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A fishing village founded more than a century ago by Norwegian fishermen, Petersburg is about halfway between Ketchikan and Juneau at the northern tip of Mitkof Island, and is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. It's more of a working town than a tourist mecca, and Petersburg's work is fishing. More than 400 commercial and sportfishing vessels ply the waters around Mitkof Island, providing employment for most of its residents.

The Tlingit people had long used the island as a fishing camp when Norwegian adventurer Peter Buschmann stopped there in the 1890s and noted its proximity to the LeConte Glacier. With an inexhaustible supply of glacial ice and abundant fish, the island impressed Buschmann as an ideal spot to build a cannery. His instincts proved correct. With help from several hundred fellow Norwegians and the Tlingit population, he built Petersburg into one of the most prosperous fishing villages in southeast Alaska. A historical marker indicates the exact spot of Buschmann's cannery, across the street from the present-day Petersburg Fisheries on Nordic Drive.

Today, the pretty little town still has a strong Norwegian flavor: Rosemaling (a painted flower pattern) decorates buildings, the grass lawns (a rarity in Alaska) are clipped, homes are well-kept, and the streets are clean. Petersburg can be reached by air, Alaska Marine Highway ferries and small cruise ships.

Must See or Do

Sights—Walk along Sing Lee Alley and take a photograph of the Hammer Slough; see old Tlingit stone fish traps and petroglyphs at Sandy Beach.

Museums—See the largest king salmon ever caught (126 lb/57 kg) at Clausen Memorial Museum.

Memorable Meals—Coastal Cold Storage for fresh takeout shrimp and halibut beer-bits, king crab tacos or smoked salmon strips.

Late Night—Listen to locals share fishing tales at The Harbor Bar; grab a Mexican late-night snack at Kito's Kave; play bingo at Sons of Norway Hall.

Walks—The Beach Walk to see eagles and whales; Ohmer Creek Trail offers a longer hike through the rain forest and muskeg.

Especially for Kids—Explore the interactive educational kiosks at Petersburg Marine Mammal Center; fish from the docks; comb the rocky beaches for shells, rocks and marine life.

Geography

Located at the northern tip of Mitkof Island, Petersburg is near the summer feeding grounds for hundreds of humpback whales in Frederick Sound and the gateway to Wrangell Narrows, a 20-mi-/32-km-long tidal waterway too narrow for large cruise ships. Dotted by navigational markers that make it look like a Christmas tree lane at night, the passage challenges boaters with 8 mph/13 kph currents and tides that change the water level by more than 20 ft/6 m in a day, from a high of 19 ft/6 m to a low of -4 ft/-1 m.

Hilly and heavily forested Mitkof Island has lots of muskeg, relatively flat, moss-filled spongy bog that's wet and hard to hike on. Its highest point is Crystal Mountain, which rises to 3,317 ft/1,011 m. Petersburg is close to the Stikine-LeConte Wilderness Area, which includes LeConte Glacier, and to 9,077-ft/2,767-m Devil's Thumb, a precipitous Canadian border pinnacle that challenges climbers.
Petersburg is located in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the U.S. It is halfway between Juneau and Ketchikan. There are three boat harbors, and some of the town is on pilings built over Hammer Slough.

History

Fishing lured Alaska Natives to the Petersburg area 2,000 years ago. Two ancient, heart-shaped stone fish traps and petroglyphs are remnants of the Tlingit fishing area at Sandy Beach just north of Petersburg. Abundant fish, timber, a natural harbor and chunks of ice from the nearby LeConte Glacier (25 mi/40 km away) attracted Peter and Petra Buschmann, their eight children and family friends from Norway to Wrangell Narrows in 1897. They built a cannery, sawmill and dock, founding Icy Straits Packing Co., eventually home to eight seafood-processing plants during Alaska's cannery heyday when salmon and halibut were packed in glacier ice. Petersburg was incorporated in 1910.

Petersburg has one of the largest halibut fleets in the world and is ranked among the top 10 most valuable Alaska fishing ports. Alaska's first shrimp processor, Alaska Glacier Seafoods, was founded there in 1916. Buschmann's Icy Straits Packing Co., now called Petersburg Fisheries, a subsidiary of Icicle Seafoods, has operated continuously since its founding.

Potpourri

Petersburg is located in the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the U.S. at 17 million acres/7 million hectares, which includes more than 11,000 mi/17,703 km of shoreline, two national monuments, 13 campgrounds, 19 wilderness areas and 450 mi/724 km of hiking trails. The Forest is home to some 75,000 people and more than 5,000 brown bears.

Petersburg is one of the top halibut ports in the world and is home to Alaska's largest halibut-fishing fleet. Seafood processors employ an extra 1,100 people during the summer fishing and canning season.

The Clausen Museum houses the world's largest king salmon, a 126-lb/57-kg behemoth pulled from the waters off Prince of Wales Island in 1939.

Mitkof Highway, south of Petersburg, is also known as Front Street, Nordic Drive, Sandy Beach Road and Frederick Drive, depending on location. It's all the same road, however.

Nicknamed Alaska's "Little Norway," Petersburg celebrated its centennial as a city in 2010.

LeConte Glacier, only 25 mi/40 km from Petersburg, is the southernmost active tidewater glacier in the Northern Hemisphere.

Petersburg is home to more than 500 humpbacks in the summer, orcas year-round and some gray whales. Steller sea lions, harbor seals, Dall's porpoises and Pacific white-sided dolphins are also common.

Location

Large cruise ships can't negotiate the crooks and bends of Wrangell Narrows or dock in Petersburg's shallow harbor. Only smaller cruise ships pull in at the dock, which the local fishing fleet also uses.

The town is an easy walk from the dock. Petersburg's visitors center is at First and Fram streets, two blocks from the harbor, and has maps, displays, brochures and videos. During summer, it's open Monday-Saturday 9 am-5 pm, Sunday noon-4 pm. Winter hours are Monday-Friday 10 am-2 pm. Phone 907-772-3646. Toll-free 866-484-4700. http://www.petersburg.org.

Shore Excursions