School age: A whale-watching trip toward Point Adolphus, a feeding area for humpback whales, is a good outing for children old enough to sit through a boat trip.
  • Teenagers: The ZipRider runs 5,330 feet and finishes near the cannery site. A bear-viewing trip to the Spasski River can bring sightings of coastal brown bears, though they are never guaranteed.
  • Hoonah: Walking the mile into town shows children a living Tlingit community rather than a visitor site.

Accessibility

Ships dock at floating docks here rather than using tenders, which makes getting ashore simpler than at a tender port. Distances between the docks, the cannery and Hoonah are the main thing to plan around.

  • Docks: Floating docks replaced tendering in 2016, and the two docks are about half a mile apart.
  • Into town: Hoonah is about a mile from the cannery site.
  • Excursions: Ask about boarding, steps and seating on boats, buses and the zipline before you book.
  • Ask your ship how far your dock is from the cannery and whether any shuttle runs that day.

Shopping at Icy Strait Point

The shops at Icy Strait Point are in the restored cannery buildings, beside the museum and restaurants.

  • Local ownership: Every shop at the site is owned by Alaskans.
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