Utterly stumped about what to do in Ketchikan. Help?

[renee00]

The Totem Heritage Center is an excellent museum and a very pleasant walk through town to get there and back.

[Mountaineer0313]

On 1/30/2023 at 9:12 PM, njsmom said:

Do you recall which tour company you used?

 

 

 

 

 

We used Island Wings Charters.

[cw2go]

43 minutes ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

 

We used Island Wings Charters.

I've also used Island Wings and am booked this July with them. Great Company, Michele is great! 

[Kathscof]

It was my least desirable looking one before my last year's cruise, and turned out to be that.....we did the lumberjack show (I heard a rumor that its owned by Disney? I remembered they had lumberjacks in Canada once! hahahah) because it was fun, but really wanted to do Totem history/culture learning.  We went to the center up the hill, and then walked around town.  Last year tours were very limited.  This year I'm excited that there are at least 3 tours from our ship that do something involving the totem parks!  We are going to one with the presentation included, as I read that the demonstrations are only guaranteed for ship excursions booked in advance.  

[TracyCCRN]

It's been a few years since we've been to Alaska, but when we were in Ketchikan the 2 that stick out in my mind were the Misty Fjords tour, and zip lining.  

The Misty Fjords was breathtaking.  and very relaxed.  The zip lining was more adventurous, but nothing to strenuous.  

Don't forget to spend some time in the Arctic Bar! 

[Mr and Mrs C]

Does anyone know if the tram is up and running to go to cape fox lodge by creek street? We walked down there last year and were disappointed it was not running. One of the stores said they hoped to have it going again soon. 

[Northern Aurora]

1 hour ago, Mr and Mrs C said:

Does anyone know if the tram is up and running to go to cape fox lodge by creek street? We walked down there last year and were disappointed it was not running. One of the stores said they hoped to have it going again soon. 

 

We were in Ketchikan twice in 2021 after the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act was passed and limited cruises were able to operate in Ketchikan.  I asked two different locals and received two different answers.

 

We were again in Ketchikan twice in 2022.  Asked locals again and again received different answers.  But a Cape Fox Lodge employee (the lodge owns the funicular) wasn't optimistic due to the high maintenance costs and corrosive air due to being in close proximity to salt water.

[Mr and Mrs C]

12 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

We were in Ketchikan twice in 2021 after the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act was passed and limited cruises were able to operate in Ketchikan.  I asked two different locals and received two different answers.

 

We were again in Ketchikan twice in 2022.  Asked locals again and again received different answers.  But a Cape Fox Lodge employee (the lodge owns the funicular) wasn't optimistic due to the high maintenance costs and corrosive air due to being in close proximity to salt water.

Is there another way to visit the lodge? It looks like it has a nice store and lots of taxidermy. 

[Northern Aurora]

3 hours ago, Mr and Mrs C said:

Is there another way to visit the lodge? It looks like it has a nice store and lots of taxidermy. 

 

The Cape Fox Lodge certainly has road access so is accessible by foot, vehicles or taxi.  But given how long the funicular has been closed I suspect it will not operate in the near future if ever again.

[dfilpus]

11 hours ago, Mr and Mrs C said:

Is there another way to visit the lodge? It looks like it has a nice store and lots of taxidermy. 

There is a trail with lots of stairs through the woods from the Married Man Trail up to the lodge. It is a nice climb for those who are able. We went up that trail to the lodge and down a stairs on the other side on our way to the Totem Heritage. Center.

[Mr and Mrs C]

9 minutes ago, dfilpus said:

There is a trail with lots of stairs through the woods from the Married Man Trail up to the lodge. It is a nice climb for those who are able. We went up that trail to the lodge and down a stairs on the other side on our way to the Totem Heritage. Center.

I wish I could, hills and steps I have an issue with, both my hips are done and no one wants to do hip replacement because I’m not old enough! Maybe there’s taxis in the port, I didn’t pay attention to that last year

[texswamper]

On 2/1/2023 at 3:05 PM, Mountaineer0313 said:

 

We used Island Wings Charters.

I second Island Wings!  She was a wonderful pilot and the excursion was breathtaking!

[mlgb]

Totem Bight on the public bus (Silver Line). Not sure if Potlach Totem Park next door every reopened.

[vivian02]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned "Crab Fest"! The wife and I were in Ketchikan in August of 2021 post covid. Crab Fest was in operation at that time but no excursions using float planes. I did hear last year 2022 that Crab Fest did not include all you can eat crab. That might have been a blip in the supply chain. Any up to date information might be very helpful for Summer of 2023. Tim 

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, vivian02 said:

I am surprised that no one has mentioned "Crab Fest"! The wife and I were in Ketchikan in August of 2021 post covid. Crab Fest was in operation at that time but no excursions using float planes. I did hear last year 2022 that Crab Fest did not include all you can eat crab. That might have been a blip in the supply chain. Any up to date information might be very helpful for Summer of 2023. Tim 

The words "all you can eat" are no longer on this excursion for HAL cruise in May.  Great memories of my usual six servings every other year in Ketchikan!

[spocruiser]

On 1/28/2023 at 6:48 PM, njsmom said:

Okay, thanks! My negative view isn't based on reality. I should probably watch a video of people on it. 🙂

Highly recommend The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour as well.  Wife and I did it four years ago, probably our favorite excursion on our Alaska cruise in any of the ports.  Thinking of doing it again on our Alaska cruise this coming July.

Edited February 18, 2023 by spocruiser

[Sigyn]

6 hours ago, spocruiser said:

Highly recommend The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour as well.  Wife and I did it four years ago, probably our favorite excursion on our Alaska cruise in any of the ports.  Thinking of doing it again on our Alaska cruise this coming July.

Thanks for the input. What did you like most about it?

[spocruiser]

2 hours ago, njsmom said:

Thanks for the input. What did you like most about it?

It was a lot of fun, for kids and adults. The ship has been re-outfitted so there is essentially bleacher seating affording good views for all. The tour guides were engaging, funny, informative without it being like a science classroom. It was interactive in that audience members could participate in some of the demonstrations if they chose to do so, and tour guides were great in making sure everyone got as close a view of the different crabs as you wanted (hold them, look at them, etc.  No idea if they still do this, but at one point, we cruised over to an island and they started throwing fish up into the air and immediately we had a dozen or more bald eagles flying around, grabbing the fish out of mid-air. It was spectacular.  For what it is worth, I grew up in the northwest, so a lot of this was not too out of the ordinary for me, but I thought it was great.  My wife, from Kentucky, loved it.  I think you will also.

[deltadoug13]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:02 AM, greatestvalue said:

Was this a private tour or with the ship?  Would you mind sharing the tour, I would love to do a tour such as this. 

We are doing the attached walking tour with the former mayor 

[2Long2NxtCrz]

I know it was a few years ago, but my stepdad and I did the Saxman tour (with the ship because I wasn't chancing anything with my 80+ dad). It was amazing. We got to talk to the Native artist that carved the totem on the ship we were cruising on (Radiance of the Seas). It might not be for everyone, but we enjoyed it immensely. My stepdad was thrilled to talk to the artist. He was fascinating.

[Sigyn]

Just to wrap up this post, I decided to do the Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer excursion. 

[Coral]

15 hours ago, njsmom said:

Just to wrap up this post, I decided to do the Misty Fjords and Wilderness Explorer excursion. 

Not sure if you know this - there is only about 20 minutes that is not the same as the route the cruise ship takes (scenery from cruise ship). Though not everyone is outside when the ship sales by. That 20 minutes is nice but the rest is similar to what you see just by being outside watching Alaska scenery.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Coral

[wolfie11]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Not sure if you know this - there is only about 20 minutes that is not the same as the route the cruise ship takes (scenery from cruise ship). Though not everyone is outside when the ship sales by. That 20 minutes is nice but the rest is similar to what you see just by being outside watching 

I didn't think the big ships went into Misty Fjords.  Maybe they swing by Eddystone Rock?  

Edited March 4, 2023 by wolfie11

[Coral]

2 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

I didn't think the big ships went into Misty Fjords.  Maybe they swing by Eddystone Rock?  

I can't spell "sail in". I was speaking with the naturalist and mentioning the scenery was only different for about "20 minutes while at the monument" and he said that our sail in on the ship went through a lot of the same route. Those 20 minutes were great but otherwise, the scenery is not any different than you see elsewhere in Alaska. I will have to go back and look at the maps.

 

 

[Sigyn]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I can't spell "sail in". I was speaking with the naturalist and mentioning the scenery was only different for about "20 minutes while at the monument" and he said that our sail in on the ship went through a lot of the same route. Those 20 minutes were great but otherwise, the scenery is not any different than you see elsewhere in Alaska. I will have to go back and look at the maps.

 

 

Interesting! I'll look at the map of where the excursion will go and compare it to where the ship goes.