Bicycles, Ferries, and Inside Passage Adventures in Alaska
The John Hopkins Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park.
Our Bicycles, Ferries, and Inside Passage Adventures in Alaska began with a single quote. “There’s a ferry down the street that you can take to Alaska, you can even bring a bicycle or a dog with you. It’s something I really want to do.”
Some of the best ideas are stolen right?!
When my friend Stacey, and then resident of Bellingham WA, told me about the Alaska Ferry when we were both living there last summer I was floored to learn that a small ferry boat left Washington and went up the Inside Passage.
I had always been interested in exploring some of the Alaskan wilderness and towns on the Inside Passage. (The Inside Passage is the squiggly stretch of islands, peninsula, archipelagos, and more extending along the Canadian mainland of Alaska on a map that is basically inaccessible by car), but I thought Alaskan cruises were the only option.) PHOTO BELOW!
The Alaska Ferry is your alternative (if you can’t afford or are uninterested) to cruises or LOTS of flights. Hop on, hop off, rinse, repeat.
Look at all the little squiggles to the right of the big white patch. The white patch is the Gulf of Alaska and the squiggles are the Inside Passage! (Not an exact science here friends.)
The Alaska Ferry became our alternative reality on a hot Thursday in July. For 18 days we hopped on and off the Alaska Ferry and made our way up, down, and around the Inside Passage. We brought our bicycles and a spirit for slow travel adventure.
I’ll share our highlights from this trip to the Last Frontier in this article, a few days before we left Stacey said we are “living her dream” by going on the Alaska Ferry. The adventure was a dream come true and without her we probably wouldn’t have even known about.
Hopefully by the end of this read you’ll learn if tuning up your bicycle (or your knowledge of public transit) and hitting the ferry is the passage for you!
First thing first…
The Alaska Ferry is all things that a cruise ship isn’t. If you want to go on a cruise you should go on a cruise, but if you go on the ferry expecting a cruise and you might be disappointed.
Here are a few reasons why:
You can tent camp on the deck. I don’t believe Norwegian or Carnival allow that.
The ferry is meant for transport. You can get off of one and stay somewhere as long as you want, then have a ticket for the next time it comes through. Or just get a walk-in ticket if not sold out!
There is nothing fancy about it. Cafeteria food, no booze for sale on most boats, and no entertainment other than yourself, a bookshelf, and some puzzles.
It’s chill and laid back. The staff is super kind, they have life jackets and it’s safe of course, but it’s certainly not fancy. We slept on cots and that was the pricey fancy option over a lawn chair on the deck! When somebody had lost their “switch blade with a lot of electric tape on it” they were told to come snag it at the pursers counter, true announcement on the ferry!
You can bring a vehicle, your dog/cat/pig or other pet, kayaks, and bicycles. You just leave them on the ground level of the ferry. For instance met a guy headed all the way up to Dalton and the Arctic Sea and was going to bicycle back down to Anchorage.
It was a great option for slow travel and to shut down. We saw orca and humpback whales, bald eagles, lighthouses, and more from the ferry deck, met interesting people on-board who had a story to share or one they might not have wanted you to know (interesting either way), read a lot of books, saw amazing sunsets at 11pm, and did yoga in tiny spaces.
More importantly though we could get to Alaska from Washington with our bicycles, while not flying in an airplane, and being able to spend time in wild spaces for days at a time in Alaska’s Inside Passage. It seemed interesting and different and a unique alternative way to travel.
Here’s how the itinerary shaped up, this was partly due to ferry schedules and Jill having two weeks worth of vacation to use.
Bellingham to Ketchikan Alaska Two Nights.
Ketchikan Alaska Three Nights.
Ketchikan to Juneau One Night.
Juneau/Douglas Island Alaska Two Nights.
Gustavus Alaska/Glacier Bay National Park Campground Four Nights.
Juneau Alaska/Admiralty Island Two Nights.
Juneau to Bellingham Three Nights. Stop in Ketchikan.
Ketchikan Alaska Highlights:
Stay: Edgewater Inn & Marina. Special SO’s to Aaron in the restaurant and their excellent omelette cooks, the two fisherman who gave us pro level frisbee advice, and the bald eagle who perched up on the dock pole for hours at a time right outside of our room!
Hike: Deer Mountain for difficult, Rainbird Trail for intermediate, and Ward Lake for a walk in the woods! I did them all.
Eat: Other than the Edgewater the New York Cafe. Don’t let the odd name fool you, the food is splendid! We also heard the Alaska Fish House was amazing but didn’t make it there.
Drink: Remember you are dealing with a craft beer snob here. Bawden Street Brewing. We met John and Elvis there, John and his wife are boat nomads in their 60s and Elvis is their Chihuahua/Greyhound first mate mix. Also enjoyed the 108 Tap House which had beers from Bawden as well as 49th State (Summer Solstice IPA) & Denali Brewing (Twisted Creek), which we loved on our last trip to Alaska. And finally you are looking to rip a few off with the locals then Totem Bar is for you, they even have a pull tab seating space.
Learn: Ketchikan is home to the World’s LARGEST collection and preservation of Totem Poles because of the Natives who have lived here for much longer than anyone else. The two museum pass combo of the Totem Heritage Center and Tongass Historical Museum plus a stop at the Saxman Park make for a day of education, gratitude to the rightful owners of this land, and a glimpse into the beautiful and horrific past of what has happened to the natives and wilderness of this area.
Bonus Items: Take the bus, ride your bike, or walk. If you are into fishing this was once the Salmon Capital of the World and there are dozens of options to fish for salmon and halibut. Misty Fjords National Monument offers float plane viewing trips and backcountry wilderness experiences. Alaska’s “first city” has a lot to explore and connect with.
Covid19 Item: I bicycled past Senator Lisa Murkowski at the waterfront speaking to a group welcoming the first cruise ship in 600 days. In towns dependent on tourism the Covid19 pandemic has added a whole layer of economic perils that one could barely imagine if not directly affected. One traveler’s money won’t solve it but maybe we can all once again realize how connected we are and how if you were lucky enough to have a job that didn’t disappear during covid how fortunate of a circumstance that was.
Juneau Alaska Highlights:
Stay: The Silverbow Inn is an amazing downtown boutique hotel. We used Chase Travel points but if you are able to afford the Silverbow experience (or use Chase Ultimate Rewards) it is top notch. Fresh coffee, Bob’s Red Mill muesli, a rooftop hot tub, and excellent location and staff make this a no brainer option.
Hike: Mendenhall Glacier gets all the hub but if you are simply looking for some walks in the woods then you can head out right out from downtown on foot to Mt Roberts, The Perseverance Trail (Alaska’s first road), and Mt Juneau. Summit Mt Roberts on the weekend and spend $10.00 in the mountain house and you will get a free tram ride back downtown!
Eat: There are several wonderful Pho options in Juneau. Plus the pizza/roasted cauliflower/pasta at the award winning In Bocca Al Lupo are not to be missed and the Korean/Mexican Fusion Food at V’s Cellar Door was my favorite meal of the trip!
Drink: Barnaby Brewing Company (Craft beers, Kombucha, and Root Beer all on tap!) and Devil’s Club Brewing Company are both locally owned and quaint breweries in downtown Juneau.
Learn: With the state capitol located in the town of 24,000 you have access to government buildings galore in Juneau. But the Juneau City Museum & Sealaska Heritage Institute both do an excellent job of highlighting Native Alaskans and the stories not told in school textbooks. One that is brutally tough to swallow even if you are aware of it, these important places make me hopeful that the future history tellings of the US include the genocide, slavery and its modern day systems, internment camps, and honest approach to what really has happened on this land since white folks showed up. They are “stewards of the past and catalysts for the future.”
Bonus Items: The Juneau Food Tour I imagine would be fun, make sure you talk to the locals (we had great conversations), swing by the Patsy Ann Memorial Statue on the harbor for a sweet pooch history, and plan an excursion if you can! There are lots of options. Since we were camping and kayaking in Glacier Bay we passed on the Mendenhall Glacier options that included an ice caves visit and we saw whales galore via the ferries but whale watching is big here. A trip to Tracy Arms would be epic too and you could spend a few years living in Juneau and miss a few adventures!
Covid19 Item: Juneau depends on government and tourism. Seeing all the businesses shut down from no tourists was hard to see. The long term impact of covid and peoples lives is far from over for most of the world unfortunately.
Starfish on the dock.
Gustavus/Glacier Bay National Park Alaska Highlights:
Stay: Gustavus is a charming town of 446 people that is the self proclaimed “Friendliest Town in Alaska.” Hard to disagree with that after our five days there and in Glacier Bay! We stayed at the Annie Mae Lodge (shout out to the amazing Matthew who was the best) and we tent camped at Bartlett Cove in Glacier Bay National Park. No regrets on either, just a heads up you do need a permit to hike in Bartlett Cove. You can apply HERE and pick up on arrival.
Kayak: Get on the water with Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks! I saw several humpback whales up close and personal, coyotes, tons of birds, sea lions, otters, and more!l while on the water. Plus lunch on a secluded beach and a half day of paddling in this beautiful wilderness. Don’t pass this one up!
Eat: The Sunnyside Market and Deli had live music, tasty sandwiches and soups, supplied our tent camping food, and had locally grown farmers stands. The Fireweed coffee and tea had unforgettable crepes and both places compost food scraps! The Foxes Den was bought by the school and is teaching students how to cook and operate restaurants! HOW COOL!
Drink: In nature! Snug Harbor Liquor is open Monday thru Saturday from 4-7pm for local Alaskan beers, or wine & spirits from around the world. Then head outside to enjoy!
Learn: The Hoonah Indian Association and the Glacier Bay National Park Team have found a way to work together to tell the story of the native land and its rightful inhabitants in a way that I have never experienced in a national park. Nothing can repair the past but what the two groups are doing in the present, from our zoom chat with Darlene C from Hoonah to the construction of the Tribal House to the video from the elders of the clans this is not fixing history but certainly not ignoring it. And showing how privileged we are to get to experience this special land. Take a tour of the house and attend a lecture or event if possible.
Bonus Items: The day boat trip to see the glaciers was the fastest 8 hour boat experience of my life. Glaciers, bears, puffins, bald eagles, whales, otters, sea lions, gorgeous landscape, birding session, and more history sharing about the evolution of this land and its people, I highly recommend it!
More Bonus Items: The Glacier Bay Country Inn can get you to the infamous 1957 Gustavus Plane Crash. Make sure you wave when riding your bike or walking around town. The horse Diva who lives at the Annie Mae Lodge is a sweetheart. Pack your bug spray and bear spray, you are gonna need it!
Covid19 Item: Glacier Bay Sea Kayaks and Hoonah are requiring visitors to be vaccinated still. (This article was written during COVID-19 and may or may not be up to date on items like this.)
Admiralty Island Alaska Highlights:
I opted for a trip to Pack Creek on Admiralty Island to watch brown bears and bald eagles in the wild. If you are into seeing bears in their natural habitat the Tlingit call this Island the “Fortress of Bears” and it is home to the most brown bears per square mile in the world. WOW.
I went with Pack Creek Bears and their team was incredible. The float plane ride was unforgettable, what I learned about bears was very educational, the time chatting with the forest rangers who lived there was fun, and I saw more bald eagles in a day than I saw in the first 30 years on Earth.
We didn’t see a brown bear. The group before us saw a mom and two cubs from ten feet away for an hour. If you want a guarantee to see a bear go to the zoo, if you want to fly to one of the most isolated and gorgeous islands in the world and spend the day quietly watching for bald eagles, brown bears, and enjoying nature go with Pack Creek Bears!
Nothing is guaranteed in life. My late friend Tracy Austin always referred to the famous quote that “Life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react.” My experience with not seeing a brown bear was different than I expected but nonetheless a contemplative learning nature day in the wild. I’ll never forget it.
More glaciers in glacier bay.
Ferry Hopping and Bicycling Alaska’s Inside Passage was my favorite trip I have ever taken in the US. (A Grand Canyon Hiking and Rafting Trip just got nudged out.)
When we arrived at the ferry terminal to head back to WA State we arrived to an odd scene.
It turns out it never left the ship dock in the ten days we had gotten off of it at Juneau. It had leaked some oil and needed repairs and it only went a few miles to its next destination. Hundreds were stranded. Anthony, the kind checkout courier in the cafeteria, told us all about it. He walked the cafeteria with such joy and sweetness I’ll never forget it, he only had 35 or so of us on a ship that can fit 500 because of what happened and he gave all of us a personal touch I am grateful for. It was a quiet and peaceful, and I am sure very unprofitable, ride back to Bellingham.
Admiralty Island via Alaska Seaplanes.
Sometimes travel doesn’t give you concrete and final answers, but actually more mysteries.
We don’t know if our friend ever made it to Dalton Alaska yet to ride back down in the wilderness on his bike, we don’t when our friend Kim and her pooch Sammy made it to Fairbanks for her new job, when the fishermen and fisherwomen got to their seasonal gigs, or when that family we saw walking around Juneau every day made it to where they were going.
But that is the mystery of living on Earth.
Living with patience, kindness, and sweetness even with a little uncertainty in the face of chaos. The Alaska Ferry is for those looking to travel in a different way. To be okay with the detours and to be thrilled with a no thrill yet perfectly comfortable way to move up and down the Inside Passage.
I adored my time on the Alaska Ferry. It’s not the fastest or the fanciest but I am not looking for that. I hope it continues to be an alternative way to live your dreams on Alaska’s Inside Passage! If it is I’ll be back again for sure!
Thanks for reading and comment below with any questions about our adventure in Alaska.
Because adventure feeds the soul,
Mike
