Alaska's cities

Petersburg, Alaska

Scandinavian-thinking town earns its way with fish

• LeConte Glacier, the continent's southernmost tidewater glacier, is a short boat ride or air taxi trip away. The wealth of ice and fish made helped Petersburg get its start in the fish-processing industry.
• Kayakers explore the mouth of the Stikine River, which empties into ocean at the south end of Mitkof Island. The area is reachable via the Mitkof Highway from Petersburg. There are several Forest Service public-use cabins across Dry Strait in the Stikine LeConte Wilderness of the Tongass National Forest.
• The Stikine Flats intertidal wetland attracts wildlife to its habitat, which changes from mud flats and grass to forests of cottonwood and spruce. Ducks, geese and sandhill cranes migrate through in the spring and fall. In the spring, hooligan (or eulachon, a kind of smelt) move into the river to spawn, attracting hundreds of bald eagles. Charter boats and floatplanes are available in Wrangell and Petersburg. There are Forest Service public-use cabins for rent on the flats.
• Humpback whales pass through Frederick Sound. Spawning salmon may be found at the Falls Creek fish ladder along the highway, as well as at Petersburg Creek and Blind Slough, an important feeding stop in autumn for trumpeter swans. All have road access.
• Clausen Memorial Museum, 203 Fram St., recollects Petersburg history. Other highlights are a 126.5-pound world record king, plus the Cape Decision lighthouse lens and a Tlingit canoe. 907-772-3598.
• The Crystal Lake Fish Hatchery -- silvers, kings and steelhead -- on Mitkof Highway is open for tours.
• Devil's Thumb, standing nearly 10,000 feet tall on the coast mountain range about 100 miles to the northeast, is a prominent landmark viewed from Petersburg, the closest town.

Hiking and camping

Petersburg has a campground downtown, but it's usually filled with cannery workers. There's also RV camping downtown, plus campgrounds south on the Mitkof Highway. There are also Forest Service cabins in the area.

Hiking is generally done across the Wrangell Narrows, where the Petersburg Lake Trail and the Petersburg Mountain Trail head off into the Tongass National Forest.


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