ALASKA | CRUISES
Super-long zip-line zooms above Hoonah
Paris has the Eiffel Tower; New York, the Statue of Liberty. Now Hoonah, Alaska (population 865; click link for map), has a claim to fame too: North America's longest and highest zip-line tour.
Hoonah, a Tlingit Indian community in southeast Alaska, is about 40 air miles west of Juneau. It is a port of call for Celebrity, Princess, Holland-America and Royal Caribbean, ships making their way through the Inside Passage.
The new zip-line, which opened May 14, is at Icy Strait Point, (907) 523-3670, a little more than a mile outside town. Icy Strait Point operates a renovated salmon cannery that offers shore excursions, shopping and a museum.
Icy Strait's Zip-Rider is more than a mile in length and begins 1,330 feet above sea level. It takes riders from a mountaintop to the beach, traveling at speeds of up to 60 mph. Riders reach the bottom in 90 seconds.
"Wildlife sightings — Sitka black-tailed deer and Alaska coast brown bear — along the way are common," said John Dybdahl, president of Icy Strait Point.
Zip-Rider tours are $85 per person and are only available to those weighing between 90 and 275 pounds. Cruise ship passengers can reserve a tour during their cruise or when they arrive at Icy Strait Point. Independent travelers can sign up at Icy Strait Point.
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