Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan

Almost cruising to Alaska! Very first cruise! I could use some help with recommendations for our time in port. We can handle easy to moderate walking and there are seven of us ranging in age from mid-20s to mid-70s.

We all enjoy history and local culture. Not big shoppers but we do enjoy local art and handicrafts.

In Juneau, we’ll have a few hours in the evening to explore. In Sitka, we’ll have four hours in the afternoon and, finally, Ketchikan we’ll have the afternoon and evening.

Any help is much appreciated.

In Ketchikan, I recommend going to Totem Bight State Park. You can catch a public bus to get there. In Juneau, if it's a pretty day, you can take the tramway to the top of Mount Roberts.

Thank you!

We just got back from our first cruise and, for Sitka, we walked to the Sitka National Historic Park. It is a little longer of a walk, but definitely not a hard one. It has totems, great views of the bay, and we saw lots of eagles while we were there in the park. Also, keep in mind for Sitka you will either be tendered or have to ride a bus from the dock to Sitka itself. The bus ride takes 10 minutes or so, but lines can be a bit at times. We always gave ourselves 30-45 minutes going back and forth from the ship (we had to go back to the ship for our excursion in the afternoon). Not crazy times to wait, but if you only have four hours in port it's something to keep in mind.

In Juneau, we had an all day excursion with Adventure Bound to see Tracy Arm Fjord and really didn't get a chance to do much else. Not much help there for you, unfortunately.

In Ketchikan, we just walked Creek Street and town, as we were there for an afternoon and had early reservations for dinner, so I'm not much more help on that either.

Hope this helps some. If you have any specific questions, I can try to answer them but I am far from an expert.

Brian

Another vote for Sitka National Historic Park (y)

In Ketchikan, you could do Creek Street, take the funicular or walk the Married Man's Trail up to Cape Fox Lodge, then head over to the Totem Heritage Center. Or you could do that in reverse, walk to the Totem Center, then up an IMPOSING hill to Cape Fox Lodge, and walk the Married Man's Trail down to Creek Street. The hill is IMPOSING and may not be appropriate for some in your party. There are some wonderful shops in Ketchikan to see locally produced artwork.

Another vote for Creek St in Ketchikan and Cape Fox lodge (nice restaurant there as well). For Sitka, a little closer than the national park but on the same walking route, check out the Sheldon Jackson museum. It is a state museum and has a very impressive native artifacts display. Would take about 2 - 3 hours to visit there, about a 15 minute walk from downtown. In Juneau I would suggest the tram in the evening, crowds will be less and if the weather is nice, can't beat the view.

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Thank you, all!

Last time we went to Ketchikan, we walked up to Totem Bight. Not sure what we're doing this next time, but note -there is a free shuttle in Ketchikan during the summer/cruise season

http://borough.ketchikan.ak.us/DocumentCenter/View/5424/Notice-of-Route-Changes-Summer-2018

Not positive in Sitka yet, but I want to walk through the park and to the Raptor Center.

(page 32-33 of the travel guide has a nice map of this area https://issuu.com/sitkacvb/docs/svp2018-lowrez and there's another version herehttps://www.alaska.org/assets/content/maps/sitka-downtown-walking-tour-map.pdf )

No clue in Juneau. We're whale watching at ISP which would have been the only excursion. Might go up to Mendenhall and do a little hiking, which is what we did last time.

Thanks, all!

For Sitka National Park- it is grossly superior to have with you , their excellent Totem guide. The stories are interesting and not apparent by just looking at the totems. I had the booklet, and was reading it to my group, and ended up "narrating" for several others who were interested.

You can print out and take with you the guide for Totem Bight in Ketchikan. http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/totempol.htm

The Raptor center in Sitka is close to the National Park with the totems. Both walkable if you are up for 2-4 miles or so. When we go in a few weeks , we will take a shuttle to the Fortress of the bear.