Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary - public bus from Ketchikan??

Hi @all,

within 5 weeks, we are going to cruise Alaska on Celebrity Millennium! :)

For Ketchikan, we are considering Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, but we do not intend to book any excursion. How do we get to Rainforest Sanctuary frpm ship?

Are there any public transports or cabs/taxis?

Thanks in advance, help would be appreciated. :)

Hi @all,

 

within 5 weeks, we are going to cruise Alaska on Celebrity Millennium! :)

 

For Ketchikan, we are considering Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary, but we do not intend to book any excursion. How do we get to Rainforest Sanctuary frpm ship?

Are there any public transports or cabs/taxis?

 

Thanks in advance, help would be appreciated. :)

There is no public transportation except taxi. You also know there is an admission to enter? start/$89pp? Likely little difference between the ship booked tour.

If you were planning on going there for bears, then you must be accepting of not seeing any, not the best area if a priority.

There is no public transportation except taxi. You also know there is an admission to enter? start/$89pp? Likely little difference between the ship booked tour.

 

If you were planning on going there for bears, then you must be accepting of not seeing any, not the best area if a priority.

Hi and thanks for your info!

Entrance fee 89 p. P., really??? :eek:

I think, than the Totem Bight State Park would be a better option, IMHO...

Hi and thanks for your info!

Entrance fee 89 p. P., really??? :eek:

 

I think, than the Totem Bight State Park would be a better option, IMHO...

If you are making your selections only on price, Totem Bight wins. You do need to allow 3 hours, so plan on going there early in your port time. IF you have a later port arrival, be aware, that the buses can be very full with denying boarding. IF you see a line on Front Street, then try to get on at the Museum.

If you are making your selections only on price, Totem Bight wins. You do need to allow 3 hours, so plan on going there early in your port time. IF you have a later port arrival, be aware, that the buses can be very full with denying boarding. IF you see a line on Front Street, then try to get on at the Museum.

We are already arriving at 07:00 am, and departing at 03:00 pm.

Is Totem Bight worth a visit? Or rather boring?

Is there anything else worth to see at Ketchikan, having to do with nature?

We are already arriving at 07:00 am, and departing at 03:00 pm.

Is Totem Bight worth a visit? Or rather boring?

Is there anything else worth to see at Ketchikan, having to do with nature?

Nature, is a lot of Alaska. In August the bear tours are excellent, but with your claim you aren't purchasing any excursions, very limiting. Are you open to spending money? A car rental, could offer you a lot of "nature", in Ketchikan, including a Totem Bight visit.

Ward lake, is a very nice area, along with Preserverance Trail, http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5413489.pdf

Is there anything else worth to see at Ketchikan, having to do with nature?

If you do rent a car you could drive out to Herring Cove. It is near the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. There are bears there occasionally. Chances are not good but there have been others who have posted photos of bears at Herring Cove on CruiseCritic. There’s isn’t much parking and you need to be aware of staying off of private property. Should note too that this shouldn’t be the priority of a Ketchikan visit but if you’re looking for a very cheap opportunity to see bears this would be it. Don’t get your hopes up too high though.

http://www.experienceketchikan.com/bear-viewing-in-alaska.html

Rent a car in Ketchikan. With that amount of time you can explore the areas at both the north and south end of the road and everything in between. The area around the cruise ship dock is only for lazy tourists. If you wanna see and experience the real Ketchikan you need to get outta downtown.

Just got back from our Alaskan cruise. We went with a private tour for Ketchikan. LOVED IT! They picked up our group of 4 in a van, then picked up 4 more people from the other ship, and off we went. We went first to Totem Bight park, then to do some light hiking in the Tongass rain forest at the end of road, literally. The road just stops and we got out and walked. We were not there to see any bears. But we did see eagles and some slugs. :) Our tour guide was very knowledgeable.

After that we had time to look around the town where we were dropped off.

Just got back from our Alaskan cruise. We went with a private tour for Ketchikan. LOVED IT! They picked up our group of 4 in a van, then picked up 4 more people from the other ship, and off we went. We went first to Totem Bight park, then to do some light hiking in the Tongass rain forest at the end of road, literally. The road just stops and we got out and walked. We were not there to see any bears. But we did see eagles and some slugs. :) Our tour guide was very knowledgeable.

After that we had time to look around the town where we were dropped off.

With whom did you go on the excursion? Can you give us some particulars, like duration, price, name of tour operator, etc. we'll be there in a few weeks and are looking for suggestions. Thanks!

We used Wild Wolf Tours. We did the 3 hour tour for $80 per adult. Our guide was Tracy, the owner, who grew up there. They have a five star rating on trip adviser which is how my dad found them. It was a light hike and we just loved getting out there. I think we may have passed one or two other people the entire time we were there in the forest.

They provided bottled water, and some samples of some Alaskan products- salmon dip and a lip balm made from a local plant. I refrained because of my food allergies but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I noticed she also had a bunch of umbrellas in the back but it didn't rain the day were were there, which she said was odd. However hiking with an umbrella would probably not be very easy- I'd suggest a rain coat and/or poncho.

We didn't do any whale watching or plane or helicopter tours. We were more interested in land type excursions and this was perfect for us.

Thanks for your response. This is just the kind of info I was looking for. :)

You're welcome. Have a good trip!

We used Wild Wolf Tours. We did the 3 hour tour for $80 per adult. Our guide was Tracy, the owner, who grew up there. They have a five star rating on trip adviser which is how my dad found them. It was a light hike and we just loved getting out there. I think we may have passed one or two other people the entire time we were there in the forest.

 

They provided bottled water, and some samples of some Alaskan products- salmon dip and a lip balm made from a local plant. I refrained because of my food allergies but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I noticed she also had a bunch of umbrellas in the back but it didn't rain the day were were there, which she said was odd. However hiking with an umbrella would probably not be very easy- I'd suggest a rain coat and/or poncho.

 

We didn't do any whale watching or plane or helicopter tours. We were more interested in land type excursions and this was perfect for us.

Do you know where you hiked? Was it a worn trail? Remember how you got there?

Would be of interest, perhaps, since it would also be simple to drive to for those not wanting to pay this high cost. I already mentioned two excellent, easy walking areas above. It sounds like it may have just been at the end of the Tongass Highway- past Totem Bight?

It was at the end of the road. It seemed like a big major road, and then it just stopped. There was a big sign that said, "END" and that's where the trail started. I suppose you could look up "Lunch Creek" trail and probably find it. There was one other car and a motorcycle parked there at the end of road when we got there, so not somewhere a lot of people go. Sorry, I don't know what the road was for sure, but it could have been that highway.

For us, our first time in Alaska, it was nice to have guide. She knew all of the plants and pointed them out to us. We asked a lot of questions about living there and that was interesting. (Like how the high school kids had to travel 48 hours just to run 20 min in a track meet. Or they now have two airlines and that brought the price down) But, if someone has been there before and just wants to hike, it was beautiful! I was stopping every minute to take another picture.

It was at the end of the road. It seemed like a big major road, and then it just stopped. There was a big sign that said, "END" and that's where the trail started. I suppose you could look up "Lunch Creek" trail and probably find it. There was one other car and a motorcycle parked there at the end of road when we got there, so not somewhere a lot of people go. Sorry, I don't know what the road was for sure, but it could have been that highway.

 

You were at the end of North Tongass Highway just past Settlers Cove State Park. It's public recreation area and where lots of people go to hike the Lunch Creek Trail. This is a beautiful area. If you'd had a rental car you could explore lots of these areas around Ketchikan.

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspunits/southeast/settlerscvsrs.htm

You were at the end of North Tongass Highway just past Settlers Cove State Park. It's public recreation area and where lots of people go to hike the Lunch Creek Trail. This is a beautiful area. If you'd had a rental car you could explore lots of these areas around Ketchikan.

 

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/aspunits/southeast/settlerscvsrs.htm

I knew it was a public park, but I tend to get mixed up on roads when I'm not driving. There sure weren't lots of people there when we went though. There were 3 or 4 cruise ships in port that day but we only saw one or two people on the trails. It was nice to get away from all the people. This place stood out to me the most of all the things we saw in Alaska. It was just so green and pretty. I highly recommend seeing it one way or another.

We used Wild Wolf Tours. We did the 3 hour tour for $80 per adult. Our guide was Tracy, the owner, who grew up there. They have a five star rating on trip adviser which is how my dad found them. It was a light hike and we just loved getting out there. I think we may have passed one or two other people the entire time we were there in the forest.

 

They provided bottled water, and some samples of some Alaskan products- salmon dip and a lip balm made from a local plant. I refrained because of my food allergies but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. I noticed she also had a bunch of umbrellas in the back but it didn't rain the day were were there, which she said was odd. However hiking with an umbrella would probably not be very easy- I'd suggest a rain coat and/or poncho.

 

We didn't do any whale watching or plane or helicopter tours. We were more interested in land type excursions and this was perfect for us.

Thanks for the recommendation. We were looking for something to do fairly low key in Ketchikan but with someone knowledgeable and didn't want to rent a car and drive ourselves. Booked the 3 hour tour. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for the recommendation. We were looking for something to do fairly low key in Ketchikan but with someone knowledgeable and didn't want to rent a car and drive ourselves. Booked the 3 hour tour. Looking forward to it.

Have fun! Today I was just going through my pictures from that tour and each one was better than the last! Some of those will be going up on my walls.