Ketchikan and Skagway excursions with a 3 yr old?

[kkstexas]

Can anyone please provide any suggestions for excursions for my family- which includes a 3 year old.

I read about the rainforest wildlife sanctuary in Ketchikan which includes getting to pet Reindeer. Has anyone done this?

Also, does any have suggestions for Skagway?

Thank you!

[luvlake]

Grand daughters 4 & 9 enjoyed the Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan. It is a contest with lots of action. There were several children in the audience.

[KRN]

I agree about the lumberjack show in Ketchikan - my kids were 6 and 10 when we did it. In Skagway, we did the "to the summit" van trip - while the 3 year old may not appreciate it, we took it because it was a shorter excursion and we didn't want anything too long with a fidgety 6 year old. We did get out of the van a few times to look around. You may want to check if you'll need a car seat though.

[sdfamily]

What are the ages of your other children?

 

In Skagway, I would recommend taking the train as far as Fraser (shorter train ride) and then either:

1) have one of your party meet you with rental car (you didn't say how big your group is) and explore Canada -or-

2) have the train ride be part of a tour that includes a trip back to Skagway by bus, van, etc. (with toddler sleeping:=)

 

In Ketchikan we did the Misty Fjords tour with Island Wings. Our kids were 9, 7, and 1 1/2. It was fabulous! We also did the Lumberjack show. It was basically, just a way to kill time IMHO!

 

We also considered Ketchikan Taxi Tours (I think that's right), for a custom tour. They included one of the totem parks and the owner suggested a new park (with a playground) to visit. It sounded great, but the timing did not work out for us.

 

Let me know if you have more questions!

[sherryf]

On my one previous trip to Alaska, we took the train up and back (3 hour) in Skagway. My husband and son (8) went kayaking that day, but the other kids were too young. I took our younger two (ages 2 and 5) on the train with the rest of our group: MIL & FIL, SIL & BIL and their 3 kids - 9 months, 3.5 and 6.5 years. Of course the baby was fussy, as expected, but their other kids weren't much better. My kids were much more entertained by the trip and better behaved. Better parenting, perhaps. ;) I mostly managed my 2 kids alone, while the other 4 adults juggled the other 3 kids around.

 

My point? The train in Skagway can be a very entertaining and appropriate tour for a 3 year old, but it depends somewhat on the kid... and the parents. You can judge that better than we can.