Several places serve meals in Stewart, but your best bet is Bitter Creek Café (5th Ave., 250/636-2166, www.bittercreek.homestead.com, daily 4:30–8:30 p.m. late May–Sept., closed Sun. in June, dinner entrées C$13–30) with everything from prawn fajitas to prime rib, along with homemade breads, desserts, espresso, and nightly specials. An outside deck is a good place for a beer on a summer day. Inside, a 1930 Pontiac is the centerpiece for an eccentric collection of antiques.

Get morning espresso and pastries—along with a few microwaved options—inside the Toastworks Museum at Ripley Creek Inn (5th Ave., Stewart, 250/636-2344, www.ripleycreekinn.homestead.com, daily 7:30–11 a.m. summer).

Hyder has three bars for fewer than 100 inhabitants, and getting “Hyderized” at the Glacier Inn (250/636-9248) is an experience that attracts folks from all over the world. It’s cheap and lasts a lifetime (you even get an official card), but could also prove expensive if you fail the test. Warning: It involves a strong distilled spirit called Everclear. The walls of the Glacier Inn are papered with thousands of dollars in signed bills left by drinkers, creating the “world’s most expensive wallpaper.” The tradition began when prospectors would tack a dollar bill on the wall, in case they were broke on their next trip into town.

Operating out of a converted school bus in Hyder, Alaska Premier Seafood (250/636-9011, www.hyderalaska.com) serves fresh seafood: halibut burgers, steak and shrimp, and grilled salmon. Sealaska Inn, also in Hyder, serves pizzas and pasta and has free Wi-Fi.