What can we do on our own in Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau.

We would love to do some things on our own as opposed to tours in Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau...any suggestions? We will probably do a planned tour or 2, but would still like to see/do the 'not touristy' things.

Katchikan.... Buy sandwiches/picnic food somewhere near the dock. Walk to the Totem Heritage Center and see the very old totems. Take the picnic food to the park and have a picnic.

Skagway .... find the National Parks maps for hiking. Find one that is a comfortable level of activity for you. Do that.

Juneau .... I'd suggest doing a whale watch. If that doesn't appeal and you want non-touristy, take public transit to Douglas (on Douglas Island), do the self-guided Treadwell Mine tour, spend some time on the beach, and have pizza at at the Island Pub.

Any of that appeal to you?

Your question is way too general. There are hundreds of options. You need to greatly narrow down your interests and do some homework and find out what is available and what you want out of your trip. Then consider asking specific questions.

Katchikan.... Buy sandwiches/picnic food somewhere near the dock. Walk to the Totem Heritage Center and see the very old totems. Take the picnic food to the park and have a picnic.

 

Skagway .... find the National Parks maps for hiking. Find one that is a comfortable level of activity for you. Do that.

 

Juneau .... I'd suggest doing a whale watch. If that doesn't appeal and you want non-touristy, take public transit to Douglas (on Douglas Island), do the self-guided Treadwell Mine tour, spend some time on the beach, and have pizza at at the Island Pub.

 

Any of that appeal to you?

Thank you for all your suggestions..We went on a whale watch last time, but may do it again. We did the Totems last trip too. The mine sounds interesting too. And the National parks for hiking. Again thank you.

Your question is way too general. There are hundreds of options. You need to greatly narrow down your interests and do some homework and find out what is available and what you want out of your trip. Then consider asking specific questions.

thank you for your suggestions.

We enjoyed:

Ketchikan-free shuttle bus to the discovery center. -small admission fee- (Museum, Ranger talks, videos on the big screen). Then picked up a map and followed the "yellow brick road" of the self guided walking tour.

Juneau: Hiked up Mt. Roberts and road the tram back down (free with gift shop purchase)

Skagway: Hiked up to the lower dewy lake. After Lunch we took a walking tour (free) with the park Rangers and learned more about the gold rush.

We enjoyed:

 

Ketchikan-free shuttle bus to the discovery center. -small admission fee- (Museum, Ranger talks, videos on the big screen). Then picked up a map and followed the "yellow brick road" of the self guided walking tour.

 

Juneau: Hiked up Mt. Roberts and road the tram back down (free with gift shop purchase)

 

Skagway: Hiked up to the lower dewy lake. After Lunch we took a walking tour (free) with the park Rangers and learned more about the gold rush.

Great suggestions...thank you. I like the self guided walking in Ketchikan. I wasn't aware would could hike up Mt. Roberts. And a tour with park Rangers sounds very interesting...I am going to check out Dewy Lake...again thanks

Have you looked at each town's web site for information?

ie you'll find the Ketchikan walking tour map on the right margin of the attached link. Or on the left margin is info on tours, totems, hikes, etc There is also a visitor guide to download:

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/

In Skagway you can learn about the Gold Rush via tour with the rangers. Walk about a mile out of town to visit the Goldrush Cemetary then follow a trail to Lower Reid Falls. Buy a pass to ride the local bus to get around $5. OR rent a car and drive into the Yukon (must have passport)

http://www.skagway.com (download their visitor guide and trail guides)

Rent a car in Juneau and drive to Mendenhall ahead of the crowds then drive to the coast.

https://www.traveljuneau.com/ download visitor guide

Visit your local library and borrow a few Alaska travel books. Learn about the ports and .

the activities that will support your interests .

Great suggestions...thank you. I like the self guided walking in Ketchikan. I wasn't aware would could hike up Mt. Roberts. And a tour with park Rangers sounds very interesting...I am going to check out Dewy Lake...again thanks

Another option we've done several times is take tram up to Mt Roberts and then take the hiking trail back down.

A bit of advice though is to ask at the top one of the employee's if there's been any bear sighting's or tracks on the trail down, they check every morning specially during salmon season which attracts bears down closer to town

Have Fun

Srpilo

If you enjoy riding bicycles, we "rented" bicycles in Ketchikan for the day and got on and off as we saw things. We rode out to Saxman Totem Village, the admission was $5. I say "rented" because it was self-serve, put $20 in the peanut butter can on the shelf. We had a great day, we did this before doing a float plane excursion in the afternoon.

Have you looked at each town's web site for information?

ie you'll find the Ketchikan walking tour map on the right margin of the attached link. Or on the left margin is info on tours, totems, hikes, etc There is also a visitor guide to download:

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/

 

In Skagway you can learn about the Gold Rush via tour with the rangers. Walk about a mile out of town to visit the Goldrush Cemetary then follow a trail to Lower Reid Falls. Buy a pass to ride the local bus to get around $5. OR rent a car and drive into the Yukon (must have passport)

www.skagway.com (download their visitor guide and trail guides)

 

Rent a car in Juneau and drive to Mendenhall ahead of the crowds then drive to the coast.

https://www.traveljuneau.com/ download visitor guide

 

Visit your local library and borrow a few Alaska travel books. Learn about the ports and .

the activities that will support your interests .

Thank you for your suggestions and sites links. I start reading them yesterday.

Another option we've done several times is take tram up to Mt Roberts and then take the hiking trail back down.

 

A bit of advice though is to ask at the top one of the employee's if there's been any bear sighting's or tracks on the trail down, they check every morning specially during salmon season which attracts bears down closer to town

 

Have Fun

Srpilo

Thanks....we definitely want to do the tram...if we decide to hike down we will absolutely inquire about bears!!

If you enjoy riding bicycles, we "rented" bicycles in Ketchikan for the day and got on and off as we saw things. We rode out to Saxman Totem Village, the admission was $5. I say "rented" because it was self-serve, put $20 in the peanut butter can on the shelf. We had a great day, we did this before doing a float plane excursion in the afternoon.

We love riding bikes...thanks for this information!!

Ketchikan Is the funicular tram still in operation? TIA

We just came back from our Alaskan cruise. We rented a car in Juneau. We took the advise of others on cruise critic and went to Eagle beach,shrine of st. Theresa and mendenhall glacier

We really enjoyed our day

We would love to do some things on our own as opposed to tours in Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau...any suggestions? We will probably do a planned tour or 2, but would still like to see/do the 'not touristy' things.

We have been to Alaska 5 times...actually I’m in Talkeetna right now! We have done many many excursions. One of my favorite days was a beautiful sunny day in Skagway when we hiked around lower Dewey lake. The trailhead is very close to where the ships dock. We took our time and spent about 3 hours hiking. It was a beautiful hike...wildflowers blooming, the mountains reflecting in the lake. Such a sweet memory

Something you might want to consider

We enjoyed:

 

 

Skagway: Hiked up to the lower dewy lake. After Lunch we took a walking tour (free) with the park Rangers and learned more about the gold rush.

We went first to Yakutania Point then met up with family, had lunch and went to Lower Dewey Lake. It was really nice - but I wished that we had set out to Upper Dewey first thing in the morning.

Lower Dewey was so beautiful and if Upper Dewey is even nicer - then we missed a treat.

We were just at these places the last week of July. We did lower Reid falls while in Skagway in addition to a long excursion to bennet lake with a tour company. We had a long port time that day. Much of the hike is through town to get to the trail. We really enjoyed the waterfall. We would do this again. Beautiful waterfall.

In Juneau,we went out to Mendenhall on our own with one of the colored buses. We really enjoyed spending time at the visitor center and at nugget falls. Enjoyed seeing salmon also. We didn’t feel like it was to crowded and that we had our own space even though there were a lot of people visiting out there also.

Ketchikan we did on our own. We did the self guided walking tour and ate lunch at a local place. I did not personally care for this port day. It was really crowded all throughout the town with the ship visitors. We could barely walk along creek street. Loud noises all throughout town during our walk from lots of traffic. If I had it to do over, I would either book a fishing excursion or find a trail far away from the crowds. We did get into port at 9:30, so maybe that had something to do with the crowds. Our other two ports days were a lot earlier.

Enjoy your time. We had an amazing time!

. It was really crowded all throughout the town with the ship visitors. We could barely walk along creek street. Loud noises all throughout town during our walk from lots of traffic. If I had it to do over, I would either book a fishing excursion or find a trail far away from the crowds. We did get into port at 9:30, so maybe that had something to do with the crowds. Our other two ports days were a lot earlier.

I really hate crowded ports but it's almost unavoidable in Alaska. I check the port schedules as I'm working on my own plans. So we can avoid "downtown" during crush times if possible.

But also, I download deck plans of the other ships who'll be in port with us so I know what I'm looking at when I see them:hearteyes:

Rent a car in each port & go at your own pace. Loved doing this!

It is very touristy but in Skagway, we did the Days of ‘98 show about Soapy Smith. It was kitschy and fun. Hot, though as it was during our whole cruise.

In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Emerald Lake and back by ourselves. It was a great day and we could stop where we wanted. We spent a lot of time in Carcross. We downloaded a guide called Murray's Guide. It cost $ 5 and gave us spots all along the way. Have a great time!

We also loved just walking around Ketchikan.

We have been to Alaska 5 times...actually I’m in Talkeetna right now! We have done many many excursions. One of my favorite days was a beautiful sunny day in Skagway when we hiked around lower Dewey lake. The trailhead is very close to where the ships dock. We took our time and spent about 3 hours hiking. It was a beautiful hike...wildflowers blooming, the mountains reflecting in the lake. Such a sweet memory

Something you might want to consider

Thank you for the suggestion....certainly a consideration...now please folks do not jump all over me for asking this....what about bears while you are out hiking? Did you see any signs of bears while hiking around lower Dewey Lake? :( I am sure I would have a heart attack:eek::eek:

We just came back from our Alaskan cruise. We rented a car in Juneau. We took the advise of others on cruise critic and went to Eagle beach,shrine of st. Theresa and mendenhall glacier

We really enjoyed our day

It seems like many people rent cars in Juneau....we are going to check into it. Thanks

In Skagway, we rented a car and drove up to Emerald Lake and back by ourselves. It was a great day and we could stop where we wanted. We spent a lot of time in Carcross. We downloaded a guide called Murray's Guide. It cost $ 5 and gave us spots all along the way. Have a great time!

We also loved just walking around Ketchikan.

thanks for the tips...especially Murray's Guide.(y)..I like being able to stop where we want and stay as long or as little as we want. I had to look Carcross up.....https://www.yukoninfo.com/region/carcross/ looks very interesting...my DIL is an artist and this looks like a place that could give her lots of inspirations!