THINGS TO DO
STIKINE
RIVER
LENGTH
400 MILES
From British Columbia to the sea
WHERE
Empties just north of Wrangell
GETTING THERE
Jet boat of float plane, with a local charter
SEASON
Eagles from February. River Trips through summer.
THE TLINIGT CALLED IT STIK-HEEN. GREAT RIVER
It runs 400 miles out of British Columbia and empties into the sea just north of town — and it is the reason anyone has lived here for a very long time. It was a trade route into the interior long before it was anything else.
Above the delta the river opens into braided channels, side sloughs, glaciers and lakes. Local boat and air operators run trips into all of it.
400
MILES LONG
1,600
EAGLES AT PEAK SEASON
120+
BIRD SPECIES RECORDED
160
MILES TO TELEGRAPH CREEK
SHAKES GLACIER & SHAKES LAKE
Up a side arm off the main river, jet boats run into Shakes Lake and up to the face of the glacier, weaving between icebergs to get there.
Most Stikine day trips include it. How close you get depends on the ice.
Two tubs up a slough off the river — one open, one enclosed. Free, first come, maintained by the Forest Service.
Most operators will stop if you ask. Bring a towel.
CHIEF SHAKES
HOT SPRINGS
THE SPRING
MIGRATION
In April the hooligan run comes up the river and the birds arrive for it. Bald eagles gather on the flats in numbers that are hard to describe and easier to just go look at.
Shorebirds move through the delta, sandhill cranes pass overhead, and sea lions wait it out on the islands north of town.
The Stikine River Birdfest is built around exactly this, five days in late April.
Forest Service cabins along the river and side sloughs, reservable through recreation.gov.
Garnet Ledge near the river mouth — Wrangell children have collected and sold garnets there for generations.
Telegraph Creek, roughly 160 river miles upstream in British Columbia. A serious trip, not a day trip.
The delta itself — one of the biggest staging areas on the Pacific Flyway.
ALSO OUT THERE
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Go with a local operator unless you know the river. It braids, it shifts, and the channels move.
Book ahead in summer, and for Birdfest week in April.
Layers and rain gear. It is colder on the water than in town.
Life jacket on the water, every time.
Cell service ends not far out of town.
Local guides know the country, the water and the weather — and can usually tell a few good stories along the way.
Check out the Stikine River in the wild!
NEAR BY ATTRACTIONS
GLACIERS
ANAN BEARS
STIKINE BIRDFEST
GARNET LEDGE
PLAN THE TRIP.
Most Stikine trips are a full day. Start with how to get to Wrangell.