Snug Harbor is a historical cannery located along a bight on the west coast of Chisik Island, at the southern end of Tuxedni Channel, on the western shore of Cook Inlet, about 51 miles (82 km) northwest of Homer and 56 miles (90 km) southwest of Kenai, Alaska. Chisik Island is 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long, located at the mouth of Tuxedni Bay. The local name was first published in 1910 on charts by D.H. Sleem. Tuxedni Bay extends northwest for 14 miles (22.5 km) from Cook Inlet. The Alaska Native name was first published as “Zaliv Tukuzit” or “Tukuzit Bay,” by Captain Tebenkov in 1852. W.H. Dall, of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, reported the name as “Tuk-sed-ni” in the late 1800s.

A cannery was built at Snug Harbor in 1919 to process razor clams and salmon. The razor clams were hand-dug from the sand flats at Polly Creek, and the salmon were originally caught in fish traps. These controversial fish traps were eventually outlawed following statehood and replaced by a gillnet fleet. The cannery was the only settlement in this part of Cook Inlet for decades.

A wharf facilitated the loading and unloading of freight but there was no business aside from that of the cannery. The cannery was closed in winter with only a caretaker resident. In the early days, even the timbers were removed from the wharf because the ice drifting back and forth through Tuxedni Channel would carry away the pilings. Today, the cannery is a wilderness lodge accessible only by boat or floatplane. Read more here and here. Explore more of Snug Harbor here: