Chichagof Island Alaska, Elfin Cove-Pelican
4
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
HX Expeditions (3 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
At the hamlets of Elfin Cove and Pelican, on the island's northwest tip, facing Glacier Bay National Park. Only small ships call here: no road connects these villages to the outside world.
Only by sea or floatplane. There is no road, and the main street is a wooden boardwalk on pilings. The only traffic jams are caused by fishermen's carts.
Fewer than twenty-five year-round residents. In summer, the fishing season pushes the population to about two hundred. Pelican, on the other side of the point, has around a hundred souls.
Walk the hamlet in half an hour — general store, post office, stacked crab pots — grab a coffee at the village counter, then take a whale watching trip or a guided forest walk.
Yes. The waters off the island's north side are among the best humpback whale watching areas in Southeast Alaska. Off Point Adolphus, currents concentrate the herring and spouts sometimes go up on all sides.
Yes, and plenty: the island has one of the highest brown bear densities in the world. Forest outings go with a guide who knows the rules, and visitors walk in a group, conversation serving as a natural warning.
The largest temperate rainforest on the continent, beginning right behind the villages. Mossy trails run beneath Sitka spruce and hemlock of cathedral proportions, under near-permanent mist.
Very few: a general store, a café, a tiny post office. Local artists sometimes sell watercolours and carvings from their studio-galleries. No luxury shops, no terminal — which is exactly the point of the call.
US dollars and English. Bring cash: the businesses are tiny and card payment connectivity isn't guaranteed in these isolated hamlets.
Late May through September, the Alaska sailing season. It's also the fishing season, when the villages are liveliest. Bring waterproof clothing: rain is part of the scenery.
