Ketchikan is famous with the largest collection of totem poles in the world and you can see at various locations in and around the town. At Totem Heritage centre you can see the largest collection of original 19th century totem poles. There is more at Totem Bight State Park, at Saxman native village, at Potlatch Park, at Totem Heritage centre, and about a dozen of them in downtown Ketchikan. You can learn more about totems and Alaska-native art at Totem Pole History and Legends centre.
A must-see around Ketchikan is the Misty Fjords National Monument – for all things Alaska can offer. You can explore the “The Mistys” by a floatplane for an eagle’s eye view, or from a boat. Everywhere you look there is a picture opportunity – the waterfalls, snow peaks, glacial valleys, icy blue lakes. ports ketchikan brown bear ahoy 200Spot bears, bald eagles, Sitka deer, mountain goat, orcas, Dall’s porpoises.
Admire the wild vistas of the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world that surrounds the Inside Passage – Tongass National Forest. Apart from seeing bears, eagles, whales, sea otters and spawning salmon, you can also take a sledge-dog ride on a glacier, follow one of the boardwalk trails, fish in the streams or just admire the fascinating wild Alaska and breath the pure fresh air.
There is more to do in Ketchikan itself as well – take a stroll through historic Creek street – not an actual street, but an antique boardwalk on wooden pilings over Ketchikan Creek, home to restaurants, quirky ports ketchikan creek street ahoy 200shops, the Dolly’s House Museum, as well as some of the best salmon viewing areas in town. This was once the Red-light district of Ketchikan, with over 20 brothels, welcoming Alaskan men, looking for illegally smuggled liquor from Canada and some female company. Today this is the prime shopping area of Ketchikan, where you can bag some local arts and crafts from the friendly and chatty shop owners to take home. Don’t miss the Married man’s trail, the Salmon Ladder, Stedman Bridge or take the Funicular up to Fox Creek Lodge.