The Alaska Marine Highway System on Thursday announced that its summer 2026 schedule is open for bookings. The 2026 summer schedule starts on May 1 and continues through Sept. 30.
For most of that time, the Chilkat Valley’s schedule is packed, with just one day without a ship in May, three in June, and two in July and August. Most of those sailings are scheduled to be on the Hubbard.
Haines is scheduled to have at least three weekly mainline sailings of the Columbia from Bellingham a month, with four in September and five scheduled in August, generally arriving and departing on Mondays, according to the reservations website.
AMHS announced the start of booking availability Thursday morning via press release, and AMHS Director Craig Tornga noted the availability during an AMHS presentation that day at the Southeast Conference Mid-Session Summit in Juneau.
Tornga noted that the summer ferry schedule has booked quickly in recent years, in part due to the smaller fleet that AMHS now operates.
Bookings can be made on the AMHS reservations website at https://bookamhs.alaska.gov/book/sailing-search/journeySearch/
Other information about the AMHS is available on the main AMHS website at www.ferryalaska.com.
The Chilkat Valley News’ Rashah McChesney contributed local reporting to this story.