Thread: Ketchikan Excursion Ideas

Would love to hear what places or things you suggest we could do in Ketchikan.

The Ketchikan Highlights Tour is an exciting combination tour which travels through the city and then on to Totem Bight State Park. Your guide will point out various places of interest, including the canneries and wild life while you enjoy sixteen miles of breathtaking waterfront.

After the Ketchikan City tour it's on our way to Saxman, we'll go through Ketchikan and see eagles, canneries, the ladder salmon use to swim up Ketchikan creek to spawn, the city park, and other interesting sites.

Saxman was founded in 1894 and was the site of a Presbyterian mission school. In the mid-1930's the people of Saxman, with the help of the federal Civilian Conversation Corps, arranged their totem poles into a formal park. It is the fifth most popular attraction in Alaska. There are several famous totem poles in the Saxman park including the historic Abraham Lincoln totem pole and the William Seward pole which memorialized his 1868 visit to the area. Seward was responsible for the United State's purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. There are 34 totem poles at Saxman Native village and each one has its own unique story and history. We will also see a clan house and a carving center where totems are made. The carvers are usually working as we tour. The master carver in Saxman is internationally recognized and his work is in demand around the world. You can see many of his totem poles displayed throughout Ketchikan.

There are several famous totem poles in the Saxman park including the historic Abraham Lincoln totem pole and the William Seward pole which memorialized his 1868 visit to the area. Seward was responsible for the United State's purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867.

In Totem Bight State Park there is a seaside park of totem poles which holds a special charm. As the tour guide narrates the legends of the Tlingit and Haida totem poles, you'll walk along a path in a lush rain forest to the beach. The many totem poles dot your paths as you enjoy the quiet serenity of the park. There is also a Native clan house. We'll take you inside and tell you how the people used to live years ago. Another attraction of the park is the Russian museum featuring a magnificent, historic collection of guns dating from 1535-1868. Included in the collection is the third-made Gatling gun made by Mr. Richard J. Gatling himself. The Russian museum also has displays of mammoth tusks, furs and ivory. There is a delightful curio shop adjacent to the museum. Dolly's House/Creek Street is a popular sight, and if time permits we will visit Ketchikan's Historic Red Light District on Creek Street. We will see Dolly's House which was a famous brothel operating until the middle of the 20th century. Your tour includes free tickets to Dolly's house. You can end your tour at this point or continue with us to the dock which is just two blocks away.

Wow Mike, did you type that all? Sounds like fun!!

Yes, my fingers are still sore! C&P ... really neat trick! I just posted to get some ideas going. Feel free to add any ideas or links to tours that you might find.

ok, I'm going to interfere again!

I created a thread about Ketchikan and all the things to do there to give people an idea of all the activities there

Ketchikan can go 2 ways, you can do it rather cheaply and walk around the town yourself and do shopping and not spend too much money

or you can spend some time to take some tours, but most likely when you get back you won't have much time to walk around the city.

Creek Street is the famous red light district of Ketchikan and can be accessed by walking about 3 blocks from the cruise ship pier. ITs fun to walk around and you can even tour (for a nominal fee) the famous madam Dolly's house. You can also ride the funicular for $2 roundtrip to the top of the Cape Fox Lodge and get some great views of the city!

If you like watching lumberjack competitions, you can check out the Great Alaskan Lumberjack show (recommended to book through the ship as the shows often sell out). Its about an hour long and its great fun. I beleive the cost is around $30.

But Ketchikan is also known as the Salmon Capital of the World and if you like to fish, Ketchikan is the place to go out on a fishing excursion.

One of the things that people like best about Ketchikan is that its only a stone's throw by floatplane out to Misty Fjords National Monument. Since you guys arent sailing through Misty Fjords on your cruise, I would high recommend that you take a trip here. Its too bad that RCI changed their itinerary. Some of the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see. This is a great place to take a float plane trip there. The float plane will land in the middle of the Monument and you can float on the water for about 20 minutes and just soak it all in.

Finally, Ketchikan is known as the place with the greatest concentration of Totem Poles in the world. If you're into Alaskan Indian history then take a trip out to either Totem Bight State Park or Saxman Native Village, both great places!

Alisa, why are you living in California? You should move to Alaska, get a job in the tourist industry and enjoy:headbang2

Brooke ... I've often thought about it. I want to buy a house in Alaska one day. But the tourism industry doesn't make all that much money these days and I don't have a specific skill or knowledge that is different from what is currently being offered up there.

Also, tourist season only runs from May - September... I dont know that I could make enough to last me the year....

But a dream is a dream and never say never, right???

Ok I will say that I did the bus tour and walked the town. It was great to do both. We had a wonderful guide on the bus and he pointed out things to us that we might want to go back to see. He really gave us a great overall of what we could do besides what they were taking us to. He also collected pins. People would ride on his tour and bring them a pin from their hometown or whatnot and he put it on his vest. It was interesting to look at while he spoke to us.

I'm so glad we have cruisers in our group who've been to Ketchikan before. Your experience will be most helpful in deciding what to do when visiting this port.

Mike I plan to bring my last Alaska cruise scrapbook with me. Good reference for what I might want to see again or to do different. I have the compass(actually whatever they call it on HAL) to use for reference. I will dig them out and take a look and post more later on the different ports.