Alaska Cruise: Hubbard Glacier, Icy Strait & Ketchikan

Experience the breathtaking expanse and beauty of the Hubbard Glacier. Named after National Geographic’s first society president, Gardiner Hubbard, this frosty-blue glacier is a sight, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. While many of the world’s glaciers are retreating, the 8-mile-wide Hubbard Glacier continues to “gallop” across the Russell Fjord, at times temporarily damning its passage. The longest ice river in North America, this 76-mile stretch of glacier water begins at Mount Logan in Canada’s Yukon and meanders its way through Alaska to the Russell Fjord Wilderness. Witness this awe-inspiring phenomenon from onboard as you cruise through the misty, chilled air of the Gulf of Alaska. See whales, harbor seals, and otters hunting as your ship turns from Yakutat Bay into the narrow Disenchantment Bay to come face-to-face with the towering Hubbard Glacier.

Skagway is a compact city in southeast Alaska, set along the popular cruise route the Inside Passage. It’s home to gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad runs vintage locomotives past the famously steep Chilkoot trail and offers sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.

Located on Chichagof Island, Icy Strait Point is built on the site of the former Hoonah Packing Company salmon cannery. The facilities restored outbuildings now house a variety of restaurants, a museum, and local arts and crafts shops. More than just a tourist destination, the port is a cultural hub for the original inhabitants of the area—the Huna people. In addition to modern amenities, you can enjoy a variety of activities indigenous to the area including native dance performances, brown bear viewings, and whale watching.

In the shadows of the dormant, snow-capped Mount Edgecumbe, sits the quaint city of Sitka. The only community within Alaska’s Inside Passage to skirt the Pacific Ocean, Sitka’s lush green hills and salty ocean air stand in contrast to typical descriptions of the Last Frontier. Sharing an equally important historical connection for the native Tlingit people and Russian settlers, Sitka is both the ancestral homeland of the Tlingit and the former capital of Russian America. A walk around the city’s downtown brings you closer to its history with views of the Blockhouse, Russian Bishop’s House, St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the storied Castle Hill. Sitka’s many museums, art galleries, and cultural centers all offer a more in-depth view of the city’s past and present. Stop into the Sitka Historical Museum, Sitka Cultural Center, and Shee-tka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House to see photographs, artifacts, traditional art, and native dance performances. Nearby, Harrigan Centennial Hall showcases regular performances by the New Archangel Russian folk dancers.

A drizzly little city bordered by the Tongass National Forest, Ketchikan was once a native fishing village that has evolved and grown through its years in the logging and salmon canning industries. Surrounded by lakes, rivers, and streams, the “Salmon Capital of the World” is an angler’s paradise. Cast a line on your own, or hop on a charter to reel in salmon, halibut, red snapper, even trout. Keep an eye out for Ketchikan’s other marine residents, which include orca and humpback whales, sea lions, seals, otters, and porpoises. Zipline between cedars over a lush forest of Sitka spruce, hike Married Man’s Trail to surrounding waterfalls, kayak the twist of waterways along the Misty Fjords, or board a seaplane for a bird’s eye view of it all.

A sweet Canadian city tucked into the east coast of Vancouver Island, only 55 km across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver, British Colombia. Surrounded by water and spectacular ocean views, it’s a growing urban center where sea lions play and seaplanes take flight. Nanaimo was originally established as a Hudson Bay Company trading post, later becoming known for coal exports. A harbor sheltered by islands, Nanaimo used to be considered mostly at gateway to the mainland but has evolved into a growing vibrant urban center that has lots to offer.

Sitting at Mile 0 of the Trans-Canada Highway, Victoria is your entrance way to the beautiful province of British Columbia. Located on Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula, this picturesque city framed by the Olympic Mountains offers quaint, English architecture fringed by some of the tallest and oldest trees in the world.

Snow-capped mountains peak out from behind tall glass skyscrapers on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Nestled somewhere between eastern culture and western tradition, Vancouver is a study in nature and urbanity coexisting peacefully.