Things to Do in Ketchikan

A port day in Ketchikan splits into what you can walk to from the ship and what needs a boat, a van or a floatplane. The first six below are on foot from the downtown berths; the rest are where Ketchikan tours by locals take you.

Each entry says how long to allow, what it costs and how you reach it. Your ship's all-aboard time is the one fixed point, so start with the thing you would be sorriest to miss.

1. Walk Creek Street

Creek Street is a boardwalk on pilings over Ketchikan Creek. From 1903 to the 1950s it was the town's red-light district, and its houses are now shops and Dolly's House museum. The street is a short walk from Berth 2.

2. Watch salmon from the creek bridges

Ketchikan Creek fills with spawning salmon each July and August. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game points you to the planks of Creek Street and the bridges over the creek. Further up, a fish ladder beside the falls helps them climb, and several road tours stop there.

3. The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center

The Forest Service runs 20,000 square feet of exhibits on the Tongass and its people, and a 200-seat theatre. It opens daily 8am to 4pm from 1 May to 30 September. From October to April you can visit on Fridays and Saturdays with no entry fee.

4. The Totem Heritage Center

The City's center shows original poles of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian indoors. It opens daily 8am to 5pm from May to September, and weekday afternoons from October to April. The trolley tour and the small-van loop both include your admission.

5. Thomas Basin and the waterfront

Thomas Basin is a harbour of working boats, with some of the last wooden dock structures in town. The photo safari stops here for landscape shots. From the waterfront you also watch the floatplanes landing on the Tongass Narrows.

6. Deer Mountain Tribal Hatchery

Ketchikan Creek passes this working salmon hatchery on its way down to Creek Street. It runs daily tours in summer, and the Totem Heritage Center is on the same walk.

7. Totem Bight State Historical Park

An 11-acre state park about ten miles north, built from 1938 as a model Native village. You can step inside the clan house and walk a short rainforest path to the poles. A small-group rainforest walk spends about 30 minutes there.

8. Saxman Native Village

Saxman stands 24 totem poles, with a clan house and a carving centre where carvers work on new poles. The All in One tour gives you 30 minutes at the tribal house. The small-van loop and a nature tour drive through the village.

9. Herring Cove, for bears and eagles

Herring Cove is where the road tours go to look for black bears, harbour seals, eagles and salmon in the creek. Bears are most likely in salmon spawning season, from mid-July. Wildlife is never guaranteed, and the guides say so.

10. Whales, eagles and crab on the water

An enclosed cruise from Berth 2 heads out through the Tongass Narrows. An open Zodiac takes 12 at most, and the crab boat from Berth 3 hauls pots on deck in sheltered water. The whale boats and the Zodiac are on Ketchikan whale watching tours.

11. Zipline, kayak or drive a UTV

Ziplines run through the rainforest canopy, the kayaks paddle the islands of Clover Pass, and a UTV climbs forest roads to Mahoney Lake. Each has its own age, weight or fitness limits, so check yours before you book. The limits sit side by side on Ketchikan adventure tours.

12. Fly over Misty Fjords

Floatplanes fly you over Misty Fjords National Monument and back, one with a 20-minute landing on a lake. Each carries an all-aboard guarantee. Low cloud can ground a flight, so book it early in your port day if you can. Every flight, including the bear-viewing flight to Prince of Wales Island, is on Ketchikan seaplane tours.

Free things to do in Ketchikan

You can fill a morning without paying a cent. Walk Creek Street and watch the salmon from its planks. Follow the waterfront to Thomas Basin, and watch the floatplanes on the Narrows. In October to April, the Discovery Center is free as well, and it is free all year if you are 15 or under.

Things to do in Ketchikan in the rain

Rain is the normal weather here, so nothing on this list stops for it. If you want a roof, the Discovery Center and the Totem Heritage Center are both indoors, and the crab boat seats you in a heated amphitheatre below deck. On the water, the enclosed whale cruise has inside seating. Bring a waterproof shell and you can do everything else as planned.

What needs a tour

Downtown is a strip you can walk. Anything off the one road, or on the water, needs transport: Totem Bight is ten miles north and Ward Cove seven. Herring Cove, the bears at Neets Bay, the whales and Misty Fjords all need a boat, a van or a floatplane.

A tour also fixes your return time, which matters on a port day. The bear, boat and floatplane trips to places no road reaches are on Ketchikan wildlife tours.

Things to do at a glance

Things to do in Ketchikan: questions