Ketchikan adventure tours put you to work in the rainforest and on the water: kayaking, ziplining, e-biking, driving a UTV and hiking an old-growth creek. Each sets an age, weight or fitness limit, and those limits decide which ones your party can book.
Paddle the islands of Clover Pass for four hours, one guide to every six. No experience needed; from age six, and the cockpit fits hips up to 52 inches seated. Smoked salmon included.
From $100 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ride an e-bike to the end of the paved road, then hike the rainforest with your guide. From age 16, riders up to 250 pounds, and it goes ahead in rain.
From $161 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
You drive the UTV and trade off, on off-road trails along George Inlet to Mahoney Lake, with smoked reindeer sausage for lunch. From age eight. You may get dirty.
From $255 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Seven ziplines and eight canopy ropes courses in a park at Ward Cove, with port pickup. Riders must be 4 feet 6 inches or taller and weigh 70 to 280 pounds.
From $150 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Eight ziplines, suspension bridges and a rappel in the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. Riders 70 to 250 pounds and 57 inches tall, with strong fitness and closed-toe shoes.
From $205 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 20-minute boat ride out to Orca Cove, then sea kayaking with six paddlers at most. Jackets, bibs, pogies, dry bags, smoked salmon and hot drinks are all included. From age five.
From $205 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 3.6-mile round trip on a gravel river trail through old growth, after a 40-minute drive. Seven hikers at most, hotel pickup and the park admissions included.
From $258 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four hours at Clover Pass, no experience needed, from age six, with pickup at the downtown docks or Ward Cove.
Check availability from $100An adventure tour is one where you do the work: paddle, pedal, drive, climb or hike. The rainforest and the channels around Ketchikan are the setting, and the guide keeps you safe and tells you what you are looking at.
What ties them together is the fine print. Each sets an age, a weight, a height or a fitness level, and those limits decide which ones your party can book. Read them first, then choose by what you want to do.
On a kayak or an e-bike, the pace is yours. On the UTV you drive. On the canopy course you rappel. It is a different day from sitting in a coach.
The e-bike trip ends on a forest trail, the creek trek walks 3.6 miles of it, and both zipline parks run above the canopy. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the United States, and these trips put you inside it.
Six paddlers at Orca Cove, seven hikers on the creek trek, eleven in the ropes park and twelve on the kayak and e-bike trips. You are not one of fifty.
The kayak and e-bike trips pick up at the downtown docks and Ward Cove. The ropes park includes port pickup, and the UTV meets you at Ward Cove or downtown.
The limits decide more than the price does. Here they are side by side.
| Tour | Youngest | Weight or size | Fitness | Time | Fare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kayak at Clover Pass | 6 | Hips up to 52 in seated | No experience needed | 4 hours | $100 |
| E-bike and hike | 16 | Up to 250 lb | Moderate | 4 hours | $161 |
| UTV to Mahoney Lake | 8 | None stated | Moderate | 3 hours 45 minutes | $255 |
| Ropes and zipline park | 11 | 70 to 280 lb, 4 ft 6 in tall | Moderate | 3 hours 30 minutes | $150 |
| Canopy and zipline | None stated | 70 to 250 lb, 57 in tall | Strong | 3 hours 30 minutes | $205 |
| Orca Cove kayaking | 5 | None stated | Moderate, with ladders | 3 hours | $205 |
| Old-growth creek trek | None stated | None stated | Moderate | 3 hours 30 minutes | $258 |
For a mixed-age family, kayak at Clover Pass. For teenagers who want speed, the ropes park. For adults who want to drive, the UTV. For walkers, the creek trek.
Fares run from $100 to $258 a person. Check every traveller against the table before you book, because the limits apply to every rider. Check your weight before you book either zipline.
Dress for wet ground. Closed-toe shoes are required on the canopy zipline, and the kayak trip asks for footwear that fits in a cockpit, not bulky boots. On the UTV you may get muddy. The creek trek collects you from your hotel, so it suits a night or more in town.
The kayak trip needs at least two people to run, and Orca Cove takes at most six per booking. Book early in summer: small groups fill first.
If anyone in your party has back problems, a heart condition or is pregnant, most of these trips advise against joining. If you are over the zipline or e-bike weight limits, the UTV, the kayaks and the creek trek state none; the Clover Pass cockpit fits hips up to 52 inches. If you want the rainforest without the effort, the Rainforest Sanctuary walk is two hours on foot with a naturalist, on the Ketchikan wildlife tours page. And if you want to be on the water without paddling, the Ketchikan whale watching tours do the work for you.
Off-road trails along George Inlet to Mahoney Lake, you drive and trade off, lunch included.
Check availability from $255Next: the ages and limits for families on Ketchikan with kids, and the Ward Cove pickups on the cruise port page. Every tour sits side by side on Ketchikan Alaska Tours.