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Hyder, Alaska
An Alaska town that lives on Canadian time
Hyder is an Alaska town that behaves like a Canadian one. It sits at the head of the Portland Canal, a long fjord on the British Columbia border, and its only road runs about two miles to Stewart, B.C. Mountains and icefields cut it off from the rest of Alaska, so Hyder lives as a satellite of its neighbor. Residents set their clocks to Pacific Time, use Canadian telephone area codes, spend both currencies and observe Canadian holidays.
Canada staffs a customs post on the road out of town, but the United States has none on the way in. Founded in 1907 as Portland City during a mining boom and renamed in 1914, Hyder had 48 residents in 2020. In summer, visitors come to the Fish Creek Wildlife Observation Site to watch bears feed on spawning salmon, and the local bars keep up the tradition of getting visitors 'Hyderized' with a shot of 151-proof grain alcohol.