Tongass Nat’l Forest Sights & Attractions

Open for a few hours every day but Monday and Friday, the public library in Tenakee offers Internet access, children’s programming and many books and DVDs for check-out. It’s located conveniently on West Tenakee Avenue, above the community center.

Overlooking the Eastern Channel, this park is designed for whale watching, with 3 covered viewing shelters, public-use binoculars, and 11 interpretive signs. Learn about whales’ feeding habits, migrations, and biology while walking the boardwalk.

Overgrown and unmarked, this 200-year-old Russian cemetery is still used for Russian Orthodox parishioners of St. Michael’s. You’ll find stone and wood headstones, some of which are made from the ballasts of old Russian ships. But unless you’re a history/cemetery buff, you’ll mainly find an overgrown plot. Caretakers clean up the site each Alaska Day, but the  More...

Alaskans love to get together. And since they’re hunkered down all winter and working all summer, festivals give them an excuse to socialize. So they’ve created parties for fish, for music, for light, for dark, for plants…you name it, there’s probably a festival for it up north. And Sitka, a historic town on the outer coast with lots of artists, has festivals  More...

No visit to Juneau is complete without a close-up look at the Mendenhall Glacier. The Juneau Icefield's most visible ambassador, 13-mile long Mendenhall Glacier ends at Mendenhall Lake and is easily viewed from the Forest Service's historic visitor center. Here's what you'll find here:

This Russian Orthodox church was built by and for Serbian miners and Tlingit Indians—not Russians. Tlingits were attracted to the religion because of the church’s acceptance of their language and culture; Protestant missionaries attempted to erase their customs. Now, more than 110 years later, the church continues to serve the community, with services sung in English,  More...

Clan houses line Beaver Trail Road in Angoon, an area that hasn’t changed much in the last 100 years. The weather-beaten, wood-framed buildings are outward signs of a culture that has been maintained through generations.

The first few weeks of each year are a time of renewal. In Kake each January 8, residents and guests gather at the Community Hall to commemorate the anniversary of the city's 1912 incorporation (it was the first Native village to do so). Kake Day celebrates the city’s self-governance, as well as its Tlingit roots.

Located in the historic compressor building associated with the former Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company which operated in Juneau from 1912 until 1944. The museum features one of the world's largest air compressors and other industrial artifacts associated with hard rock gold mining. The site also includes electric locomotives and rail cars which hauled men to the mine and ore to  More...

Located in downtown Juneau, the Centennial Hall Convention Center, is a great location to hold an event. Concerts, conventions, meetings, and trade shows are regularly held in this convenient location. 

In 1882, the U.S. Navy bombarded the small village of Angoon, resulting in destruction of homes, winter food stores and all but one canoe. The community survived through much hardship. The event is still very much a part of the collective history passed down through generations of Angoon residents.

This stout structure is a re-creation of the guard tower that once stood here, part of the fortress enclosing the Russians during their time in Sitka, from 1804 to 1867. Fearful of the wilderness around them, and of Tlingit Natives, the Russians’ enclosed fort was open to outsiders only in the daytime. A massive fence, with three guard towers like this block tower, separated the  More...

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.

Newly renovated in 2016. Established in 1900, the Museum collects, exhibits, and interprets the human and natural history of Alaska. The Museum features a full-size bald eagle nesting tree and extensive ethnographic exhibits on the cultures of Alaska's Native people. Two galleries offer changing exhibits.

Built in 1843, during the “Golden Age” of Russian North America, this spacious, two-story building was home to Bishop Innocent of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was the center of Russian North America’s cultural, educational, and business ventures, complete with a formal reception hall, dining room, chapel, school, and seminary.

Although it was a church  More...

Juneau is one of only two capitols in the United States that isn’t accessed by roads—only boats and planes can reach the city. But there is a stretch of paved road that runs north from town, past Auke Bay and towards Berner’s Bay. You’ll pass the University of Southeast Alaska and the ferry terminal before getting “out” of town. It’s a great  More...

The causeway connects Japonski, Sasedni, Kirushkin, and Makhnait Islands. There are many beaches scattered along the route and beach-combing for shells is good here, but the probability of finding glass fishing floats is slim. There are underground bunkers that remain from WWII and they can be explored but use caution because they are very old. If you do plan on exploring these bunkers, use a good flashlight because within them, there are some sudden drop-offs. There is no land access to the trail, but you can access the area by hiring a water taxi or sea kayak.

After four years of worshiping in the Presbyterian Chapel, Episcopalians finally had their own church in 1899, with the construction of St. Peters-by-the-Sea. Complete with stained glass windows, modified flying buttresses, and wooden pews, this small chapel is open to the public 24/7. The church and the adjacent See House (1905) are both on the National Register of Historical Places,  More...

Large collection of Central Yup'ik objects, part of Sam Fox (Yup'ik carver) collection, Truman Emberg papers, original Constitution of State of Alaska (with Emberg's signature), large basket collection, skin sewing & fur exhibit. Dave and Mary Carlson collection.

Mo-Fr 10am-5:30pm, Sat 10am-2pm

No admission fee, donations  More...

Coming to Kake in the summer? Time your visit to late July/early August so you can participate in the Dog Salmon Festival, a community celebration with great food, crazy games, music, and dancing. It’s the biggest event of the year, and a time when the entire community comes together to celebrate the bounty of the land and sea.

With almost 30 years under its belt, the Ketchikan Wearable Arts Show is an event you don’t want to miss. Described as the “original runway performance,” this show has inspired imitations in neighboring communities and around the world. If you’d like to see a show that most clearly represents pure artistic talent, this is it.

Housed in the circa 1898 White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad Depot, the historic Moore house and the Mascot Saloon. Collections consist of over 200,000 archaeology artifacts associated with the Klondike gold rush and 3,000 copies of historic photographs of the gold rush period. Library and 100-seat auditorium. Guided tours, interpretive programs, films and permanent  More...

A short boat ride to George Island brings chances to see whales and marine life along the way, followed by invertebrates at low tide and a lovely walk through a beautiful temperate rainforest to an historic site that still has gun emplacements left over from World War II.

After Finnish laborers completed St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, they asked Russian authorities if they could build a Lutheran church for themselves. The Russians allowed it, but only if the building didn’t look like a church. That building was torn down in 1888, but you can still see what it looked like: the current Lutheran church (which looks like a church) has  More...

Ketchikan Arts & Humanities Council (KAAHC) is the powerhouse of Ketchikan’s arts community; if there’s an arts event in Ketchikan, this organization is on it! Located at the Main Street Gallery, KAAHC produces dozens of art events annually, such as summer’s Blueberry Arts Festival and February’s famous Wearable Arts Show.

The highlight of this big downtown building is not the exterior, but rather the large atrium, which has great views of Douglas Island and a 1920’s pipe organ that was used in movie theaters before being moved here in 1976. Today it’s played every Friday at noon. Off the lobby, you’ll find historic photos and displays from the state library, which is located on the  More...

Held in a modern traditional Tlingit clan house, these dances are powerful performances that kids love. The booming echo of a drum, the smell of burning cedar, the lively chanting, and the energetic dance moves make for a memorable experience. The 30-minute performances include a story and five traditional songs. The dance troupe includes performers of all ages, dressed in colorful  More...

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.

Angoon means “isthmus town” and offers miles of beaches to explore: from sandy stretches in front of town, to clay/mud expanses and pebble and shale beaches. Go beachcombing to see what the tide brings in (most desired: Japanese glass buoys), or just to lose yourself in the sights and sounds of the natural world.

Visiting Pelican sometimes seems like you’ve stepped back in time: even more so if you get a chance to check out the community’s still-functioning 1952 fire truck. The 500-gallon-per-minute pump is ready for action on this rig, which has seen only boardwalk miles.