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Vacation in Prince of Wales Island - Alaska


Jump to: Overview, Things To Do, Transportation, Climate, Accommodations, Cost

Area Overview

Prince of Wales Island is friendly, scenic, and beautiful. Here, 12 communities are surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, Native lands, and State lands. Prince of Wales Island, commonly called POW, is the third largest Island in the USA among which Hawaii is the largest and Kodiak trails second.
There are places to go, people to meet, and things to do on our Island of variety. Prince of Wales Island's annual, certified Marathon & Half-marathon, held the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, is a going concern. People from all over the US come for this event.

Includes Cities/Towns: Coffman Cove, Craig, Hydaburg, Ketchikan, Klawock, Thorne Bay.

Things to Do

Recreation & Fitness













For the fishermen, fly fishing, rod & reel, charter fishing for halibut, salmon, and steelhead is available as well as skiff rentals for the do-it-your-selfers. Hunters always enjoy black bear and deer hunting come fall. Beaver Falls Karst Interpretive Trail, Cavern Lake Trail, and El Capital Caves make their home on the far, north-end of POW, tours available upon request, and the views are breath-taking! USFS maintains many trails, boardwalks, and promenades all with varying degrees of difficulty, some are handicap accessible, and more opening each year.

Cultural Activities





Prince of Wales Island is so rich in Native culture. Totem parks, carving sheds, Chief Son-I-Hat's Whale House, are just a few of Prince of Wales Island's main cultural attractions, tours available upon request, along with ancient Native fish traps and petroglyphs seen at nearby salmon streams at Whale Pass. Whale watching anyone? Locally designed and made souvenirs available at Strictly Local boutique and Alaska Gifts; local Native foods sales ongoing- watch for signs. Cultural Camp in July, Thorne Bay Days in August, "By the Sea" Arts & Seafood Annual Festival mid-August, summer fishing derbies, this year in September Kasaan is have a HUGE celebration on the completion of the renovations of the only standing Whale House in the United States!

Attractions






A little bit of something for everyone's taste. Spectacular Canoe Point Waterfalls, located 9 miles by skiff/kayak (rentals available) outside of Craig and 1/3rd mile trail up from the beach; Sandy Beach Road circles from Klawock to City of Thorne Bay and around Coffman Cove City and back to Klawock; El Capitan Caves located on the extreme north-end of POW Island with tours by USFS;many trails with Sitka black-tail deer, trumpeter swans, falls, black bear, & fish weir viewing On Hatchery Creek Trail, sea otters, marine mammals, boat tours leaving Craig, in July Sarkar Lakes burst with sockeye salmon, and so much more! See page 31 of our Visitor Guide.

Transportation



Taxi cab and Hollis Terminal Ferry available; car rentals strategically placed.

Climate

Monthly Temperatures / Rainfall


 Month  Low  Avg  High  Rain
 January  27.6  32.4  37.1  10.2 "
 February  30.1  35.2  40.3  9.3 "
 March  32.5  38.0  43.4  9.2 "
 April  36.4  42.9  49.5  8.1 "
 May  41.6  48.6  55.6  7.3 "
 June  46.9  54.0  61.0  6.0 "
 July  51.0  57.6  64.3  5.8 "
 August  51.4  57.9  64.3  7.9 "
 September  46.7  52.8  58.8  11.2 "
 October  40.4  45.4  50.4  17.8 "
 November  33.5  38.1  42.6  13.3 "
 December  29.9  34.4  38.8  11.8 "

Best Time To Go:

Summer and spring.

June & July may be our driest month boasting sunshine and little rain, I say may because weather on Prince of Wales Island can be unpredictable. We get 120" rain annually which is so much appreciated as this helps our fish to swim up stream, lay their eggs for our next year's harvest, and die which attracts the black bear. September-Dec and into January usually brings monsoons with weather usually tapering down thru July. Average temperatures from 40-60F with warmer temps to 60's in the Spring and peaks to the 70's June & July. Hours of daylight are at its peak during June & July.

Accommodations


Car rental is a must to travel POW Island and it's many wonderful points! Motels, Hotels, B&B's are in abundance. State campgrounds and USFS cabins are spread throughout our Island. Taxi cab and shuttle from Hollis Inter-Island Ferry, a daily route; Rainforest Islands Ferry from Coffman Cove to Petersburg and Wrangell now available with pickup available.

Costs

Cost Information Is Unavailable

Additional Information

Visitor Information


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