Haines

Walking Around Haines

A walk through downtown Haines is best started at the helpful Haines Convention and Visitors Bureau on 2nd and Willard streets, where you can pick up a walking-tour brochure. To learn a bit about the area's natural and cultural history, head to the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center on Main Street. From here, you can see the busy docks of Portage Cove, filled with commercial fishing boats and pleasure craft. Head down the hill (turning right on Front Street) to follow the shoreline 0.25 mi to Lookout Park, a fine place to take in the view on a sunny day—which, in Haines, occurs more often than you might guess. Just up the hill from here is a small cemetery with graves dating from the 1880s. From the cemetery, steps emerge on Mission Street; follow it to 2nd Avenue, where a left turn will bring you to American Bald Eagle Foundation, a museum and research center for these majestic birds. Another 0.3 mi out 2nd Avenue is perhaps the most interesting sight in Haines: Ft. William H. Seward National Historic Landmark. As you enter the grounds, you'll pass Hotel Halsingland, originally the commanding officers' quarters. Circle the parade ground if you like, passing the line of officers' homes along the top, stopping in at Alaska Indian Arts, housed within the old fort hospital.