If you have a rental vehicle, take a spin out on the roads that radiate from town to Cannon Beach, Situk River mouth, Ocean Cape, and Harlequin Lake. You’ll quickly learn the famous “Yakutat wave,” required every time you encounter another car.

A paved road connects the airport with Yakutat harbor, but more interesting are gravel roads that lead to remote beaches and across the almost-level Yakutat Forelands. The longest is Alsek Road to Harlequin Lake and Dangerous River. Nine miles out of town, a bridge spans the Situk River, providing access for anglers. Alsek Road continues another 17 miles beyond the Situk, finally crossing the “bridge to nowhere” over Dangerous River where it abruptly ends. A 0.25-mile trail leads to Harlequin Lake, dotted with ice from the enormous Yakutat Glacier.

Cannon Beach is two miles off the main highway (unnamed; look for the binocular sign), with a picnic area and campsites amid mossy Sitka spruce forests. The cannons (disabled by cutting off the ends) are visible as you walk down this gorgeous beach, famous for its waves and endless sand. Lost River Road leads eight miles to the mouth of the Situk River, where you’ll often see bears cruising the shore. Locals have subsistence cabins here for netting salmon when the salmon are running.

Ocean Cape sits at the end of an eight-mile drive down a narrow rutted road. Cross the one-lane wooden bridge over Ankau Lagoon and turn left past the “No Trespassing” sign (widely ignored). Go another two miles to Ocean Cape, with its remote rocky beach and full-monty views of Mt. St. Elias (when the weather cooperates) and the stormy Gulf of Alaska.