Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

The county in brief

A traveler's read on Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

Hyder is the easternmost incorporated US settlement in Alaska — but it can only be reached by driving across the Canadian border through Stewart, British Columbia on BC-37A, the only US town in the lower 49+1 reached exclusively via foreign-soil road access, and the only US community whose merchants commonly accept Canadian dollars at par as the practical local currency per local Hyder Chamber agreement. There is no road connection back into the rest of Alaska and there is no scheduled passenger ferry; the closest US Customs and Border Protection presence is in Ketchikan 90 air-miles southwest, and the border at Hyder is undefended by US customs (the Canadian side does staff a port of entry, so the inbound trip from BC requires no US clearance but the outbound trip back to Canada does require Canadian clearance — an asymmetry unique in the North American border system).

The Salmon Glacier above Hyder is one of the largest glaciers in North America accessible by passenger vehicle on a maintained gravel road; the 23-mile Salmon Glacier Road climbs through old-growth Sitka spruce to a 4,200-ft viewpoint over the toe and full body of the glacier. Prince of Wales Island, the rest of the Census Area's land mass, is the third-largest US island after Hawaii's Big Island and Kodiak Island, and holds the largest road network of any island in the Tongass National Forest at 1,500+ miles of mostly USFS logging-era gravel — making it the only Southeast Alaska island where multi-day vehicle-based exploration is realistic. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority runs daily passenger-and-vehicle service from Hollis (POW Island) to Ketchikan, the principal access route. Klawock (services hub, no official county seat as Alaska has no county system) anchors the island's amenities. Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site near Hyder draws viewers to chum-and-pink-salmon-feeding black bears and brown bears from late July through August on a USFS boardwalk.