OUR HISTORY
Oh, the memories. For John Hall Sr., his history with Alaska dates back to 1955, riding with his father on the Alaska Highway in a 1947 Cadillac. The mission was to deliver 500 cases of fresh eggs to the Piggly Wiggly in Fairbanks. Since then, his love of America’s Last Frontier has created an ongoing passion for presenting the best and most comprehensive Alaska travel program in today’s market.
John Sr.’s family had roots in the hotel business, with three generations on his mother’s side running hotels in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 1976, he purchased the old family hotel – “The Anderson House” – in Wabasha, Minnesota. It became renowned for offering good home-cooked food from Hall family recipes, as well as for an innovative “Rent a Cat” program offering guests feline companionship for the night.
It was in 1982 that John Sr. purchased his first motorcoach, which he used to take guests to local sporting events. Soon after, statewide tours were offered, and winter trips to warm-weather destinations followed. As the motorcoach fleet grew, they began offering tours to all 50 states and most Canadian provinces, and then Alaska. In 2001, John Sr. officially created John Hall’s Alaska from his realization that there was no other single tour operator putting all of its time and attention into the state of Alaska.
Since the sale of the Anderson House in Wabasha, John III, Joseph, and Elizabeth – the next generation of family – have joined John Sr. in the daily operations of the company and in sharing their love and passion for Alaska with guests.
Over the years, John Hall’s Alaska has evolved from motorcoach operator with ferry tours to including cruise line options, and returning to their first-love of land-based packages continues to offer unique itineraries, providing the most extensive and all-inclusive experience into Alaska, the Yukon, and the Canadian Rockies, plus an exclusive upscale tour collection that spans the world.
Only now, delivering guests instead of eggs!
THE JOHN HALL’S ALASKA LOGO
The Raven, one of the most significant figures in Native Tlingit culture, is known as the Creator of Light. And this caught John Sr.’s attention. The rest is history. With the creation of John Hall’s Alaska, the signature Raven logo was brought to life by Karin Clark of Raven Publishing and trademarked in 2002. That same Raven is still used to this day on John Hall’s Alaska motorcoaches, catalogs, clothing, and anywhere you see the John Hall’s Alaska name.