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Home | Sitka| Anchorage | Fairbanks | Denali Nat'l Park | Talkeetna | Juneau | Chilkoot Trail | Dalton Highway |
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In the center of town, the Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center , 11 Main St (summer daily 1-5pm; rest of year Mon, Wed & Sun 1-4pm, Tues, Thurs & Fri 3-5pm; $3), does a great job of showing how Haines fits into its Chilkat environment and the wider Tlingit world, and exhibits fine examples of woodwork, clothing and the distinctive yellow and black Chilkat blanket in wolf, raven and killer whale designs. Half a mile away, grassy Fort William H. Seward was established in 1903 to contain general Gold Rush lawlessness, and territorial disputes with Canada. It is now the site of the Chilkat Center for the Arts (mid-May to mid-Sept Mon-Thurs at 7.30pm; $10; phone 907/766-2160), where Chilkat Dancers do a forty-minute performance in traditional costumes. Nearby, the stuffed birds of the American Bald Eagle Foundation , Second Avenue and Haines Highway (summer daily 9am-5pm; $2.50), make a poor substitute for seeing the world's largest gathering of bald eagles , which flock to the banks of the Chilkat River each fall. They arrive to feed on an unusually late chum salmon run (delayed by an upwelling of groundwater that keeps the river from freezing), and by November over three thousand of these once-endangered rare birds - as many as two dozen to a tree - are gathered along a five-mile sand bar at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve , nine miles north of town on the Haines Highway.
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Two great, wild state parks - Chilkoot Lake and Chilkat - are a mere half-hour cycle ride to the north and south of town respectively. Chilkat in particular has some good trails and vistas, while well-tramped treks lead from town to the summits of Mount Riley and the much more difficult Mount Ripinsky. Haines is also a popular starting point for rafting trips : Chilkat Guides on Beach Road (phone 907/766-2491, ) is one of many operators to offer four-hour float trips ($82) down the Chilkat River, ideal for viewing eagles and other wildlife.
Glacier Bay National Park
Juneau
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Alaska
South of Anchorage
Homer
Kodiak
Denali National
Park
Fairbanks
Talkeetna
Wrangell-St Elias National Park
Prince
William Sound
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