Kake Points of Interest

More than 120 miles of log­ging roads wind through Kupre­anof Island, offer­ing access to trail­heads and oth­er remote parts of the island. You can dri­ve on the fre­quent­ly used roads, and explore oth­ers by bike or by foot.

When Kake’s totem pole was raised on the bluff over­look­ing the city in 1971, it was cel­e­brat­ed as the tallest sanc­tioned totem pole in the world. It is now fad­ed, and cracked at the top, but remains a sym­bol of Kake’s his­to­ry and hon­ors many traditions.

Long Beach is a stretch of beach along Keku Strait a few miles north of Kake. This is a good spot for spot­ting whale activ­i­ty off­shore, as there are a few rocks out in the water that the whale like to rub against. Gen­er­al­ly you would see hump­back in this area, but once in awhile you might see a pod of orca.

Kake’s mod­est pub­lic library, locat­ed at the high school, offers pub­lic wi-fi, com­put­ers, and lim­it­ed pro­gram­ming such as sto­ry time and yoga. When open, it’s a great place to stop and check your email or chat with Kake’s residents.

The wide beach flats in front of Kake where Gun­nuk Creek and Lit­tle Gun­nuk Creek emp­ty out offer a wide expanse to explore, espe­cial­ly for kids. Watch for eagles, take in the view of Kuiu Island across Keku Strait, or learn how to dig for clams.

The Com­mu­ni­ty Hall/​Gymnasium, locat­ed in down­town Kake, is the most used facil­i­ty in town. Here’s where you could find a com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ing com­plete with Tlin­git danc­ing. Or you may get a chance to watch res­i­dents in a spir­it­ed game of bas­ket­ball, the city’s favorite sport. (Kake has a few state cham­pi­onships in its history!).

Arriv­ing in Kake, you’ll see a large light-green ware­house built on pil­ings over the water. This is Kake’s his­toric salmon-pack­ing can­nery, which locals are work­ing to restore as both a usable space for local busi­ness­es and an his­toric attrac­tion for visitors. 

Dri­ve out north of Kake a few miles to find a local hot spot for pic­nick­ing and watch­ing for hump­backs in Keku Strait. This is the best place near Kake to view whales. You can see their spouts in the waters pret­ty close to the Point.