Truly the highlight of the trip to or from Alaska
A local in Hope BC on the way north to Alaska told us we couldn’t miss Stewart BC and Hyder Alaska. I was surprised as I hadn’t heard of these before. We were in too much of a hurry flying north over two months ago, but now on the way home, we decided to take the Cassiar Highway route on the way back through Canada so we could visit. Wow! Highly recommended.
Stewart is a pleasant remote community with a surprisingly good Mexican restaurant. A mile further down the road is the ghost town of Hyder AK. That’s right, even though you’ve driven a couple of days south into Canada you can pass back into Alaska and the US to visit Hyder. There is no US Customs entering Alaska but there is going back into Canada (so don’t forget your passport!).
Hyder isn’t a complete ghost town – there is highly rated fish and chips you can purchase out the back of a trailer along with a store/bake shop.
But the best feature of Hyder, in my opinion is that there is a grizzly bear viewing platform in Hyder that cost $10 and is on par with the $500 / person bear viewing trips up north. There is also a gravel-road drive up to a stunning viewpoint at Salmon Glacier. Unfortunately, I can’t show you my bear photos because I left my Sony a6500 camera and a nice lens on a bench and someone took it. My fault but bummer – I hate that.
Stewart / Hyder is also an excellent place to fly a small plane. You fly through steep mountains with hanging glaciers on each side of the aircraft. It can be a bit nerve-wracking because much of the route in the canyon would make a safe landing difficult. However, you round a bend in the canyon, where it widens and reaches an inlet (waters of the Pacific Ocean!). There, right in front of you, is Stewart with a small runway next to the town. You can easily walk to the first-class campground across town (maybe 6 blocks) and small selection of restaurants.
In addition, if you want to fly into Southeast Alaska without tackling the risky coastal route, you can fly halfway on the Cassier route, then via Stewart to the Portland Canal and wind your way into Ketchikan staying a few hundred feet over water if you like (or need to).
If you are driving, my advice is the same. Don’t take the Alcan (or at least not both ways) to Alaska. Take the Cassiar Highway and visit Stewart/Hyder!
West Coast Flying Adventures 