Best Parks in Petersburg Alaska
Petersburg is a small but vibrant town located on the northern tip of wooded Mitkof Island with approximately 3000 residents. The unusual small town gets its charm from its friendly locals and the sceneries the surrounding wilderness offers, so, being a small town, it is the perfect place to go to if you want to relax and escape the large crowds, as this town is not a port of call for giant cruise ships.
This Lovely and hospitable town proudly celebrates its Norweigan heritage and is a traditional fishing community that still makes its living from the sea. In addition to this town’s lake activities, Petersburg has parks that offer large recreational areas for every family member to enjoy.
Eagle Roost Park
Eagle Roost Park is within the town’s Borough, where Bald eagles congregate in trees -between April and June- to scan Wrangell Narrows waters for fish. If you’re lucky, you might catch an eagle fly off the trees right into the water to pluck a fish.
This park has picnic tables, a viewing platform, and benches. This park is a great spot to watch eagles take a trail down to the beach or roosting in trees. This park is home to other species like Harlequin Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Pelagic Cormorant, gulls, different scoters, and more.
Sandy Beach Park
Located 1.6 miles from downtown on Sandy Beach Loop Road, Sandy Beach Park is a historically significant spot for Alaska Natives. “V” shaped rocks and wooden stakes are the remains of a +2,000-year-old fish trap that can be spotted during low tides in the mud flats.
This park offers three enclosed shelters for picnics with restrooms and running water that can be rented. The City Creek Trail begins at the park’s south end, and it takes about 1 hour to complete this trail. Fun fact: You can find petroglyphs at the edge of the lagoon.
Cannery Park
You can find this small park along Petersburg’s main street. This park looks like a simple, fresh space with a welcoming resting spot with a couple of benches. But, after taking a closer look, you’ll realize that this park has the town’s history form of timelines, photos, and history. All of these are connected to the people who helped make Petersburg what it is today, the cannery workers.
“It’s called Cannery Park, and most of the pictures here are the workers that the fishermen needed,” says Karen Hofstad, a town’s historian who has focused her work on Peterburg’s canneries.