Fun + free Icy Strait Point Alaska beach! 11 things to see (maybe!) with a beach walk from the cruise ship! 🏔 Alaska cruise tips

Hi there!

There seem to be strongly opinionated people on both sides: people who love Icy Strait Point and people who hate Icy Strait Point.

People who love Icy Strait Point love it because of its natural beauty.

People who hate Icy Strait Point hate it because Icy Strait Point can seem like its sole purpose is a cruise ship tourist trap.

And yes, it can feel like that.

Once you walk off the cruise ship and onto the boardwalk, you’ll end up at shops and restaurants that would not be operating if there were no cruise ships.

But once you get past that part, there is a part of Icy Strait Point you can love without even getting far from the cruise ship… if you are cruising to Alaska for nature and the outdoors!

Introducing… the beach at Icy Strait Point!

Now, don’t be expecting a sandy beach here!

It’s actually a rocky beach. Like literally all rocks.

But walking along the shoreline can be an activity on its own to take in the nature of Alaska!

So if you’re looking for an easy-going thing to do in Icy Strait Point for 30 minutes to an hour, walk off the cruise ship and start walking the beach!

It doesn’t need to take an hour to walk the beach, but if you want to enjoy nature along the shoreline, it’s easy to stop here and there along the beach to take in your surroundings to last an hour… or 2!

The first time I went to Icy Strait Point, I didn’t really spend any time at the beach.

But later, I read someone in a facebook group who said they saw starfish right along the shoreline! So the next time I was in Icy Strait Point, I made it my mission to find starfish in Icy Strait Point!

I didn’t end up seeing any starfish, but I still enjoyed my walk.

From the beach, I saw wildlife swimming in the water and I saw some sea life washed up on shore too.

👆 A jellyfish is washed up on shore at the Icy Strait Point beach!

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So if you have nothing to do in Icy Strait Point and you’re thinking about not even getting off the ship, the least you can do is go for a walk along the beach straight off the cruise ship!

Below is a list of things I saw (and missed) on my most recent visit to Icy Strait Point, which was on a Norwegian cruise ship in October!

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Nature is wild so there’s never any guarantee of what you’ll see! But here are some things that you can be on the lookout for!

1. Clear water

If you look down once you’re at the beach, you will notice just how clear the water is!

2. ROCKS!

It is a rocky beach, and if you’re a rock hound, you might just love looking for rocks at Icy Strait Point.

Now, this isn’t Lake Superior (aka one of the best destinations for colorful rocks in the US), but you might find some rocks you like!

You can look for walks in the dry area. And because the water is so clear, you can even look for some more rocks in the shallow area of the water too.

You might consider wearing cold water swimming socks or booties so you can walk into the water a little bit to have a look further! Wear wool socks underneath the swimming socks to help keep your toes warmer longer.

If you have regular water shoes (beach shoes), you could try those, but I think the water might make your feet cold! Even in the summer, the water is cold, although I guess that’s all relative!

👆 The water is super clear in Icy Strait Point, and you might want to wade into the shallow water to look for some rocks! Or… stay dry and see what you can find!

👆 You can see rocks underwater because the water is so clear!

3. Shells

You might be able to find shells on the beach at Icy Strait Point too!

Now, this isn’t Sanibel Island (aka one of the best shelling destinations in the US), but if you’re on a mission to find shells at Icy Strait Point, you might find some!

👆 You can look for shells!

4. Starfish

You might see starfish (aka sea stars) on the beach at Icy Strait Point!

Reading about how someone saw starfish in Icy Strait Point right at the beach is what got me started on the beach walk.

I didn’t see any starfish, but maybe you will!

I’ve since read a few more people say (with pictures) that they saw starfish at Icy Strait Point. So I feel like it’s not that unusual of a thing to see!

5. Jellyfish

You might see jellyfish in Icy Strait Point at the beach!

For me, this was one of the most interesting and exciting things that I saw that day.

First I saw a single jellyfish washed up on the shore. I’m guessing the tide brought it up to what was now a dry area.

I kept walking and saw another jellyfish on the shoreline… and saw another! These were also in what was now a dry area of the beach.

Then, as I kept walking, I also saw jellyfish floating in the shallow area of the water!

The jellyfish I saw were closer to the far end of the beach, around and past the pier.

👆 You might see jellyfish in Icy Strait Point!

👆 What IS that?! A jellyfish meal?!

👆 A jellyfish is floating in the water at the Icy Strait Point beach, which you can see from above because the water is so clear!

👆 A jellyfish is washed up on shore at the Icy Strait Point beach!

I also saw jellyfish floating in the water in another Alaska cruise port, when I was walking in Juneau at the beach!

6. Pier on wooden stilts

There’s a pier that you can walk under at the beach!

👆 You can walk under the pier at Icy Strait Point!

7. The Crab Shack

The Crab Shack is one of the Alaskan style restaurants at Icy Strait Point.

Well, all the Icy Strait Point restaurants have Alaskan food!

You can walk along the beach to make your destination the Crab Shack!

The Crab Shack is towards the far end of the beach.

At some point, you’ll have to walk up to get back on the boardwalk to actually get to the Crab Shack.

When walking on the beach, you’ll know the Crab Shack is up ahead because you’ll see the elevated platform (that’s where it is), and that’s the area of the wooden stilts too.

👆 You can make it a beach walk to the Crab Shack for food at Icy Strait Point!

8. Sea lions

During my sunny visit to Icy Strait Point, you could see sooooo many sea lions from the beach!

Okay, I don’t want to give the wrong idea, it’s not like there were 50. But there were maybe 5 to 10 sea lions, which I consider to be a lot to randomly see swimming around in the water!

There was even a sea lion that was waving hello to everyone on the beach for a long time!

Okay, so it was just keeping its flipper up for a long time. 😂

It was a bit off in the distance, so it would help to have binoculars.

But even without binoculars (I didn’t have any), it was fun to watch!

👆 So many sea lions swimming at Icy Strait Point, including one with its flipper up!

9. Whales

During my October visit to Icy Strait Point, as I was walking on the beach, I heard someone say that they saw a whale.

As it goes with whale watching from the shoreline, like other wildlife watching, it will be best to have binoculars.

It seemed like it was quite far away, so I didn’t actually see it myself, especially since I didn’t have binoculars.

During my May visit to Icy Strait Point, there were whales that could be seen from the cruise ship, so I’m guessing it was possible that you could have seen some from the beach too.

Icy Strait Point is considered one of the best cruise ports for whale watching.

So whales are another thing to look out for when you’re walking the beach!

So yes, it’s possible that you might see whales from the cruise ship or the beach.

But if you truly are interested in seeing humpback whales, you should really do a whale watching tour.

It’s a really big difference to see a humpback whale from far away when you’re on the beach or cruise ship vs on a whale watching boat.

You are still somewhat far away on a whale watching boat, but the whale can seem like it’s MUCH closer!

10. Old fishing boat

Towards the end of the beach, you will see an old fishing boat that’s on land just off the beach.

👆 You can see an old fishing boat at Icy Strait Point.

11. Orca statue

You can’t miss the orca statue! (aka killer whale statue)

As in, you will most definitely be able to see it because it is very obvious!

Anyone who walks off the cruise ship and follows the signs that point to everything will see the orca statue.

It’s the most iconic statue of Icy Strait Point!

👆 You will see the iconic orca statue that overlooks the Icy Strait Point beach!
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How to see the beach at Icy Strait Point

It’s easy to see the beach at Icy Strait Point!

Even if you arrived at Icy Strait Point knowing nothing about Icy Strait Point, you will see the beach.

You will naturally see it!

There really aren’t that many different directions you can go, so if you follow the signs and the path to basically everything, then you’ll end up seeing the beach.

And then, you will want to actually take the path or stairs down (depending on which area of the beach you’re at), so you can actually do your Icy Strait Point beach walk!

👆 You can walk the boardwalk or you can walk the beach.

If your cruise ship is docked at the pier that’s closest to everything, then you can walk directly from the cruise ship to the Icy Strait Point beach in a matter of minutes!

If your cruise ship is docked at the “other” pier, you’ll need to go down (and yes you are going DOWN!) to the boardwalk. You can do this by either taking the nature trail down or the free gondola down.

There are actually 2 sides of the beach that you can walk at Icy Strait Point. The main one is the one you get to by following the main path once you arrive. (You’ll know it when you’re there. It’s obvious.)

The main Icy Strait Point shoreline (beach) is the one that you’ll see if you follow the signs to everything. It’s the one you’ll see if you walk the boardwalk.

The other side is the one that’s by the nature trail. This beach you don’t feel as much like you’re walking a wide open area since the cruise ship is right in front of you.

But this tells you how close it is to the cruise ship!

What to do after going to the beach at Icy Strait Point

Once you’ve made it to the end of the beach, you can turn around to walk back to the cruise ship.

Or, continue your walk by walking to Hoonah!

It’s about a 30 minute walk to get to “downtown” Hoonah.

You will be continuing your walk along the shoreline for more beautiful views, except you will be walking on a sidewalk!

You can also take a shuttle to Hoonah instead. Just walk “inland” and look for the shuttle ticket booth.

See more about walking in Icy Strait Point.

More easy walks: Juneau | Ketchikan | Skagway | Sitka | Victoria | Vancouver | Seattle

More walking: Hiking in Alaska cruise ports

More for your cruise ship visit: All things Icy Strait Point on the blog

HAPPY WALKING THE ICY STRAIT POINT BEACH!

I walked the Icy Strait Point beach on October 26, 2023. Your experience may vary!