About Hoonah
Hoonah is a largely Tlingit community on Chichagof Island, located in Alaska's panhandle in the southeast region of the state.
Hoonah is a small, peaceful fishing village settled approximately 350 years ago by the Tlingit people of Glacier Bay. People fished to feed their families and then commercially for many decades. Commercial fishing took a back seat to commercial timber harvesting in the 1990's and today Tourism is the largest employer in Hoonah.
We are a first class city in Alaska with Police, Fire, EMS and yes, even plumbing! We have a ferry terminal that services two weekly ferry trips to Juneau, an airport with 4 flights daily, a post office, a clinic, a general store and a school with 100 students K-12.
MARINE AND TERRESTRIAL WILDLIFE
This area of Southeast Alaska is the year round home to humpback whales. Some of our breeders go back forth to Hawaii, but not all. Sperm whales hunt deep water trenches near Hoonah and occasionally a Minke whale or two pass through. On a rare day in 2024 we spotted a large pod of Rizzo’s dolphins, not previously seen in this area. Both resident and transient pods of killer whales pass though the area feeding and are most prevalent July-September when the salmon run is on.
Chichagof Island is huge! At 2,800 square miles it is home to Sitka Blacktail deer, Moose and the densest population of coastal brown bears on earth. Whale watching guests frequently get treated with bald eagles, deer and sometimes bears on the beaches.
