A trip to Haines, Alaska
The TL;DR
We took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Skagway to rainy Haines, Alaska for a hike, and we’re treated with some wholesome local finds while we were there.
Quick tips:
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There are limited ferry timeslots. Book your trip ahead of time.
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The Fogcutter Bar is a cool place to spend the evening.
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Pizza at Alpenglow is great!
Next stop on the Alaska road trip is Haines, Alaska - a town tucked in the Chilkat Valley, surrounded by waterways and mountains. There is no shortage of wildlife, arts, fishing and opportunities to adventure!
Starting with the windiest ferry ride ever from Skagway. We took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Skagway to Haines. For one vehicle and two passengers, our ticket cost $228 CAD. Book your tickets ahead of time online to ensure you get a spot! If you’re travelling without a vehicle, you also have the option of the Haines Skagway Fast Ferry.
It was basically raining sideways when we arrived so we scratched our original plan to hike that afternoon and walked in to town. Turns out the power had gone out and the entire town was gathered in the Hammer Museum in celebration of its 20th year of business!
After enjoying the live music and taking in the feel of the town, we headed up the street to The Fogcutter Bar - which came highly recommended to us.
The next morning we woke up and headed straight to the Mount Ripinski trailhead.
📍Mount Ripinski | ⛰ 13km, 977m | ⏰ 5-6 hours | Hard | AllTrails
The rain left us with wet, slippery and muddy conditions. Despite cloud covered views, we carried on to what we decided we would call the summit - a small orange flag. The rain had started again with the wind picking up aggressively, taking one of rain covers with it. We debated turning around multiple times as we crouched down to trail during the strongest gusts of wind.
Watch the mini vlog here.
Although I have not seen the views myself, I believe on a nice day this could be a great hike. The trail itself had enough variety, in and out of the trees and patches of wildflowers, to keep us entertained.
We returned to town for a big pizza dinner at Alpenglow.
Hey, I'm Megan!
The adventurer behind your screen. By sharing my solo travel stories and SUV camping experiences, I hope to encourage and help you to build your own adventurous life.
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You can see the full one month itinerary from my trip to The Yukon and Alaska here. Feel free to ask any questions about my experience in the comment section below!