Making the most of Wrangell AK
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
City Dock, also known as the Cruiseship Dock, is a t-shaped dock located at the north end of downtown.
Sightseeing:
One of USA’s oldest settlements, the fur trade brought Russian traders here in the early 1800s. The Americans established a military post in 1868 and named it Fort Wrangell. The town boomed during the great Gold Rush of the late 19th century and Wrangell sported gambling halls, dance halls, booze, and lawlessness. Today, commercial fishing and timber still are the mainstays for Wrangell’s economy. Explore nearby Stikine River home to hundreds of species of migrating birds, spectacular glacial valleys or watch the bears at Anan Falls rain forest.
Getting around
Nor to be missed is the Wrangell Museum located within the James and Elsie Nolan Center. There, visitors may stroll among exhibits that range from large brilliant brass Russian samovars to intricately executed Tlingit carvings, hand-woven baskets and gold rush memorabilia. Also displayed are ancient petroglyphs (rock carvings) of undetermined age and authorship.
More such rocks may be viewed in the tidewater setting of Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park. A wooden handicap-accessible boardwalk takes visitors to an observation deck which overlooks the beach.
Walking and hiking is a favorite Wrangell pastime and a number of trails offer uncrowded forest, shoreline, and mountain options. Short on time? A one-mile stroll from Volunteer Park ballfields leads through cranberry bogs and muskeg with spectacular mountain vistas.
Food and shopping
Dine on fresh Dungeness Crab and USA Spot Prawns.
Money
The official U.S. currency is the United States dollar (symbol: $). ATM's everywhere.
Major credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard are widely used and accepted, even for transactions worth only a few dollars. In fact, in some cases, it may be the only way to make a transaction. Note to overseas visitors: Prices of goods and services always seem lower than they really are, as taxes and gratuities are seldom included.
Most states have a sales tax, ranging from 2.9% to nearly 10% of the retail price; 4-6% is typical. Sales tax is almost never included in posted prices (except for gasoline, and in most states, alcoholic beverages consumed on-premises), but instead will be calculated and added to the total when you pay.
Opening Hours and
In major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, many drugstores and supermarkets are routinely open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, while department stores, shopping centers and most other large retailers are typically open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and often with shorter hours on Sundays - generally 11 a.m. or noon to 5 or 6 p.m. On holidays, the tendency is to remain open (with the exception of the most important holidays like Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day where stores are generally closed)