Ketchikan on Your Own: What You Can See Without a Tour
The short answer. Yes, you can see downtown Ketchikan on your own: Creek Street, the salmon ladder, the Discovery Center and the Totem Heritage Center are all a walk from Berths 1 to 4. Totem Bight and Saxman need a taxi or a car. Misty Fjords, the bears and the whales need a boat or a plane.
Ketchikan has no gate and no town ticket. The streets, the boardwalk and the harbour are free, and each museum charges at its own door. A day on your own is easy downtown and harder beyond it. This guide shows where the line falls, and when the Ketchikan tours by locals save you money rather than cost it.
What can you walk to from Berths 1 to 4?
The whole of downtown. The town runs 31 miles along the water but is never more than ten blocks wide, and the historic core sits right behind the berths. From Berth 2 you reach the Visitors Bureau at 131 Front Street, the Discovery Center on Main Street, Creek Street, the salmon ladder, the Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery, the Totem Heritage Center and Thomas Basin on foot.
Beyond downtown the road runs north and south. North Tongass Highway leads to Ward Cove, Totem Bight and Settlers Cove. South, the road passes Saxman on its way to Herring Cove. None of those is a walk from the ship.
Creek Street and the salmon ladder
Creek Street is a boardwalk of houses on pilings over Ketchikan Creek. A 1903 ordinance moved the town's brothels to the creek's east side, and it stayed the red-light district until 1954. Dolly's House, home of Dolly Arthur until her death in 1975, is now a museum. The boardwalk and the bridges cost nothing to walk.
The salmon ladder sits on the same creek. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the creek fills with spawning salmon each July and August, so a summer visit has fish in it. More on the street and its history is on Creek Street.
The Discovery Center and the Totem Heritage Center
The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, run by the US Forest Service at 50 Main Street, has more than 20,000 square feet of exhibits and a 200-seat theatre. From 1 May to 30 September it opens daily, 8am to 4pm, for $5; youth 15 and under go free. From October to April it opens Fridays and Saturdays only, with no entry fee.
The Totem Heritage Center, at 601 Deermount Street, keeps original 19th-century poles of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian indoors. The City of Ketchikan lists it open daily from 8am to 5pm, May to September, and 1pm to 5pm on weekdays from October to April. Pay its fee at the door. The four totem sites are compared on Ketchikan totem poles.
Can you reach Totem Bight and Saxman on your own?
Yes, with transport. Totem Bight State Historical Park is about ten miles north, at milepost 10 on North Tongass Highway. It is an 11-acre park with a clan house and poles carved from 1938 under the Civilian Conservation Corps. Alaska State Parks runs it; the listings disagree on a fee, so check with the parks service before you go.
Saxman Native Village lies south of town and stands 24 totem poles. Both need a taxi or a car. Settlers Cove, a 38-acre state recreation site, is 18 miles north.
Is there a bus in Ketchikan?
Yes. The Borough runs The Bus on routes north and south of downtown. An adult fare is $2, and youth and riders 60 and over pay $1. Inside the downtown zone, roughly Bryant Street to the Coast Guard Base, riding is free.
A free downtown shuttle also runs in cruise season. Check the Borough's timetable for your day before you plan a totem park around a bus. How to arrive and get around is on how to get to Ketchikan.
Where can you see wildlife without a tour?
At the creek. In July and August the salmon run up Ketchikan Creek past Creek Street and the ladder, and you can watch from the bridges. From the waterfront you can also watch floatplanes land and take off on the Tongass Narrows.
Bears and whales are a different matter. Bears feed at streams outside town, and whales are out in the channels, so both need a guide, a boat or a plane.
What can't you reach without a boat or a plane?
Misty Fjords National Monument is reached by boat or floatplane through Behm Canal; its western edge is 22 miles east of town. Neets Bay's bear observatory is reached by boat. Polk Inlet, on Prince of Wales Island, is a 40-minute flight. The coves where the whale boats and kayaks go are water only.
These are what the tours are for. If one of them is your reason for coming, see Misty Fjords tours or Ketchikan wildlife tours.
How do you get from the airport into town?
If you fly in rather than sail, Ketchikan International Airport sits on Gravina Island across the Tongass Narrows, and a short ferry links it to town. The Borough's airport ferry costs $6 one way for an adult (12 and over) and $7 for a vehicle. It leaves the Ketchikan side on the quarter hours and the airport side on the hour and half hour.
In summer 2026, from 18 May to 18 September, a second ferry ran on weekdays from 9:30am to 5:30pm for a crossing every 15 minutes. The ferry lands at 4171 Tongass Avenue; from there you continue by taxi or on The Bus. Flights from Seattle take about 90 minutes.
A day on your own, in order
Start at the Visitors Bureau on Berth 2, then walk to the Discovery Center, which opens at 8am in summer. Give it an hour. Walk on to Creek Street, cross its bridges and stop at the salmon ladder. Follow the creek up past the hatchery to the Totem Heritage Center, which opens at 8am too, and come back down by Thomas Basin.
That fills a morning. In the afternoon, either take a taxi out to Totem Bight or book a short tour for the road stops you cannot walk to. Keep the last hour for the waterfront, where the floatplanes come and go.
What does a day on your own cost?
Very little. Creek Street, the salmon ladder, the harbour and the waterfront are free. The Discovery Center charges $5 in summer and nothing for youth 15 and under. The Totem Heritage Center charges at the door. The Bus costs $2 a ride for an adult, and nothing inside the downtown zone. Only the places past downtown add a real cost, in a taxi or a tour.
Ward Cove passengers: the shuttle first
If your ship docks at The Mill at Ward Cove, you start about seven miles north of downtown. A free shuttle runs to Berth 4 in about 20 minutes. From there the whole walking day works as above, only shorter.
The Mill has its own Welcome Center, with a museum and shops, if you would rather stay put for an hour. Everything about the two ports is on the cruise port page.
When is a tour the cheaper choice?
When you want the road stops. The small van costs $80. That buys Herring Cove, the salmon ladder in season, the Totem Heritage Center with its entry paid, and a drive through Saxman, all in two and a quarter hours, with a guide. Price a taxi out to Herring Cove and back, plus the door fee, before you decide.
The trolley at $85 pays Herring Cove and Totem Heritage Center admission. The Totem Bight walk at $95 collects you at the ship. Downtown, though, the tour is not cheaper. Walk it.
Doing it yourself vs taking a tour
| Sight | On your own | Cost alone | With a tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creek Street and the salmon ladder | Walk from Berths 1-4 | Free | On most road tours |
| Southeast Alaska Discovery Center | Walk to 50 Main Street | $5 in summer; 15 and under free | Walk it; it is downtown |
| Totem Heritage Center | Walk to 601 Deermount Street | Door fee | Entry paid on the trolley and the small van |
| Totem Bight | Taxi or car, about ten miles north | Check with State Parks | The Totem Bight walk, with dock pickup |
| Saxman | Taxi or car, south of town | Door fee | Entry paid on the All in One |
| Herring Cove | Taxi or car, south | Transport | On most road tours; entry paid on the trolley |
| Misty Fjords, bears, whales | Not possible | — | Boats and floatplanes |
Frequently asked questions
Can you see Ketchikan without a tour?
How much does the Discovery Center cost?
How do I get to Totem Bight without a tour?
How much is the bus in Ketchikan?
Is downtown Ketchikan walkable?
Where can I see salmon in Ketchikan for free?
Next: every sight in reach on things to do in Ketchikan, and how to beat the busy days in avoiding the crowds. Every tour sits side by side on Ketchikan Alaska Tours.
Tours that fill the gaps a walk leaves
Ketchikan Rainforest Adventure Nature & Wildlife Tour
Herring Cove on foot and the City Park salmon pools, twelve guests at most, with a custom downtown map for the time you spend alone.
From $119 per person
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2-Hour Wildlife and Culture small van Excursion in Ketchikan
Herring Cove, the salmon ladder in season and the Totem Heritage Center, entry in the fare, then a drive through Saxman.
From $80 per person
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2 Hour Alaska Rainforest Walk and Totem Park Small Group Tour
Collected at the ship for the clan house and poles at Totem Bight, then 45 minutes on a forest trail, 11 guests at most.
From $95 per person
Check Availability