Hyder, Alaska
Hyder is the only place in Alaska you can drive to from the lower 48 states, but there’s a catch: you have to go through Canada to get there.
The town uses Canadian phone numbers, pays for power from British Columbia, and prefers Canadian dollars over American ones.
Here’s why this Alaskan town acts more like Canada than America.
The Easternmost Town in Alaska
Hyder occupies a unique spot at coordinates 55°56′29″N 130°3′16″W. No other Alaskan town sits farther east on the map.
Drivers cannot reach Hyder from any other part of Alaska by road. Access requires passing through Stewart, British Columbia, located just 2 miles away.
Visitors from other Alaskan towns must fly 75 miles from Ketchikan or drive through Canada. This position makes Hyder the southernmost Alaskan community reachable by car.
The Gold Rush Beginnings
Prospectors arrived during the 1898 Klondike gold rush, with discoveries on the Alaskan side by 1901. Mining fever sparked a small boom in the Canadian district by 1909.
Stewart sprang up across the border along with 12 miles of new railroad. Interest surged again in 1917 after rich silver ore discoveries on the Canadian side.
Hyder became the main gateway for miners by 1914. The growing settlement provided port facilities, supplies, and postal services to those seeking fortune in the surrounding mountains.
The Riverside Mine Boom Years
Riverside Mine operated from 1924 to 1950, transforming Hyder’s fortunes. Workers extracted gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten from deep underground.
Miners followed a rich vein 300 meters long, 3 meters wide, and 45 meters thick. This mineral deposit formed during the Eocene epoch between 56 and 33.9 million years ago.
The operation yielded galena, pyrite, tetrahedrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and native gold. Final production tallied 3,000 ounces of gold and 100,000 ounces of silver plus tons of other metals.
A Town Between Two Countries
Residents dial British Columbia’s 250 area code instead of Alaska’s 907. Clocks run on Pacific Time rather than Alaska Time despite the town’s location.
BC Hydro supplies electricity through its subsidiary, Tongass Power and Light Company. Children cross the border daily to attend Canadian schools.
Banking happens in Stewart since Hyder lacks financial institutions. Daily life straddles two nations with residents shopping, working, and socializing across an international boundary.
Fire and Decline
Flames consumed the business district in 1928, destroying the commercial heart of town. This disaster foreshadowed economic challenges that would soon follow.
Mining activity faded by 1956, removing the foundation of the local economy. Another fire in 1996 destroyed the community building housing the library, post office, and fire hall.
The volunteer fire department, originally formed in 1921, disbanded for 25 years. Firefighting services finally returned in 2023 after a quarter-century absence.
The Hyder Alaska Miner Newspaper
W.R. Hull launched the Hyder Alaska Miner on October 24, 1919. His four-page weekly urged readers to “boost for Hyder all the time.”
Health problems forced Hull to suspend publication in March 1923. Charles F. Sandford, former editor of The Nome Daily Nugget, took over the printing plant.
Sandford released the renamed Hyder Weekly Miner in October 1923. He later changed the title to Hyder Weekly Herald, publishing until December 1, 1934.
The Tradition of Getting ‘Hyderized’
Visitors to the Glacier Inn participate in a ritual dating back to the 1950s. “Getting Hyderized” requires consuming a shot of 150-proof Everclear grain alcohol.
Rules prohibit smelling or tasting the potent liquor before drinking. Participants must finish the entire shot in one swallow without spitting or vomiting, and you get an official certificate if you succeed.
Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site
Four miles north of Hyder stands the only bear-viewing location in Alaska accessible by road. Elevated wooden platforms allow safe watching of bears fishing below.
Unusually large chum salmon fill the creek, so massive they were once thought to be a different species. Black bears and brown grizzlies frequent the site, occasionally joined by wolves hunting salmon.
The facility operates from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm Pacific Time daily. Peak viewing occurs during salmon runs from July 15 through September 20.
Salmon Glacier Adventure
Driving 34 kilometers from Hyder leads to Salmon Glacier, the largest glacier in the world accessible by road. This massive ice formation ranks fifth among Canadian glaciers.
A frozen tongue extends down a valley to a lake below, though climate change causes visible recession yearly. The road crosses into British Columbia without customs checkpoints in either direction.
Rough surfaces, sharp switchbacks, and towering cliffs make the route unsuitable for RVs. Only a welcome sign and vegetation-cleared strip mark the international boundary.
Visiting Hyder, Alaska
Reach Hyder by driving north on British Columbia Highway 37A from Meziadin Junction. No US customs exists at the border, but bring a passport for return to Canada.
Hyder lies 41 miles from Meziadin Junction and 2 miles past Stewart, BC. Floatplanes connect Hyder to Ketchikan twice weekly with US Mail delivery.
Canadian dollars work throughout Hyder except at the Post Office. Cell service follows Canadian providers.
Read More from This Brand:
The post The US Town So Canadian, It Has Mounties, Uses BC Hydro & Pays in Loonies appeared first on When In Your State.