A tiny boardwalk fishing village tucked into the northwest tip of Chichagof Island off Cross Sound, Elfin Cove is the natural first or last port of call for boats crossing between the Inside Passage and the Gulf of Alaska.
Elfin Cove is a flask-shaped harbor on the northwest tip of Chichagof Island, originally nicknamed Gunkhole for the soft mud bottom that made it a favorite hideaway for fishing boats working the Cross Sound and Fairweather grounds. The settlement is a roadless boardwalk community of a couple dozen year-round residents (swelling to a couple hundred in summer) strung along a wooden walkway with a general store, restaurant/bar, post office, laundromat with showers, and several fishing lodges.
The harbor has two parts: an inner harbor packed with community small-craft floats and a private landing, and an outer harbor that holds the fuel float, a roughly 200-foot public transient float, and a seaplane float. Because the inner basins are largely filled with floats and the dredged cut into them is narrow and shallow, cruising boats that cannot find dock space anchor out in the Outer Cove rather than threading inside.
It is a working, weather-beaten place with float planes buzzing in and out of the entrance, fish scows in summer, and snowy peaks and the Brady Glacier as a backdrop across Cross Sound.
Approach notes, hazards to watch for, and what's available once you're tied up.
Approach from Cross Sound requires care to avoid the shoals scattered among the islands off the entrance, including the George Islands just outside. A large islet with smaller ones sits in the middle of the cove entrance, with channels on either side; the main channel lies southwest of the large islet and is marked by Elfin Cove Entrance Light 2. The principal danger is a rock about 7.5 ft deep, usually marked by kelp, roughly 500 yards north-northwest of the entrance light.
The rocky ledges lining the entrance channel are marked by daybeacons, and the channel narrows through a dredged cut (about 8-10 ft) - most yachts can only reach the inner basins near high water. Watch and listen astern: float planes use the entrance as a landing strip. The Coast Pilot warns that vessels anchoring in the lower inner basin have dragged and gone aground on the eastern shore, so set carefully and favor the Outer Cove for swinging room.
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Source: OpenWeather One Call API + WorldTides.
A curated photo + map walkthrough showing approach, mooring options, and points of interest.
A guided walkthrough of Elfin Cove with approach photos, depth notes, and points of interest — written by members who have been here recently.
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Real first-hand reports and questions answered by members who have actually been here.
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