Hyder is Alaska's friendliest ghost town. It's completely boxed in on all sides by mountains, mines, glaciers, and, oh yeah-- Canada.
The only way into Hyder is through Canada, or by an expensive trip by boat or plane. The USPS mail plane comes twice a week (if that) and the people of this extremely isolated slice of Americana are emerging from their first summer after a long Covid Winter. I was one of the first of hopefully many tourists who will pass through this quiet, rare slice of Americana.
By road, Hyder is only accessible from Stewart, British Columbia, and Stewart is only accessible by one road from the Cassiar Highway-- One of the longest loneliest roads in Canada. In short, once you decide to go down that 37A road off The Cassiar Highway (37) in Meziadin Junction toward Stewart, it's one long "dead end" and Hyder is along it.
Hyder Alaska has a few claims to fame:
They're one the few exclaves of the US
Like Point Roberts in Washington, or the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, Hyder is an Exclave. While technically geographically part of Alaska's whole, there's very few ways to get here without hitting Canada first.
It doesn't take any border check to get to Hyder. You can drive right in. Going back into Canada, however, requires a border check with a submission to the "ArriveCAN" app, your passport, and all the same routine questions such as "how long will you be in Canada? What's your purpose here? Where are you headed?"
The people of Hyder pay taxes in the US, they vote in US elections, and they can require a border check like anybody else to leave their town by land.
They get by, but not alone
Their infrastructure though? It's a bit of a mixed bag. Their landlines are subcontracted out to Canadian telecommunications. Their dial-up internet is also subcontracted through Canada so credit cards can be used at the gift shops-- but not without some small talk while the 'computers talk to each other.'
The "Hyder Phone Booth" is a spot way out on the end of their historic pier where they can get 4G service from a Canadian cell tower in Stewart. For that, you need a Canadian SIM or plan that can use the Canadian tower. The pier used to be a place for the youths to get away from their parents, now it's.. well, there aren't really any youths left other than 2 kids under 10, it's just where folks go to get internet without having to go back through the border check.
They're a speedbump for Canadian mining
Believe it or not, if you keep driving through Hyder, you end up in British Columbia again. Once back Canada side (there's no border check, only a speed limit sign in Kilometers) it's the largest Glacier in North America you can drive to: The Salmon Glacier. All along the road to, and past the glacier, are Canadian mining projects. Gigantic trucks drive back and forth through Hyder and apparently somewhat contribute to the infrastructure of Hyder financially for all the traffic and trouble.
Hyder is in decline
Once you get past the border checks, and note the time zone on your phone and motorcycle has automatically been set back an hour due to Alaska time, you drive right into Hyder. You'll find yourself flanked with decaying buildings on both sides. Closed gift shops. A self-service gas station blocked by a rusting Ford. Weeds cropping through asphalt and young trees fighting against unattended structures for sunlight. There ARE some places you can find touristy knickknacks, however. There's at least two I found, there was one well-kept gift shop with a gregarious woman I affectionately call Ms. Fudge, and another taxidermist who sells some other Hyder memorabilia on the side out of her garage. I made it a point to shop at both and drop them some Canadian dollars.
The salmon spawning ground
The biggest reason to get through Hyder isn't just because it's a novel geopolitical oddity. A couple miles up the road from town, the US Forest Service has built an observation deck over a spawning ground on Fish Creek, a creek carved into the earth, and fed by, the Salmon Glacier upstream. For $5, you can observe all day as your senses adapt to the smell of fish. Some bring lawn chairs, others bring their high-powered cameras, some bring cellphones like myself. We're all here to wait and see if a black or brown (Grizzly) bear will show. I went about 10+ hours over 3 separate visits with nothing but no shows, even on my birthday! It's was pretty disappointing. Finally, after spending some time at the gift shops, I returned to find a young brown bear hunting for fish before being muscled out by a larger brown bear. I'll link it HERE so you can catch the whole story.
Also, word to the wise-- if you want to do the observation deck you have to either buy it online when you have service in Stewart, go get service at the Hyder "phone booth", or you can buy them with Ms. Fudge at her gift shop.
The Salmon Glacier
Again, the Salmon Glacier is not in Alaska, but you have to go through Hyder to get to it. Once you pass back into British Columbia, it's a rough-and-tumble half-hour drive to get to the glacier over some of the shittiest backcountry dirt roads you've ever experienced. Just like the Dalton, it's a haul road, so semis are the main traffic across the stretch. Even past the glacier is another mine, so the whole road is one haul road. I did it myself, I saw sedans, I saw four wheelers, I found camper vans, and I even saw a major TOUR BUS make it all the way to the glacier. As long as you're willing to take your time, slow down, and you know how to change a tire? You'll make it. Reminder- it's the largest glacier in North America you can drive to. It's worth the risk.
Covid was a particularly trying time
When Hyder was locked away from the rest of the world, not ONLY could they not cross into the hard border into Canada--- they were also completely cut off from their main source of revenue- tourism. Even if the bears were having a heyday at the spawning ground, free from any cameras or tourists, the people of Hyder were squeezed. I'm not sure what the town looked like in the summer of 2019, but I assume Hyder will never return to it.
When the first cases spread across North America and the curtain came down, Hyder was locked off. Of course, being subcontracted by a Canadian telecommunications carrier, they were able to keep in touch with their friends in Stewart and the people of Canada gladly left groceries and other supplies at the border for their friends in Hyder to pick up. It's a happy case of international cooperation on the smallest, personal scale.
Eventually, as logistical exceptions began to come about, the people of Hyder were allowed 1 household member, ONCE per week, to do ONLY ESSENTIAL travel / shopping to Stewart for up to THREE hours. They were also required to take a covid test upon returning. With those exceptions, the caravans of supplies were no longer necessary.
Covid wasn't all bad
There were some upsides to the world going upside down. The people of Hyder are aging, so it was for the best they took Covid seriously. Who better than the people of a town who are literally backed up against a wall? There was only one way in or out, so monitoring the point of entry was extremely easy. Ms. Fudge, as the 'Lieutenant Mayor' of Hyder, was tasked with testing everyone who came in or out. She would personally hunt them down.
Because of their isolation, they were all able to meet together, hug, have Christmas indoors, and go on living in their little corner of Alaska. The people of Hyder struggled over the Pandemic, but not without enjoying some luxuries that the rest of us had to do without.
You can get Hyderized
There are 2 other attractions in Hyder, there's a woman who sells Fish & Chips (Halibut) out of a shack next to a defunct school bus. She used to cook out of the bus but the new shack is doing her well. She also sells dandelion jelly, cheese, farm fresh eggs, and other fun foodstuffs.
There's also a bar, The Hyder Bar, which I didn't check out. There you can apparently get "Hyderized" which is a shot of Everclear and a couple other liquids in the mix, the light it on fire or something after you slam it upside down? I'm not sure. I've only heard stories.
I talked to a number of folks in Hyder.
Some believe the tourism will never get back. Some think it Hyder will limp on. Most agree that without finding a way to attract new residents, the city may cease to exist entirely. We don't know what will happen to Hyder in the coming decades, and current trends look dim. Even if Hyder outlives me, I'm just happy I was able to get a feel of a town on the way out- towns like Hyder are a dying breed in themselves.
JT - 8/24/22