POW, Anybody ever taken there own vehicle there for hunting or fishing?

[Id-Dave]

Hi everyone, I was curious if anyone has taken there own vehicle to POW to do any hunting/fishing. I think for anyone living in the Northwest it might be fun a drive to Prince Rupert then over by way of ferry. Correct me if I am wrong, 6 hours from Rupert to Ketchikan then 4 over to Hollis? It would be a couple of days getting to & from home but probably some good sightseeing plus being able to explore once your there without rental of a vehicle. Could save some $ by tent camping along the way up through BC.

I tried a search for something similar but didn't come up with any previous threads.

Thanks

 

[Bgriffith]

I did that trip when I moved to POW. Took 2.5 days from Yakima to prince Rupert. I would say make sure the Ketchikan ferry gets in before the ferry to Hollis(IFA) leaves as back then it was only over in the morning from POW and back in the afternoon. have your gun paper work tucked into your passport when you hand it to the Canadian’s, you’ll have to park and go in and pay. I was all ready for a search (my car was plum to the gills from moving) but all they wanted was some money and I was on my way. Didn’t camp at all along the way so no help there. Beautiful drive and wish I could have taken more time to explore along the way.

 

[MJE2083]

I can't help you much, but I have a cousin that lives on POW and he told me that they were having major ferry problems a couple of months ago. Not sure if that's been corrected or not.

 

[seeth07]

I rented a truck on the island and it was a great experience enough though our first truck broke down. The guy was great and handled the situation about as good as he could have. Its been 6 years since so not sure if he is still renting but I could find his info if you're considering that route.

 

[muskeg]

There are currently no ferry runs out of Prince Rupert into Alaska. They canceled that run last year. Also the Canadian border is closed except for essential travel.

If they start a run from there again it is a very nice trip. I have made it quite a few times. I don't know if it would save you much on a shorter (veh rental) visit but if you were to plan on being on the Island for a while it would probably safe you some. But it is nice having your own rig and stuff with you.

 

[Id-Dave]

Thanks for the replies so far. This would be in the future, maybe next summer. Was there last summer on a DIY fishing trip. Seems like the ferry system was down then because of wage/contract issues with the employees. Hopefully they pick up the Prince Rupert run again. Had a vehicle last year as part of our trip but spent to much time chasing fish.

 

[muskeg]

The ferry wage / contract issues were not the reason the run was canceled. It's a US Homeland security issue about having armed guards at the border. This was in addition to a few other issues and then the Corona came along.

The AK Governor pretty much was successful in killing the system. The AK Ferry system is a skeleton of what it use to be. Don't think it will ever be the same as it was. It's sad, the Ferry system is extremely important to SE Ak.

 

[lodgepoleJoe]

I took my rig up there a couple summers when I was logging on POW in the mid 90's. Beautiful drive through Canada to Prince Rupert but if that's a hassle these days you might see if they still leave out of Bellingham, Wa. That would avoid the border problems. I liked having my pickup along, there are tons of places to explore on the island. One of my favorites on the weekends (other than fishing of course) was to check out some of the old mines. We even found cases of old dynamite in one of them. Too bad about the ferry system going downhill. It seemed like a great way for people to get around up there.

 

[joshs]

I have done it the last 8 summers for fishing trips towing my boat. As Muskeg said, no longer an option.

the drive to prince Rupert from central washington was fantastic and always loved it. We were always able to get great deals staying in lodges crew quarters which let us live on the cheap.

option now is to ferry from Bellingham but that is expensive!! Fly to ketchikan, ferry over and rent a truck from Hollis adventure rentals. I’m headed up there on the 26th to do that.