Haines Hitch-Up RV Park
Image Caption: Photo Credit: Haines Hitch-Up RV Park
The Last Frontier is on many RVers’ bucket lists, so there’s no time like the present to get going on your plans for 2024! Haines Hitch-Up RV Park, at the north end of the Inside Passage, is surrounded by the snowcapped peaks of the Chilkat Mountains. Haines is located on a peninsula at the northernmost point of the Lynn Canal, the longest and deepest fjord in North America.
The five-acre RV park has wide roads for easy access and 92 grass sites, all with full hookups and Wi-Fi. Amenities include restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities, and park owners Laura and George Hoffman are a wealth of information for expeditions and sightseeing hot spots.
Naturally, there are plentiful hiking trails, and Haines Hitch-Up is a welcoming home base for exploring all that the area offers, such as bear viewing, native culture, and state parks with breathtaking scenery. Anglers will be lured in by salmon, trout, and halibut fishing, while bird-watchers enjoy “The Valley of the Eagles.” Haines is home to one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in North America, and there’s a mass gathering of these majestic raptors in the fall.
With most of southeast Alaska only accessible by boat or plane, you can leave your RV at the park and take a day trip to Juneau through the Lynn Canal where you’re sure to spot whales, seals, and sea lions. Or hop on the fast ferry in Haines for a day excursion to Skagway or take a flightseeing tour over Glacier Bay National Park.
Other regular visitors to Hitch-Up include moose and bear—one of the park’s policies is that “Pedestrians and wildlife have the right of way,” so enjoy the easy pace so as not to miss out on any of Mother Nature’s gifts.
Pet-friendly Haines Hitch-Up RV Park has a 7.5/10*/10 rating from the Good Sam North American Campground Guide. The RV park closes down for the season on October 15 this year and reopens on May 1, 2024. Reservations can be made now for next year.
Photo Credit: Getty
City Stop: Vancouver, B.C.
If you’re heading for the continent’s far corner, don’t miss this glittering Canadian metropolis, where the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest intersect with the global influences of the Pacific Rim. Explore these highlights from Wildsam’s visit to the City of Glass:
Downtown
Wild salmon is a Vancouver must, best explored at the highly-rated Tom Sushi. Rent bikes from Cycle City Tours to loop the 5.5-mile seawall around the perimeter of Stanley Park, a haven of conifers that’s larger than Vancouver’s downtown core. Views of the Pacific and Lions Gate Bridge flank your other side. Take a Northwest Coast art break at the Bill Reid Gallery on your way to historic, brick-laden Gastown.
The Neighborhoods
On Commercial Drive, the counterculture and Italian immigrants form an unexpected union; you’re as likely to find Hula-Hoop dancers as upscale espresso. Settle between faux-marble statues and Italian oldsters having boisterous soccer disputes at Café Calabria. Next, hop the SkyTrain for Chinatown, Canada’s largest, and grab modern Chinese sharing plates at Bao Bei.
Photo Credit: Wildsam
Cultural Tour
The Museum of Anthropology contains stunning First Nations art, modern and old. The Great Hall, with soaring totems and cedar sculptures, is breathtaking (closed for upgrades; scheduled to reopen in late 2023).
At the nearby Beaty Biodiversity Museum, walk beneath the suspended blue whale skeleton and inspect all manner of preserved creatures.
Learn more with Wildsam’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest
