Hike the Battery Point Trail, in Haines

I know I always write very long articles, but this time I wanted to keep it short and tell you about a wonderful hike we did in Haines, Alaska, the “Battery Point Trail” hike. During our trip to the Yukon / Alaska we hadn’t planned to do a tour here at all, but it was during a chat with a resident of Homer, on the Kenai Peninsula, that we decided to come here. By the way, to get our impressions and other information, you can read our article about what to do in Haines?

I rarely write about the walks we do abroad, sometimes due to lack of time, but I do write a lot about the ones we’ve been able to do at home, here in Guadeloupe. I thought it would be nice to have a short article with nice pictures and a little story about a nice walk along the coast in Alaska.

Given the good weather we’ve had since arriving in Haines, we decided to look into this hike, especially as it seemed fairly easy, without too much difference in elevation, and therefore more suitable for our children. It was recommended to us by the person at the Haines Tourist Office. The other walks in the area also look great, but have much steeper climbs as they go up to the peaks around the town. Too bad we ran out of time (and have kids, haha). Anyway.

We decide not to start the hike where it is supposed to start, because the map shows it along a road on the outskirts of Haines, which is of little interest. So we drive to the end of the road where there is a small car park. Luckily, there is still room for our small camper (I say small because we have seen some monsters!). We are in luck, the weather is frankly glorious for the early morning. We happily enter this beautiful forest, which calls to us and makes eyes at us! I have to admit that walking in such a beautiful forest in the depths of Alaska is frankly a pleasure for all of us. The play of light between the fir trees in the early morning is really great and we take great pleasure in strolling through this beautiful nature, hoping deep in our hearts that we don’t come face to face with a grizzly, haha!

The trees are really tall and there are lots of ferns and mushrooms everywhere. It’s really very pleasant to walk here and we only meet a few people here and there… The path is well maintained and crosses some small gorges. The beginning of the walk is generally flat, which is another reason why we came here. Occasionally we come across a few steps, a bit like the ones we sometimes come across in Guadeloupe when they are in good condition, or even the ones we saw a lot of in New Zealand.

After half an hour of leisurely walking with the children, we came to the junction with Mont Riley, which branches off to the right. I have to admit that I would have liked to climb it if we had more time, but I think the climb would have been too hard for the kids, so we continued on our way and arrived at a beautiful pebble beach. We were alone in the world and the view of the snow-capped mountains all around us was just extraordinary. The feeling of being here, alone, was magical. It’s easy to imagine a bear behind us (haha), but I can assure you that we won’t see one on the whole walk. Especially as we hadn’t brought any bear spray, and it’s actually a good thing not to meet any out here in the middle of nowhere. I’ll tell you about it in my article on things to do in Haines, but there is one exceptional place along a river for bear watching that is a little safer, although you still have to be very careful.

We continue to Kelgaya Point, which again offers stunning views over the fjord. The water is turquoise green and the setting is truly extraordinary. We take our time, play in the pebbles and have a good time with the family. Several small boats pass by and I have to admit that it must be great to sail in these calm waters. I have to admit that this kind of hike really makes you want to come back and explore Alaska in more depth. We will only be there for 15 days, which is really too short as the area is huge. But it gives us the chance to get some great impressions of an area that makes you want to discover it.

We retrace our steps a little to take the junction that leads to the end of the walk, at Battery Point. We go back into the woods for a short while and even though it is 11.30am, it is clearly not warm in the shade. It has to be said that we are in full tropical mode and feel the slightest chill very quickly, unlike Pascale, Melanie’s mother, who is much more used to these colder temperatures. We arrive at noon to perfect weather and warm sunshine. We wore T-shirts, dipped our feet in the water and enjoyed our sandwiches. From where we are, the sequence of colours and contrasts between the turquoise green of the fjord, the green pine forest and the rocky glaciers with snow-capped peaks is magnificent. Even though I’m struggling a bit with my camera settings because the scenes are so contrasty, it’s a real pleasure to shoot in this environment.

The children are having a great time in an environment that clearly does not leave anyone indifferent. We spend a good two hours here, enjoying the scenery and the tranquillity. Apart from two stray dogs who come to say hello, we are literally alone in the world! We return quietly in the middle of the afternoon, taking the same path back. The forest is as beautiful as ever and if you open your eyes there are lots of really nice things to photograph. With the help of two Americans on the trail, we are even lucky enough to come across two porcupines in a tree. As I get closer I realise that they are not that small and I never thought they would be that big. A nice encounter.

On the way back I take a moment to take some photos of the mushrooms in the area. No “goods” on the horizon, but for the record, we will pick up two porcini mushrooms in Skagway a few days later! On the way back we pick up Louis’ coat that we dropped on the way over, phew!

In the end, we had an excellent day on this beautiful trail, which we recommend to all families and even to those who want to discover beautiful and varied landscapes, including forest, beach and mountain views!

In the meantime, if you’re in the area, check out our article on where to stay in Haines!

See you soon

Written by Sylvain PONS

Twice, over a period of about 2 months, I had the opportunity to explore several corners of the United States, taking advantage of the best it has to offer. I decided to share some of my experiences with you!

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