You won’t see Ketchikan on any freeway exit sign. Indeed, there is no road to our island town, perched above the water against steep hillsides. Thirty miles north of the Canadian border and around 700 miles from the continental US, Ketchikan is a world away from the interstate.
In today’s fast and connected world of the internet, cell phones, and transportation hubs, it takes a little time to come to terms with the reality of limited travel options in Southeast Alaska.
By Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is the only commercial passenger service with four 90-minute direct flights north from Seattle each day. It is a spectacular flight on a clear day with the British Columbia Coastal Range off the right wing and the vast Pacific sparkling to the left. Planning to get a seat on your chosen day should be done well in advance in the summer. Lack of a competing carrier leads to high seat prices and availability.
When you land in Ketchikan, you are still not quite here. The airport is located across from town on Gravina Island, the only area with enough flat land to host a runway. After picking up your bags, you will walk out the airport doors and down to the ferry that runs every 15 minutes across the Tongass Narrows to get to Revillagigedo Island.
By Alaska Marine Highway
Every Friday evening from a harbor in Bellingham, Washington, the Alaska Marine ferry starts its extraordinary journey north through the islands and waterways of the Alexander Archipelago. It is a journey of 36 hours offering a chance to cruise on one of the ‘blue canoes’ as locals affectionately call the ferries. Without the internet, time drifts by watching the wilderness and visiting the canteen during mealtimes. The dining room is the social hub where tables are shared, stories swapped, and board games are spread out, encouraging you to make friends.
Coming by ferry, a slower way of traveling, prepares you for a life dictated by tide and weather and follows the route the spring fishing fleet travels every year to the abundant fishing grounds of Alaska.
Once off the Alaska Marine Highway or Airport ferry, you will be on Ketchikan’s only highway, Alaska State Route 7. Going left will take you north to the dead end 16 miles later at Settlers Cove State Recreation Area. Turning right takes you to the downtown waterfront. Continuing south will bring you to the end of the road at Beaver Falls, 14 miles later.
By Cruise Ship to Ketchikan
In summer, cruise ships bring 1.6 million passengers eager to explore. Thousands of passengers annually take advantage of their short port call to take a flightseeing trip by seaplane to Misty Fjords National Monument. Seawind Aviation’s crew of local aviators takes great joy in showing off the awe-inspiring highlights, flying along the sheer granite cliff walls in narrow fjords with waterfalls dropping 3000 feet to salt water. Higher elevations offer views of the high peaks stretching across the Coast Mountain Range into Canada. Below alpine lakes pool in the granite depressions above the tree line. Pilots on the one-and-a-half-hour trips choose a place to land, allowing guests out on the floats to take in the silence and grandeur.
No matter how you come to Ketchikan, it will be out of the ordinary. A trip that will last a lifetime in memories made. Reserve Your Flight with Seawind Aviation.
