Alaska Excursions: Ketchikan

[Lumpy1106]

The town also has some decent Alaska-oriented musuems -- it IS the state capitol after all.

One could also take a taxi or Lyft to an interesting state-run salmon hatchery:
DIPAC Macaulay Salmon Hatchery
https://maps.app.goo.gl/8H1Jig5D2WF3jYaXA. . . which is right across the hiway from the cheesy, not-particularly-inexpensive, but entertaining "Gold Creek Salmon Bake".

In any case, all 3 stops have lots to see/do. There's a good reason Alaska (used to) gets >1M cruise visitors each year.

Once you get into the city, yes, walking distance to the ships, no. We have friends that live on Douglas Island and we've visited and seen Juneau through their eyes - it is truly one of those places you can't believe exists. That said, there are excursions there I would not do. When visiting our friends, we spent the day at Mendenhall glacier. We took our time, walked out to the face of the glacier and had a little picnic. The kids even swam in the water (yes, it is VERY cold!). Meanwhile the cruise ship buses stopped at the visitors center and, if they were very quick, the people on that excursion could make it to the face of the glacier and back - barely. It was comical. Suffice to say, I would not do that excursion. I also would not do the white water rafting - same thing, there is not enough time and the river run is very short - not worth it at all.

What we did in Juneau is the dog sled training camp. That was cool. The kids loved riding in the sled as the dogs pulled and we got to play with the puppies. I was also pretty jealous of the people doing the helicopter tours - that looked like fun and, while pricey, did seem like a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience.

But we're talking about Ketchikan - if you are looking to maybe NOT spend a fortune on an excursion and still get off the boat and experience Alaska - this is the place to do it. Everything is within walking distance and everything is "real", not built just to appease the tourists. We loved it.

 

[anjuan]

Like some others, we did the Bearing Sea Fisherman's tour and really enjoyed it. I did try and book it separately from DCL, but they were only offering it through DCL on that day so we had to go through them. I've heard that this can vary.

 

[xlxo]

-Is the lumberjack show really a must do? We are considering many activities in the rainforest, but we would not be able to do these and the lumberjack show.

If you visit Grouse Mountain pre/post cruise, they have a free Lumberjack show once you ride the gondola up to the top.

World Famous Lumberjack Show - Grouse Mountain - YouTube