Haines, Alaska

You have to admit that Haines makes a mighty nice first impression. This is the view tourists have when they get off a cruise ship after the initial landing.

Haines is a nice little town right on the Lynn Canal, which is not man-made as the name might imply. It's the closest town to Glacier Bay National Park, and near several opportunities for adventures outdoors. By the way, you can reach this by car from the mainland, something that can't be said for several areas of this region.

Plenty of cruise ships come through this region in the summer, but most of them go up to Skagway. Haines apparently can't handle too many ships at one time. That's not necessarily bad. Haines might lose its small-town feel with more tourists.

When we stopped there, we were handed copies of the Visitors Guide when we got off the boat. There were signs around the town welcoming us as well. It was all kind of nice, actually.

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