Haines beautiful scenery: Chilkoot Lake, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, or go hike?

Hi,

Which excursion's scenery did you enjoy most? We'll be in Haines at the end of June. Husband, 8yo son, and I. Looking into 1/2 day morning excursions, and would like a comparison of the scenery and excursions in general. What are your thoughts on the 3-person kayak on Chilkoot Lake or the Chilkat River Bald Eagle Preserve Float trip?

Or, is Haines a good place to hike? HAL also offers the "Nature & Wildlife Expedition" through the Valley of the Eagles/Chilkoot Valley and the "Haines Adventure Hike" that, from a trailhead somehwere, we hike "surrounded by views of towering, snow-capped mountains and Lynn Canal."

I realize eagles and other wildlife won't be at peak activity at this time. But in which excursion did you enjoy looking around at natural landscapes? We will be doing the Takshanuk 4x4 excursion in the afternoon.

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Also, the "Haines Whales & Lighthouse Tales" looks interesting, a cruise on the Fjordland -- a luxurious boat (catamaran I think) in Lynn Canal. We are doing a whale-watching excursion in Juneau, so I wouldn't be upset if we didn't see any in Lynn Canal. But the description says we see waterfalls, hanging glaciers, and a lighthouse, and perhaps some other wildlife, and that sounds pretty. I believe the operator is Alaska Fjordlines, and their reviews as a company seem good.

Haines isn't visited that much by cruise ships so when I see someone going I like to recommend a fellow there who does fishing charters. Ron Malone has 9 Fingers Charters and specializes in salmon and trout. He told me he likes to show people the real Alaska, not the tv version. He's a great guy and pretty funny - I promise you'll have a good time with him. He will pick you up and drop you off. Here's the link to where I posted a few pics from a fishing trip last year:

9 Fingers Charters

Good luck!

I've been on all three of the tours you mentioned. In June, I would probably opt for the rafting. The nature and wildlife expedition is great later in the year when it focuses on brown bears in the Chilkoot River. The catamaran tour sounds like the standard tour you get when you take the catamaran from Skagway to Haines, which is scenic but I have very seldom seen whales or really any kind of wildlife on that trip. The three person kayak is also fun, but it's a bit of work paddling the large, stable, heavy kayaks around and it's on the lake, so not as interesting to me as sea kayaking.

If you aren’t 100% locked into your afternoon tour, I would suggest renting a car for the day and touring on your own. We drove to Chilkoot Lake, drove the Haines Highway, visited Kroschel Wildlife Center, then drove to Chilkat State Park. The scenery is amazing and we could stop and take photos when we wanted to. You can drive the Haines Highway into Canada, if you have the time (just bring your Passports).

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I couldn't find 9 Fingers Charters (at least not in Alaska) in the web. I was looking for alternatives to the Glacier Point Wilderness Safari, especially if the Lynn Canal is rough that day. Based on the advice here and reviews, we'll keep the float trip in mind--it sounds relaxing with nice scenery. We have to drive a lot for our jobs and so this time around prefer not to rent cars and do our own driving, so the would-be driver (me or hubby) can enjoy the views the whole time. I think after retirement we'll do more of our own transportation ;-)