The City of Coffman Cove is along the Inside Passage on the east side of Prince of Wales Island. The community began as a logging camp in the 1950s. After the pulp mill in Ketchikan closed in the late 1990s, Coffman Cove reinvented itself. Residents in this community on the shore of a beautiful, protected bay developed commercial and  recreational fishing to give them opportunities to stay.

Coffman Cove is an active community with a number of services for visitors. Access is via floatplane, boat or the scenic byway road in the center of the island. At the entrance to Coffman Cove is a big bay that’s great for beachcombing at low tide and ideal for spotting whales and other marine life when the tide is in. A covered picnic area and attractive businesses are located on the bay.

Coffman Cove was the site of a large archaeological project excavating a village of the Stikine Tlingit people; the settlement dates to 9,000 B.C. Nearby are many U.S. Forest Service recreational trails that lead to fishing streams and cabins, as well as opportunities for canoeing and boating. In summer, the City of Coffman Cove hosts two fishing derbies and the annual By the Sea Arts & Seafood Festival. See the events calendar in this guide or take your browser to www.ccalaska.com for more information.