Chilkat Challenge Triathlon

Thank You!

The 2025 Chilkat Challenge Triathlon was held on Saturday May 24th. It was by all standards once again a great event, hosted by Alaska Clean Water Advocacy, to celebrate the Chilkat River and what it means and provides to everyone and everything living in the Chilkat Valley.

Nearly fifty racers participated in the thirty-seven-mile paddle, bike and run, in and alongside the Chilkat. Another thirty volunteers supported the racers, from helping to get kayaks into the water at the race start to cleaning up after the dinner/awards ceremony that evening.

The CCT Steering Committee once again thanks the many local, regional, and national sponsors for their donations of funds and prizes, and the time and efforts of all of the race volunteers who literally make the race possible. We couldn’t do it without your help and support, and look forward to working with all of you to host another great Chilkat Challenge Triathlon in 2026!

Race Results are posted below, and we’ll soon have more photos and videos of the 2025 CCT.

Thanks again from the CCT Steering Committee: James Alborough, Russ Lyman, Mark Sogge, Nelle Green, Steve Auch, JoAnn Ross-Cunningham, Alex Huller, and Gershon Cohen.

Volunteers

Deb Stanford
Jim Stanford
Dana Hallett
Debbie Gravel
Peter Dwyer
Cynthia Allen
Mark Mencel
Greg Podsiki
Clay Frisk
Neil Einsbruch
Kathy Holmes
Sandy Barclay
Laurie Dadourian
Matthew Craig
Terry Mulligan
Patricia Faverty
Kristin Hathhorn
Patty Kermoian
Larry Jurgeliet
Cecily Stern
Julia Heinz
Cindy Buxton
Yuko Hays
Ed Hays
Elizabeth Brown
Delise Keim
Suzy Waterhouse
Judy Erekson
George Figdor
Amanda Painter

Chilkat Challenge Triathlon 2025!

Final Results 2025

We are pleased to announce the 2025 CCT will be held on Saturday May 24^th, 2025. Travel challenges that scuttled the 2024 CCT will be behind us as we piggyback the race onto the Haines Craft Beer Festival. The increased ferry sailings between Haines and Juneau that weekend will give racers multiple options for getting to Haines in time to race and return home in time for work after a great weekend, and maybe enjoy an award-winning beer (or two) at the same time.

The course has been slightly modified (see race map links below.) The finish line, dinner, and awards banquet will be held at the Letnikof Cove Pavilion, at 5.5 mile Mud Bay Road, where will have delicious food and give away great prizes as always to the top finishers.

All entries get a CCT tee-shirt, a dinner coupon, and a coupon for one beer or soda.

Registration opens (on-line) on Dec. 15^th; capped at 100 entrants (solo racers and teams.)

Please contact the race director with any questions.

CCT 2025 Important Notes and Changes

All teams (2 or 3 members) will compete in the “team” category.
Paddle
Mosquito Lake to just downriver from Klukwan, as before. One paddler/team.
Bike
Boat take-out at 21-mile to Parade Grounds as before.
Run
5.5 mile (8.8km) run, from Fort Seward Parade Grounds to Letnikof Cove.

Mandatory Pre-Race Meeting for paddlers will be held in the Chilkat Center Lobby on Friday May 23, at 6pm.

The race begins at ~9:00 AM at Mosquito Lake State Park, 30 miles north of Haines. Racers paddle across Mosquito Lake, through the “slough” and down the Chilkat River (total ~9 miles), past the Village of Klukwan to the takeout at 21 mile. Racers then cycle 22 miles down the Haines Highway to the Fort Seward Parade Grounds. The race ends with a 5.5 mile run to the Letnikof Cove Pavilion at the mouth of the Chilkat River.

Overview/History

The CHILKAT CHALLENGE TRIATHLON is an annual, 38-mile paddle/cycle/run along Southeast Alaska’s Chilkat River, through the heart of the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.

The 1^st Annual Chilkat Challenge Triathlon (CCT) was held on July 15^th 2017 and was hailed as a great time for all involved. Clouds were low but spirits were high, as racers completed the 40-mile course along the Chilkat River by boat, bike, and on foot through one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The race grew each year until cancelled during the pandemic.

Beginning at Mosquito Lake ~30 miles north of Haines, Alaska, paddlers race in kayaks, canoes, or any non-motorized boat down the Chilkat River to the Lingit Village of Klukwan and through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, home to the world’s largest congregation of bald eagles. After an 9-mile paddle racers swap their boats for bikes and cycle 22 miles alongside the Chilkat River on the Haines Highway. The final leg is a 5.5-mile run along the Chilkat River from the Parade Grounds at Fort Seward to the Letnikof Cove Pavilion at the mouth of the Chilkat River. From Mosquito Lake State Park to Lwtnikof Cove racers are surrounded by snow-capped mountains and glaciers, giant forests of spruce, hemlock, and cottonwood trees, bald eagles, and maybe even a bull moose or mama grizzly bear!

The CHILKAT CHALLENGE is one of the world’s great races, but it is more than just fun and a test of skill, strength, and stamina in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. The NGO Alaska Clean Water Advocacy (ACWA) sponsors the CHILKAT CHALLENGE to raise awareness of the importance of sustaining the Chilkat River and the fish, eagles, bears, and people of the Chilkat Valley who have depended on the Chilkat River’s wild salmon runs for thousands of years.

The CHILKAT CHALLENGE is a great event, for a great cause. Please contact us through this race website if you would like to help sponsor the race with financial support or make a donation of outdoor gear and other prizes. For more information about ACWA’s efforts to protect the Chilkat River, visit our project website at www.acwa-alaska.org.