Petersburg, Alaska
Petersburg’s Little Norway Hall.
Alaska Sea Adventures home port of Petersburg is small commercial fishing community located in Southeast Alaska on the north end of Mitkof Island at the junction of Wrangell Narrows and Frederick Sound. Norwegian immigrants searching for a new location for a salmon cannery and log mill founded the town at the turn of the 19th century. The settlers were attracted to the site, which closely resembled their homeland because of its available glacier ice for fish packing, abundant timber and close proximity to rich fishing grounds. Petersburg with its current population of 3,300 residents is home port to one of Alaska’s largest and most successful commercial fishing fleets.
Summers find the small community bustling as the town processes an annual seafood harvest that exceeds thirty million pounds. Three seafood processors and salmon canneries churn out product around the clock as work crews change shifts and boats unload their harvests and re-supply for the trip back to the fishing grounds. Visitors to this little working town jewel are fascinated with its Scandinavian flair, surrounding beauty and lack of large cruise ships. Local ancient rock art and fish traps which have been dated to over 4,000 years old indicate the location of the town was an area favored by early indigenous cultures for harvesting seafood for thousands of years.
Petersburg from the air.
This abundantly resource rich area not only has supported humans for many centuries, but over the millennium a large population of marine and terrestrial animals has found the ancient rain forested islands and surrounding bays and channels a place of fantastically rich foraging.
Alaska Airlines serves Petersburg with two daily flights as well as regular scheduled Alaska Marine Highway ferry stops. The town hosts two hotels and dozens of quaint bed & breakfast accommodations as well as all of the other amenities of a modern town.
With it’s location in the heart of the beautiful Inside Passage, Alaska Sea Adventures considers Petersburg a perfect jump off site for our superb Alaska.
Little Norway Festival
The Little Norway Festival, an annual event here in Petersburg, took place over the weekend of May 17th. Norwegian heritage runs deep in our Southeast Alaska fishing town and this festival celebrates that and so much more. Held in honor of Norway’s Constitution Day, the event brings our community together and offers days of festivities. Traditional Norwegian foods, the Annual Festival Parade on Main Street, Coast Guard Rescue Demos, the Herring Toss, and traditional performances bring our town’s Scandinavian heritage to life. Toni and I had a fabulous weekend attending many of the events and catching up with friends in the community.
Petersburg Aquatic and Fitness Center
Aquatic Center pools.
Alaska Sea Adventures’ guests have a great zest to experience all the exciting things to see and do in the far corners of the world. But maintaining a health and fitness program may be a challenge while on the road in unfamiliar territory, especially some of the more remote areas such as Southeast Alaska and Petersburg in particular. If you are a gym fanatic or concerned about how to keep up with your workout program while on your Alaska vacation, you’ll be happy to learn that Petersburg is blessed with a very nice, modern aquatic and fitness center, open to the public.
Petersburg Aquatic and Fitness Center features a 25 yard, six lane competition swimming pool, and a large warm water wading pool with a waterslide! There is also a nice sauna located on the pool deck. An upper level pool deck area has a variety of Life Fitness gym equipment including treadmills, elliptical trainers, recumbent and upright exercise bikes and rowing machines. The fitness center also features two rooms filled with a multitude of fitness machines, weights and exercise equipment.
This bit of information may be surprising, but may prove to be invaluable for our clients who would like one last day at the gym or pool before embarking on one of Alaska Sea Adventures’ voyages, or a refreshing long-awaited return to a postponed gym program. The fitness center is conveniently located only three blocks from downtown Petersburg. So, no need to miss those precious workouts completely when in Petersburg – just go up the hill from Main Street toward the high school. We’ll be glad to show you the way!
Some Petersburg public art.
“Thank you for a wonderful experience. Have been to many places and seen many things but none as memorable as this one. The beauty of Alaska is astounding as are food, service, and courtesies were outstanding!”
MahaloCarl, H
Kamuela, HI
