Tenakee Springs
For additional information about Tenakee Springs, visit www.tenakeespringsak.com
About Tenakee Springs: This fabled seaside community on the shores of Tenakee Inlet can trace its history as a visitor destination all the way back into the late 1800s when gold prospectors and fishermen came out of the hills and mountains and islands and waters each year to spend the coldest part of the Alaska winter season on the shores of Chichagof Island about 45 miles southwest of Juneau and 50 miles northeast of Sitka.
"Thar She Blows!" One of the grand memories for visitors to
Tenakee Springs and other sites in Southeast Alaska is the
sight of whales on sightseeing (or even fishing) excursions.
(Photo courtesy of Alaska Travel Industry Association.)Why there? Because of the 107-degree waters of a fabulous sulfur hot mineral spring that came bubbling out of the ground at the site.
Today bubbling continues. no small number of knowledgeable Alaskans and visitors from outside continue to join some 100 year-round residents “taking waters” in the community bath house there.
Nor is bathing the only thing to do thereabouts. Fishing is “hot” around Tenakee Springs with populations of all five species of salmon plus halibut, cod, and a variety of deep water rock fish. Hiking is popular too. The community website notes that local trails meet up with abandoned logging roads that snake through the island for hundreds of miles. “You can hike from one end of Chichagof Island to the other,” says the site.
Too there’s kayaking on the sometimes glass-calm waters offshore. In the process you might see whales, seals, sea otters, sea lions and much more marine life in Tenakee Inlet. More about the whales: They love the inlet due to large quantities of bait fish, and even from shore visitors love to listen to the whales call, to watch them breech, and to see them “bubble-feed.”
Birding is likewise productive. Bring binoculars and your “life list.” You’ll add to it in and around Tenakee Springs.
But, again, the headliner is the therapeutic bathing.
Access to the community is by small aircraft from jet-accessible Juneau or by the Alaska Marine Highway System's comfortable 300-passenger ferry vessel LeConte sailing from Juneau.
Presently the Tenakee Hot Springs Lodge is the only overnight accommodation service open for visitors, but sources in the community tell us that two or three homes may offer B&B accommodations in the near future. Watch this space for developments.
Accommodations
Tenakee Hot Springs Lodge
Innkeepers:P.O. Box 7
Tenakee Springs, AK 99841
Physical address:
Telephone: 907-736-2400
Fax:
Email: tenakeehotspringslodge AT acsalaska.net
Website: tenakeehotspringslodge.com
Amenities:
Rates:
Number of rooms: