Inside Passage

The Inside Passage is a coastal route between the Pacific Ocean and North America and Canada. The Inside Passage is used regularly by a wide range of ships, including cruise ships, freighters, fishing boats, and ferries. The path stretches from southeast Washington in the United States through western British Columbia in Canada to northwest Alaska. In general, the southernmost point of the Inside Passage is Olympia in Puget Sound. Moving north, it passes through the Strait of Georgia and the Johnstone Strait, between Vancouver Island and the coast of mainland British Columbia. From there, it continues further northwest into the Alaska Panhandle, passing through Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau. The passage’s northernmost points are Haines and Skagway at the Lynn Canal’s head.

Cruise Inside Passage, Alaska

Most visitors to this area of coastal mountains, glaciers, and temperate rainforests arrive via cruise ship. These features were shaped by the staggering force of enormous glaciers millions of years ago. During the warmer summer months, cruise ships bring many tourists to the region to see the canals, islands, and coastal villages. Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Haines, and Skagway are just some of the gorgeous coastal cities you’ll find here, along with massive tidewater glaciers, forested islands, ice-carved fjords, and more. Small ship cruises allow passengers to dock at even smaller, more remote harbors.

Alaska’s Inside Passage features wildlife-filled fjords and rich island vistas, providing a home for bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises, and whales. Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Indians live in Alaska’s Inside Passage, and their culture is commemorated in monumental totem poles. The Russian colonists left a legacy of glittering, icon-adorned churches with onion domes.