This Alaskan hideaway reveals the wealth of natural wonders on the state’s south-east coast.

Hidden Bay Retreat is well named, being tucked into a sheltered southern corner of Admiralty Island, part of the Alexander Archipelago of islands along Alaska’s panhandle.

Arriving at the island property – accessible only by seaplane or motor boat from the nearby Juneau and Sikita – is no mean feat. But it’s a journey worth undertaking. A 2,383 ft chalet, on sale with Sotheby’s International Realty for $2.5m, is set in 2.63 acres of land with direct access to the water.  It comes with a caretaker’s cottage of 1,270 sq foot and is part of a wider plot development which is also for sale in its entirety, price on request.

Built by architect Manfred Hecker Dusseldorf, with interiors by Uwe Stoecker Dusseldorf, the Alaskan property has three bedrooms and sleeps up to nine. Constructed using local Western Red Cedars, the house blends easily with its environment, but with no shortage of drama.

A vast cathedral ceiling creates scale in the central living space, while the space spills out onto wraparound terraces (complete with a hot tub) overlooking the sea.

While snowcapped Alaskan mountains might loom behind, here the land is lush and green in summer, surrounded by the ancient trees of the Kootznoowoo Wilderness Preserve. Kootznoowoo is a word from the native Tlingít language, and translates to ‘fortress of the bears’. There are an estimated 1,600 brown bears on Admiralty Island, making it one of the densest bear populations in the world. Every summer rufus hummingbirds congregate along the shoreline, while further out to sea humpback and killer whales are often sighted. Hood Bay is also teeming with fish, making it an angler’s dream.

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