<<Back to Southeast Alaska Birding Trail Homepage

Located in the Chilkat Valley on Jilkáat Aani near the junction of the Chilkat, Tsirku, and Klehini rivers is the Tlingit Village of Klukwan, a federally recognized Tribe known as the Chilkat Indian Village. During your visit to Klukwan, you can learn about this community's culture and the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve at the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage and Bald Eagle Preserve Visitor Center.

Klukwan is well known to birders as having the largest concentrations of Bald Eagles in the world with several thousand eagles congregating along the Chilkat River in October and November for a late-season chum salmon run. The Chilkat Valley on Jilkáat Aani is known as the “Valley of Eagles” and the State of Alaska (with help from National Audubon Society) established the 49,000-acre Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and Important Bird Area in 1982 to protect this important congregation area and valuable habitat. The community is also home to the Bald Eagle Foundation which works to promote Bald Eagle through education and hosts the annual Bald Eagle Festival each November. 

Klukwan is located 22 miles north of Haines on the Haines Highway, and 18 miles south of the US-Canadian border. You can reach Klukwan by driving the Alcan Highway south from Haines Junction, Yukon Territory, or by driving north from Haines after arriving by Alaska Marine Highway ferry.

Download the Southeast Alaska Birding Trail mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

General Area Overview and Information Sources:

• Chilkat Indian Village
• SEARHC - Klukwan Community Clinic

Birding and Wildlife Resources:

• Klukwan Birding Checklist
• eBird: Haines Alaska eBird Region
• Alaska Department of Fish and Game: Bald Eagle Preserve
• Alaska Department of Natural Resources: Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
• Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center and Bald Eagle Preserve Visitor Center