Ketchikan Hiking DIY

Deer Mountain Trail: I hike at a fairly good pace, but I also stop to take lots of pictures and look at interesting things. It takes me about 3 hours round trip from the Totem Heritage Center to a little above the second lookout on the Deer Mountain Trail, but both times I've hurried on the way down. I would count on at least 4 hours. If you try to get to the top, budget 5 hours. There's a lookout at a mile. You could do that--roundtrip--in an hour and a half if you took a taxi to the trailhead, more like 2 hours from the Totem Heritage Center. It IS a steep hike, so you'd have to be fairly in shape to do it fast, but slow hiking is good too. :) If your ship is in town all day, you'd also have time to shop around Creek Street, see the fish ladder, etc. I just saw on another post that you're only in town for 4 hours. I'll post over there too, but I'd advise taking the free shuttle up to the Totem Heritage Center, walking to the trailhead, hiking as much as you like--probably just to the first lookout--and then spending as much time as you have left downtown. A taxi to the trailhead would save you time if you want to spend the money. I definitely wouldn't bother with renting a car. If it's really rainy and foggy, be warned that you might not have much view, especially from the first lookout. However, the forest is beautiful when the mist's floating in an out.

Melinda

Thank you for the information. I think we are going to do Deer Mountain. We've hiked a lot in Zion and Bryce canyon. We are coming on the Amsterdam July 5, and will be in port from 8-5 so we have plenty of time. If it is raining hard, we will just walk around and see the Discovery Center where my nephew works and visit some of the museums I really appreciate you and other cruise critic cruisers posting information, it really helps. :)

Great plan, MJ, and you're welcome for the tips. If you're on the Amsterdam, you've got a fantastic itinerary in front of you! You'll have a blast.

If you want to see some rainy-day pics I took on the Deer Mountain trail--and a couple of snippets from my journal about the hikes--you can find them here: http://www.melindabrasher.com/2017/02/deer-mountain-trail-ketchikan-alaska.html

Melinda, enjoyed your blog and photos of Alaska. Thanks for sharing.

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For those planning on hiking Deer Mountain trail. Melinda mentioned the free shuttle from the dock to Totem Heritage Park then walk the 1/2 mile to the trailhead. For some reason I wasn't able to paste the link, but if you Google free shuttle in Ketchikan there is a PDF of the shuttle loop stops and time operating.

For those planning on hiking Deer Mountain trail. Melinda mentioned the free shuttle from the dock to Totem Heritage Park then walk the 1/2 mile to the trailhead. For some reason I wasn't able to paste the link, but if you Google free shuttle in Ketchikan there is a PDF of the shuttle loop stops and time operating.

Awesome-thanks! so useful to know this ahead of time..... on Tripadvisor I was advised to stay away from Deer Mountain,and instead try rainbird trail....any opinions about that?

Rainbird's nice, and not anywhere near as strenuous as Deer Mountain. I really enjoyed it, but it felt a little city-like (you could hear the float planes the whole time and often see civilization). If you're pressed for time or not really into hiking, you might like it better than Deer Mountain. I personally prefer Deer Mountain--as if you didn't already know. ;)

If you want to see some rainy-day pics I took on the Deer Mountain trail--and a couple of snippets from my journal about the hikes--you can find them here: http://www.melindabrasher.com/2017/02/deer-mountain-trail-ketchikan-alaska.html

Thanks Melinda, I found your book on Amazon unlimited, I'm excited to read it!!!

Went to Ketchikan last year. I got off the boat early and went to the visitor's center right at the dock. Lady had maps and offered me an emergency locator beacon for free (so long as you return it). I had my own beacon. I then said I needed a cab ride and she called a cab. Cabs cost $10ish to go from our dock to the trail head for Deer Mountain Trail. Since the entire area is a rain forest, I felt this was a good trail. There are two view points before the summit. The first is one mile in, the second is the next mile (ie: Two miles from the trail head). The trail was nice. The view from the first point one mile in wasn't all that great. Due to time constraints of me wanting to check out the Rainbird Trail, I only hiked in one mile. The photos on-line from the second scenic point two miles in are amazing and I wish I would've hiked further.

Rainbird Trail was OK, but to save time, I wish I would've just taken another $10 cab ride instead of walking on the sidewalks. Views from Rainbird were good enough since I didn't get any great views from Deer Mountain Trail. I also used the same trail guide that was posted in a previous message. Hopefully I get to go back and do some more hiking, but likely won't do a cruise and instead just fly in and stay for two days or so before flying off to another SE Alaska area for more hike.

Thanks Melinda, I found your book on Amazon unlimited, I'm excited to read it!!!

Awesome. Hope you enjoy it!

Rainbird Trail

Is the Rainbird Trail strenuous? Would someone with mild arthritis be okay? Thanks!

Resources for Photos and Information

I have the Ketchikan Trail Guide and the Guide to the Tongass Forest, but am not finding a lot of information outside of Cruise Critic about the local trails. I have tried to call the local Visitor Center multiple times, but haven't been successful at reaching anyone. I am particularly interested in photos of the Ketchikan Trails. Trying to decide between the Lunch Falls Loop and a portion of the Ward Creek Trail, I wish I could do both but will choose one. For those who have done both, which is most scenic? For this day, I am more interested in beautiful rainforest scenery and (cascading) water trails than a strenuous hiking experience. If anyone knows of resources or sites where there are photos and could post a link, I would be grateful!

THANKS! :)

Wildwolf and Teague Whelan have tours to both locations .... maybe give them a call to discuss your questions.

https://www.wildwolftours.com/

http://www.teaguewhalen.com/more-ketchikan-trails-for-the-unguided-hiker/

Another link that might help: http://www.alaska.org/detail/lunch-creek

Good luck.

p.s. another person to try is the contact at experienceketchikan.com

Thank you very much, mapleleaves! Appreciate your time and help.

All the Best! :)

Resources for Photos and Information

 

I have the Ketchikan Trail Guide and the Guide to the Tongass Forest, but am not finding a lot of information outside of Cruise Critic about the local trails. I have tried to call the local Visitor Center multiple times, but haven't been successful at reaching anyone. I am particularly interested in photos of the Ketchikan Trails. Trying to decide between the Lunch Falls Loop and a portion of the Ward Creek Trail, I wish I could do both but will choose one. For those who have done both, which is most scenic? For this day, I am more interested in beautiful rainforest scenery and (cascading) water trails than a strenuous hiking experience. If anyone knows of resources or sites where there are photos and could post a link, I would be grateful!

THANKS! :)

Although both trails are nice, I prefer the Lunch Falls Loop - it is more varied than Ward Creek Trail. You walk through the rain forest and also along the canal. I just Googled the trail names and clicked on images, and saw many photos of the trails. Just need to be careful since not all of the images are for the trail I Googled.

Thank you for the advice, RSF Cruiser!

That’s what I’ve encountered, too: my searches for Lunch Falls Loop often bring up photos of Lunch Creek Trail, and my searches for Ward Creek Trail often bring up Ward Lake Trail photos :).

Thanks for all the info on this thread.  We decided to make Ketchikan a DIY stop later on this year and the great discussions here solidified it. 

We hiked Deer Mountain trail in July 2017 while on a cruise. Earlier in this tread or another there was a discussion about getting to the trail head and hiking from the Totem Heritage Center. We wound up taking a cab ( Rick, Yellow Cab 907-617-4594, Dispatch 907-225-5555 )from the port to the trail head and glad we did. It is steep road up in a residential area up to the trailhead.  The trail is in dense rainforest growth. Make sure you wear insect repellant. It is real quiet, not many hikers. The trail is well marked. After about 45 minutes, we hear rustling in the brush and though, oh no bears, but it turned out to be 3 young men working for the forest service doing work on the trail.  They said there are bears, but they had never seen any, they avoid  humans.  The first outlook is about a 1 mile up the trail, Nice views. We turned around before the top because the bugs were getting to us.  Overall a nice hike for 2-3 hours.