Cannon Beach sits two miles south of Yakutat airport and three miles west of the town of Yakutat at the very top of Southeast Alaska tucked into a sheltered bay off the Gulf of Alaska. The beach borders the Tongass National Forest and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve creating protected wilderness setting where glaciers descend from the Saint Elias Mountains to tidewater, and the Malaspina Glacier, North America's largest piedmont glacier, lies just east of Yakutat. Cannon Beach gained recognition in the late 1990s when Yakutat became Alaska's first town with a surf shop and the best place to surf in Alaska, with the Gulf of Alaska's immense swells pounding the remote shoreline creating epic surf breaks along Alaska's Lost Coast between the Copper River and Southeast Alaska. Yakutat developed as a Tlingit village site for thousands of years before becoming a Russian settlement and later American fishing and logging community, with approximately 600 current residents supporting themselves through commercial fishing, subsistence harvesting, tourism, and government services in one of Alaska's most spectacular yet isolated settings.
Surfing attracts adventurous wave riders to Cannon Beach where consistent North Pacific swells create Alaska's premier surf destination, though water temperatures averaging 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit year-round require thick wetsuits, hoods, boots, and gloves making surfing an extreme cold-water experience. Swimming occurs primarily for hardy souls and surfers rather than recreational swimmers given the frigid water temperatures and powerful wave action. Beachcombing along the sandy and rocky shoreline reveals smooth stones, driftwood from coastal temperate rainforests, Japanese glass fishing floats drifting across the Pacific, agates, and shells from North Pacific marine life. Overnight camping is permitted on Cannon Beach located two miles from the airport, creating opportunities for extended wilderness beach experiences with tent sites among driftwood and beach grass. Wildlife watching includes brown bears foraging along the tideline and fishing in nearby streams, sea otters floating in kelp beds offshore, Steller sea lions and harbor seals in surrounding waters, bald eagles and ravens along the beach, and shorebirds including sandpipers and plovers. Gray whales and humpback whales migrate and feed in Gulf of Alaska waters visible from the beach during spring and summer months. Walking along pristine beaches provides access to explore miles of wild coastline with views of the Saint Elias Mountains rising dramatically from sea level to over 18,000 feet including Mount Saint Elias, and the massive Malaspina and Hubbard Glaciers calving icebergs into Yakutat and Disenchantment Bays.
Yakutat dining offers limited options in this remote Southeast Alaska community accessible primarily by plane. Glacier Bear Lodge Restaurant serves Alaskan seafood, homemade soups, breads, and desserts open 11am to 10pm depending on season. Slacktide Cafe prepares unique daily lunch offerings in limited quantities. Fat Grandmas Bistro provides casual dining. Landing Restaurant and Raven's Table offer additional meals. The isolated community emphasizes fresh Alaskan seafood including salmon, halibut, rockfish, and Dungeness crab landed by local fishing vessels and featured in restaurants serving fishermen, tourists, and residents in one of Alaska's most dramatically beautiful settings where icefields meet the Gulf of Alaska creating unparalleled wilderness experiences.
