'The Adventure Capital Of Alaska' Is A Fjord‑fringed Getaway With Soaring Eagles And Glacier Thrills

There's a reason that Chris McCandless, the great hero of book-film combo "Into the Wild," ended up in Alaska. This vast corner of the U.S. draws folks with its open, unadulterated frontier. From the wonderfully unique and remote Aleutian Islands to the Gates of the Arctic, the least-crowded national park in America, it's a world where tundra, ocean, and ice cap collide in sublime fashion. And right there in the middle of it all sits what's been dubbed the state's adventure capital — a ticket to outdoorsy thrills aplenty. Welcome to Haines.

This town of just 1,800 people straddles the middle of the finger-like Chilkat Peninsula between two inlets amid the ultra-dramatic Alaska Panhandle. It's a mere 45 miles from the international border with Canada, surrounded by ocean on two sides, and overlooked by the mighty ice floes and jagged peaks of the Glacier Bay National Park, which rises just to the west. Now, if that sounds like just about the perfect location for an adventure capital, that's because it is. Everything from heli-skiing to hiking, bear tracking and boating on the fjords is on the lineup in these parts.

That remote location deep in the coast mountains of southern Alaska does mean that getting to Haines will always be a bit of an undertaking. You can fly over the snow-covered peaks, connecting to a regional flight at Juneau Airport to bring you to Haines itself. You can take boats all the way here from Washington State, too. Or, you can do what is surely one of the north's most spectacular drives, conquering the Haines Highway south from Canada.

Glacier Bay National Park is the behemoth on the horizon that helps keep adventure-hungry travelers coming back to Haines. It's 3.3 million acres of protected coast, mountain, and fjord brimming with things to see and do. From Haines itself, you can hop in a plane and jet across just a single ridge to witness it all unfold. Keep watch for long glacier tongues rolling into the distance and the peaks of some of the highest mountains in the whole country.

Prefer to stay on solid ground? Hiking can be tricky since there's not a single maintained route within the preserve (we told you it was wild!). That is, save for the cluster that weaves around Bartlett Cove, which can be fun. Most are unchallenging and short, except for the Bartlett Lake Trail which runs for 8 miles through mossy forests to the distant body of water.

Talking of water, sticking to the H2O might just be your best chance of seeing the true wonders of the national park. The quirky gateway town of Gustavus, in Bartlett Cove, is the starting and finishing point for most boat tours, and you can get there from Haines on a taxi flight that lasts around 45 minutes each way. Then, it's onto the boat, which embarks on an eight-hour odyssey through bear-stalked inlets, under huge glaciers that creak and groan, and alongside lush coastal rainforests.

Haines has another claim to fame above and beyond the eye-watering landscapes of the great Glacier Bay National Park. It comes in the form of the elegant bald eagle, which keeps a year-round habitat in this corner of Alaska. In fact, there are a whopping 48,000 acres of preservation land dedicated to these flying hunters just north of town. Simply head up Haines Road for about 25 minutes to find the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

It's a celebrated gathering point for the raptors, which use different parts of the area during different seasons. However, the peak viewing time for human visitors has to be the change from fall to winter, when up to 4,000 individuals come to seek out salmon in the riverways. Make sure to look for the prime photo spots at the pullouts along the riverside highway. Meanwhile, mid-November sees the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival centered on Haines itself.

That's not the only iconic Alaskan critter you can visit during your trip up north, though. Lutak Road wiggles up to Chilkoot State Park for about 10 miles, starting right in the downtown of Haines. Turns out, there's a section of it that's among the most accessible brown bear spotting locales in the state. Just make sure to come in the late summer for your best chance of a sighting.