Things To Do In Kake

Arriv­ing in Kake, you’ll see a large light-green ware­house built on pil­ings over the water. This is Kake’s his­toric salmon-pack­ing can­nery, which locals are work­ing to restore as both a usable space for local busi­ness­es and an his­toric attrac­tion for visitors. 

More than 120 miles of log­ging roads wind through Kupre­anof Island, offer­ing access to trail­heads and oth­er remote parts of the island. You can dri­ve on the fre­quent­ly used roads, and explore oth­ers by bike or by foot.

The Com­mu­ni­ty Hall/​Gymnasium, locat­ed in down­town Kake, is the most used facil­i­ty in town. Here’s where you could find a com­mu­ni­ty gath­er­ing com­plete with Tlin­git danc­ing. Or you may get a chance to watch res­i­dents in a spir­it­ed game of bas­ket­ball, the city’s favorite sport. (Kake has a few state cham­pi­onships in its history!).

Kake’s mod­est pub­lic library, locat­ed at the high school, offers pub­lic wi-fi, com­put­ers, and lim­it­ed pro­gram­ming such as sto­ry time and yoga. When open, it’s a great place to stop and check your email or chat with Kake’s residents.

Long Beach is a stretch of beach along Keku Strait a few miles north of Kake. This is a good spot for spot­ting whale activ­i­ty off­shore, as there are a few rocks out in the water that the whale like to rub against. Gen­er­al­ly you would see hump­back in this area, but once in awhile you might see a pod of orca.

Dri­ve out north of Kake a few miles to find a local hot spot for pic­nick­ing and watch­ing for hump­backs in Keku Strait. This is the best place near Kake to view whales. You can see their spouts in the waters pret­ty close to the Point.

Com­ing to Kake in the sum­mer? Time your vis­it to late July/​early August so you can par­tic­i­pate in the Dog Salmon Fes­ti­val, a com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tion with great food, crazy games, music, and danc­ing. It’s the biggest event of the year, and a time when the entire com­mu­ni­ty comes togeth­er to cel­e­brate the boun­ty of the land and sea.

The wide beach flats in front of Kake where Gun­nuk Creek and Lit­tle Gun­nuk Creek emp­ty out offer a wide expanse to explore, espe­cial­ly for kids. Watch for eagles, take in the view of Kuiu Island across Keku Strait, or learn how to dig for clams.

When Kake’s totem pole was raised on the bluff over­look­ing the city in 1971, it was cel­e­brat­ed as the tallest sanc­tioned totem pole in the world. It is now fad­ed, and cracked at the top, but remains a sym­bol of Kake’s his­to­ry and hon­ors many traditions.

Big John Bay trail is the fur­thest hike out from Kake, in a remote area right on tidal and salt­wa­ter flats. After a dri­ve of 16 miles and a hike of about 2.1 miles, you’ll come to Big John Bay cab­in, which can be reserved for the night through the U.S. For­est Ser­vice. Get­ting there requires strict atten­tion to tide tables, as the 15-foot vari­a­tion in tide restricts trail and cab­in access.  ...more

Goose Lake Trail is a 1.5 mile round-trip, flat and easy hike that ends at Goose Lake, where you’ll find a pic­nic area and row­boat handy for fur­ther explo­ration or some trout fishing.

The trail along Hamil­ton Creek is busiest around 5 in the morn­ing, as savvy anglers know that’s when the fish are bit­ing! The trail is about 2 miles round-trip, but you can fol­low the creek for miles, fish­ing and pic­nick­ing along the way. You will be shar­ing the expe­ri­ence with bears, so secure your snacks, and any fish you catch.

The trail down to Cathe­dral Falls isn’t very long, but involves a steep 100-foot descent (and ascent when it’s time to go back!). Down at the creek, you can explore behind the falls, fish for trout and salmon, or watch black bear, which are like­ly to be fish­ing as well.

Of all the acces­si­ble hik­ing trails near Kake, the Portage Bay Trail is the clos­est to town (just over a mile south). It’s a short, one-mile stroll along the beach, where you might see eagles, black bear, salmon and trout.

More than 120 miles of log­ging roads wind through Kupre­anof Island, offer­ing access to trail­heads and oth­er remote parts of the island. You can dri­ve on the fre­quent­ly used roads, and explore oth­ers by bike or by foot.