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Ketchikan - Alaska's First City
by Murray Lundberg
I'm not sure what I like best about Ketchikan - the native culture is one of the most vibrant in the world, the more recent history is fascinating, the forests are magnificent, the fishboats are a photographer's dream... it's quite a package!
To say that Ketchikan is well set up for visitors is putting it mildly - anything you might reasonably need is available in Alaska's fourth largest city. The first cruise ship appeared on the Alaska coast 114 years ago, and Ketchikan has been a favourite port ever since. The down side is, if you get there on a day when there are several large ships in, the crowds in some parts of the city can be pretty intimidating (but then Whitehorse is a city to me - a place where 30 people on a block-long sidewalk is a crowd!)
If you're looking for a tour of the area, you can go by boat, bus, horse-drawn trolley, or even a restored 1955 Chevy. To wander by yourself, you can rent a car, a mountain bike or a sea kayak. In Ketchikan as well as every other part of the North, to really get out and see some of the most spectacular country on earth, the way to travel is by float plane or helicopter.
The most famous part of town is certainly Creek Street, which was the redlight district until the mid-1950s. The brightly-painted former homes of the 'Ladies of Ultimate Accessibility' are now filled with arts, crafts and gift shops. But Creek Street offers more than just the shops - the rehabilitation of this district has been beautifully handled, involving not only restoration of the old buildings, but also some award-winning new construction.
In the Ketchikan area, totem poles are everywhere. The main concentration is three miles south of town, at Saxman Native Totem Park, where reading the stories on the 24 poles could keep you busy for many hours. But throughout the city, the powerful artistic forms of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peer at you in parks as well as in shop and gallery windows. Although there are examples of the best of the native art, there is also a lot of mass-produced junk, both on display and for sale, so look and shop with a critical eye.
Along the coast, you might as well plan on having rain during your visit. Ketchikan gets about 160 inches of rain a year, so although you may return home with pictures of sunny skies, particularly in June, don't bet the farm on it. If having the current Ketchikan weather will help with your planning, it's on-line.
Whether your taste in accommodation runs to tenting, Bed-&-Breakfasts, lodges or hotels, there will be a place to suit you. The Ketchikan Visitors Bureau has a Web site that lists many of the businesses and attractions in the area.
For lots more information, see our Guide to Ketchikan.
The photos of the harbor, Creek Street and the Tlingit totem pole are all ©2001 by the Alaska Division of Tourism, and are used here with permission.
