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July 4, 2025 Marti Eicholz The Odyssey sailing from Vancouver, Ketchikan, serves as the gateway to Alaska’s Inside Passage, is our first port of call, offering us our first taste of Alaska’s frontier personality and cultural heritage. We arrive on the Fourth of July and Ketchikan’s theme is “Ketchikan, A Wonderland of Opportunity!” Celebrations include a parade with floats, local groups, offering food, games, crafts, and family-friendly fun, designed to strength community spirit and honor Ketchikan’s unique identity. We have a day in Ketchikan, and it is not raining. How fortunate! To compare, Seattle receives more than three feet of rain annually, while Ketchikan is doused with more than fifteen feet of wet stuff each year, known as Alaska’s “Rain Capital.” Today, it is chilly 62 degrees, a heavy overcast day. Ketchikan, meaning “thundering wings of an eagle,” is a quirky, charming, vibrant coastal town with houses and buildings built on stilts, tree-lined hills, located on an island in Southeast Alaska with views of the Inside Passage, surrounded by the Tongass National Forest and known as the "First City" of Alaska, for being the first Alaskan port of call for those traveling north on the Inside Passage, and the "Salmon Capital of the World,” for its abundant salmon runs. We disembark, walk through town to the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center and tour the town’s natural and cultural treasures, four interactive exhibits and displays, along with a movie theatre highlighting the region’s rainforests, native traditions, ecosystems, and natural resources. This town has the largest collection of standing totem poles in Alaska. Visit Totem Bight State Historical Park houses beautiful, unique works of art, the largest collection of original 19th-century totem poles and fourteen intricate ones, sourced from abandoned native villages, each telling a unique story of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian carvers and their insight into Ketchikan’s rich Native Alaskan heritage. Saxman Native Village introduces you to the customs and culture of Alaska’s Indigenous population, celebrating everything Alaskan and Tlingit—totem poles, folklore and dance, lumberjack exploits, and woodcarvers. Follow a path through ancient, green forests to an Alaskan Indian communal house, a beautiful setting and a collection of engaging 10th-century totem poles. Learn their rich history, meaning, and the unique story of Tlingit and Haida carvers. Ketchikan Brewing Company is a place to sample Spruce Tip Ale, flavored with hand-picked locally grown spruce tips, Black Bear Porter, a smoky, chocolate-flavored beer that gets its taste from roasted malts and barley, Gateway Golden Ale, and Deer Mountain Amber. Stroll Creek Street Boardwalk, home to the town’s historical red-light district and Dolly Arthur was the better-known madam before prostitution was outlawed in 1954. Visit Dolly’s House Museum. Ketchikan’s red-light district, with thirty bordellos, was Creek Street, a wooden boardwalk over Ketchikan Creek. Today, the parlor and boudoir are a museum filled with memorabilia commemorating the roaring early 20th century. Tongass Historical Museum preserves the history, art, and culture of Ketchikan, including artifacts and tools, originating in Alaska Native communities, historical items from the fishing industry, and a selection of photographic material. If you are a lighthouse lover, you may want to check out the 100-year-old Guard Island Lighthouse. This 34-foot wooden structure was lit for the first time in 1924. Today, it is recognized for its historical significance, aiding shipping along the Southeast Alaska Inside Passage during the Klondike Gold Rush. A peaceful beauty. Anglers love Ketchikan. Go on one of the many fishing charters to cast for the famous Alaskan King Salmon. This is a place to be on the water or get in the water – Fish, Kayak, or Snorkel, getting an up-close look at the sea creatures: urchins, sea stars, crabs, and sea cucumbers. Ketchikan is surrounded by old-growth forest, a perfect place to find scenic views and the lush woods. Take a Jeep, Hike, or ATV. Explore old logging roads and find a wealth of views and wildlife. Ketchikan is an excellent place to see Bald Eagles. Eagles like it here, knowing they won’t starve. Being carnivores and live to eat fish, you will find eagles at the mouth of salmon streams. Eagles hang in winter, the water is ice-free, and the fish keep coming. Named after the Tongass clan of the Tlingit Indians, Tongass National Forest is the world’s largest temperate rainforest, surrounding most of Southeast Alaska, encompassing 16.9 million acres, making it the largest National Forest in the United States. Tiny Ward Cove, surrounded by the lush Tongass National Forest and tranquil waters, provides a sheltered and idyllic harbor. After being an industrial port, fueled by a pulp mill, Ward Cove is a small, delightful community, a perfect place to recharge in nature. The vast and remote Misty Fjords National Monument lies just twenty-two miles outside of Ketchikan. Misty Fjords, with its collection of sea cliffs, deep-cut fjords, glacial valleys, thick rainforests, and roaring waterfalls, is an outdoor playground for hikers, kayakers, and day cruisers like us. Cruising the spectacular Inside Passage and its 1,000 islands, we delve into wildlife, scenery, and history, a coastal town set in the temperate rainforest with lush forests, a salmon spawning stream, historic sawmill, totem poles, and a raised boardwalks, viewing black bears and eagles. We continue our journey in a region that is an adventurer’s paradise. |
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