Ketchikan Shore Excursions

You’ll find out why Ketchikan is famous for salmon with Cap­tain Jared of Rainy Day Char­ters. Leave the cruise ship crowds behind for an authen­tic Alaskan expe­ri­ence, sur­round­ed by water, wilder­ness and wildlife. It’s a per­fect excur­sion for a half-day in port, even bet­ter if you have more time to fill your entire box with fish.

Fly through dra­mat­i­cal­ly beau­ti­ful land­scapes in a DeHav­il­land float­plane for an icon­ic Alaskan expe­ri­ence. In this 2‑hour adven­ture, you’ll vis­it Misty Fjords Nation­al Mon­u­ment, where glac­i­ers carved out the land 17,000 years ago. See an untouched world of deep fjords, lush green for­est and sparkling lakes. Expe­ri­ence a water land­ing and ven­ture out onto the floats to take in the beau­ty – and peace­ful­ness – of remote Alaska.

Get a thrilling, bird’s‑eye view of Alaska’s snow-capped peaks, moun­tain lakes, water­falls, and more on an unfor­get­table heli­copter flight­see­ing tour from Ketchikan.

This exhil­a­rat­ing tour puts you in a rugged Tom­car for a back coun­try ATV adven­ture over 10 miles of old log­ging roads through the Ton­gass Nation­al For­est. The off-road excite­ment is matched by amaz­ing views as you nav­i­gate twist and turns, motor eas­i­ly up hills, and splash through epic pot­holes. It’s sheer fun for the whole fam­i­ly. Get Dirty!

The lush green Ton­gass Nation­al For­est stretch­es out below as you take a clas­sic Alaskan float­plane ride to Neets Bay, one of the best places in South­east Alas­ka to see black bears fish­ing for salmon. This 3‑hour trip packs in spec­tac­u­lar flight­see­ing, a nature walk, and the chance to watch bears in their nat­ur­al habitat.

Expe­ri­ence kayak­ing in Alas­ka the way it should be — away from the crowds — with these unique Ketchikan pad­dling tours that make you feel like a true explor­er. Your small group (usu­al­ly just 4 peo­ple) will board the company’s com­fort­able boat and set off from the Ketchikan cruise-ship dock, leav­ing the big ships and the crowds behind. Choose from a 3‑hour tour, or 5‑hour kayak and hike tour.

Just out­side Ketchikan, the Alas­ka Rain­for­est Sanc­tu­ary promis­es a close-up view of old-growth for­est, salmon habi­tat, an his­toric lum­ber mill, totem carv­ing, rap­tor exhibits, and chances to see black bear and oth­er wildlife – all in under 3 hours! There’s no bet­ter intro­duc­tion to Alaska’s South­east than this show­case of ecol­o­gy, wildlife, his­to­ry and Native culture.

Fly through the upper sto­ries of a tem­per­ate rain­for­est in this thrilling zipline adven­ture. Two excit­ing cours­es, each with 8 zips, are locat­ed with­in the Alas­ka Rain­for­est Sanc­tu­ary – home to spawn­ing salmon, bald eagles, and black bear! Whether you’re a new­bie or an old hand, this is the ulti­mate loca­tion for a zip­ping good time.

Ketchikan is black bear coun­try, and just out­side town you can see them in their favorite sum­mer­time activ­i­ty – fish­ing for pro­tein-rich Alas­ka salmon. A walk­ing tour through the lush foliage of the Alas­ka Rain­for­est Sanc­tu­ary reveals prime salmon habi­tat, a cer­tain attrac­tion for hun­gry bears. Wait and watch for this apex species in action – pounc­ing on fish, teach­ing cubs, and chas­ing each oth­er to the feast­ing grounds.

Explore the gor­geous, dynam­ic scenery and wildlife around Ketchikan by get­ting out on the water in a low-impact Zodi­ac — an authen­ti­cal­ly Alaskan way to trav­el! Every expe­di­tion is dif­fer­ent as there’s flex­i­bil­i­ty for some spon­tane­ity. You can spend extra time in a place if there’s a mag­i­cal, Nation­al Geo­graph­ic-type moment happening!

Ketchikan is known as the ​“salmon cap­i­tal of the world,” and this unique­ly per­son­al tour is your chance to angle for these icon­ic Alaskan fish — as well as huge hal­ibut. You’ll board an inti­mate fish­ing boat — com­plete with top-qual­i­ty fish­ing and rain gear, as well as heaters, snacks, and bev­er­ages — close to the Ketchikan cruise ter­mi­nal. And, since this is a pri­vate char­ter, it will be only your group on board!

You’ll find out why Ketchikan is famous for salmon with Cap­tain Jared of Rainy Day Char­ters. Leave the cruise ship crowds behind for an authen­tic Alaskan expe­ri­ence, sur­round­ed by water, wilder­ness and wildlife. It’s a per­fect excur­sion for a half-day in port, even bet­ter if you have more time to fill your entire box with fish.

Bara­nof Fish­ing Excur­sions offers clas­sic Alas­ka fish­ing expe­ri­ences from their pri­vate mari­na in down­town Ketchikan. They pro­vide every­thing you need from rub­ber boots to expert guides, for an extra­or­di­nary fish­ing adventure!