The Alaska Marine Highway

The Alaska Marine Highway is not a highway but rather a ferry service operated by the State of Alaska to serve the three dozen or so Alaska communities in southeastern Alaska that have no road access and are located along the Inside Passage. It also serves the eastern Aleutian Islands and British Columbia, Canada. It covers 3500 miles of sea routes and receives federal highway funding as part of the National Highway System.

It carries passengers, freight, and vehicles...



...offers accommodations for its overnight cruises...




...but does not offer the luxurious rooms and service of a cruise line. Food is served cafeteria style and passengers are allowed to sleep on deck chairs...



...and even erect tents on deck, though it is quite windy and they have to be duct-taped to the deck or tied to railings...

The views never cease to amaze and can be viewed from the deck or from the comfortable indoor seating area...



...which is also the location for the daily talks by rangers supplied by the Tongass National Forest which you are cruising alongside.

The 11 vessels in the fleet are all named for Alaskan glaciers. The Alaska Marine Highway was founded in 1948 by two residents and in 1951 their business was purchased by the territorial government. Alaska became the 50th state in 1959 and the ferry system became a state operation. It was renamed the Alaska Marine Highway System in 1963 and was an "All American Road" in 2005.