Cruise Port Guide: Ketchikan
Ketchikan is the southernmost Alaskan cruise port and the Salmon capitol of the world. It is a very small town surrounded by the Tongass National Forest. The weather here is best in the summer months, with the normal Alaskan rain and fog still making its appearance. We cruised in June and it was about 60 degrees and overcast, but manageable.
When cruising to Ketchikan, there are two places your ship could be docking. You will either be docking right in Ketchikan, or at Ward Cove. The Ketchikan cruise port is convenient to town with all of the shops close by. If you dock in Ward Cove you will need to transfer via bus into town. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but you’ll be adding time to your day and possibly need to take that into account when booking excursions. Also you should note that there is nothing to do in Ward Cove. You’ll need to go into town to do any sightseeing or activities.
Things to do in ketchikan
There are a lot of different activities to choose from in Ketchikan. In order to narrow your choices down you should first decide what type of activities interest you and what your budget is. Helicopter rides, scenic planes, and glacier hikes sound absolutely fantastic, but when you’re booking excursions for every port day of your cruise they add up. If you don’t like hiking in your day to day life you probably won’t love it on vacation either. That being said, you won’t have any issues finding something you want to do here.
My Personal Advice: Pick one excursion, and walk around downtown before or after your excursion. We were able to get off the ship early during our day in Ketchikan and we were able to see all of downtown while the crowds were low.
Downtown
Creek Street
This is one of the most famous photo spots in Ketchikan. It is a short walk from Downtown and just across a foot bridge. The buildings on Creek Street are built over Ketchikan Creek and are all connected by a boardwalk. There are niche shops, restaurants and experiences on Creek Street. You can tour Dolly’s House Museum, a remnant of the old days on Creek Street. Between 1903 and 1954 Creek Street was known as Ketchikan’s red light district.
Totem Viewing
Just downtown alone there are about a dozen Totem poles to see. It is an easy, walkable route to see them all. If you want to further your Totem pole adventure check out the Totem Heritage Center, also a short walk from downtown. The Southeast Alaska Discovery center is another place to learn the history of the area.
The Rock
The Rock is a bronze sculpture located downtown, directly in front of the famous Ketchikan sign. The sculpture has seven people, of which one of them was a real person. A tlingit Chief, Chief Johson, representing the people that first called the area home. The others are a native drummer, frontierswoman, bush pilot, logger, miner and a fisherman. This is a famous photo spot and can get busy in the mid day.
Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show
The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is located downtown, just steps away from the main cruise dock. The show portrays the logging history of Southeast Alaska and lasts about an hour. Some say the show is a little scripted, but it is a fun family stop. Beware that the show is mostly outside. The seating area is partially covered for shade but if it rains you’re in the elements.
Best ketchikan excursions
We booked all of our Alaska cruise excursions through Alaska Shore Excursions, and I highly recommend using them if you’re looking to book outside of your cruise line’s offered excursions. Here are a few of the top excursions offered in Ketchikan:
Sea Kayaking
This is the excursion that we chose and it was more than worth it. We took a half day sea kayaking excursion where we were picked up in Ward Cove and transported to Clover Pass Resort. There we kayaked for about 3 hours (I would say 2 of those hours were coasting) before being transferred back to Ward Cove. Our guide was amazing, she was constantly giving us little facts and wildlife lessons.
Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour
If you love watching Deadliest Catch, this tour is for you. You get to board a fishing vessel and observe fishing techniques and wildlife encounters on a 3 hour excursion. It’s a great introduction into the commercial fishing world.
Bear Encounters
Neet’s Bay observatory and Traitor’s Cove are popular spots for observing bears. Traitor’s Cove tours require a 70-ish minute boat ride to the observation platform. Neet’s Bay tours require a 30 minute bus ride to Clover Pass Resort, followed by an hour boat ride to Neet’s Bay. These locations are natural viewing spots so there is no guarantee that you will see bears, but the odds are decent.
Zodiac Tour
Zodiacs are rigid, inflatable boats that are small and make for perfect touring boats. Most of the Zodiac tours offered are wildlife viewing or general cruising. Either would be a great way to spend the day. The advantage to taking a Zodiac wildlife tour over another tour on a bigger boat is that you are able to move around more freely, and into more difficult spots where you might see more wildlife.
General planning
There are plenty of things to do other than a pre-planned excursion, but you should take into account how long your port day is. If you have 8-10 hours in port it would be worthwhile to book an excursion unless you want to enjoy extra time on the ship. If you have 6 hours or less, doing a self guided tour of downtown would be fine.
Ketchikan is a great port to visit on your Alaskan cruise. My general recommendation for this port is to do one excursion, and explore the town on foot before or after the excursion if you can. There is a local bus service if you want to move around more freely. It really is a small town, so if you choose not to do an excursion here it will be a laid back day. There are shops, restaurants and museums in town to visit but be prepared that it is touristy for the most part. This leans into my recommendation to do an excursion and explore. Every group is different though and that may be your perfect day, so remember to do what you want in the end!