The town of Ketchikan is located on Revillagigedo Island and lies 700 miles northwest of Seattle. It is a burgeoning tourist destination and first port of call for many of the cruise ships that navigate the Inside Passage of Alaska.

The cruise ship pier is conveniently located right in downtown Ketchikan. You can walk off your ship and be in a tourist shop within minutes.

Ketchikan Creek

Before the white settlers, the Tlingit Indians spent their summers fishing for salmon in the rushing cold waters of Ketchikan Creek. Today, the winding creek provides the foundation for the wooden pilings that hold up Creek Street and its boardwalk lined with restaurants, gift shops, and art galleries.

Mixed in among the tourist shops is a fee-for-service tram that climbs the steep hill behind Creek Street up to the Cape Fox Lodge. The hotel has a large and impressive display of Indian artifacts – and provides a spectacular panoramic view of the town below.

There are plenty of things to do in Ketchikan. Some of the more exceptional attractions are Creek Street, the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, and the treetop Alaska Canopy Adventure. If you are afraid of heights, you might want to skip the latter tour.

Totem pole capital

Besides being exceptional fisherman, the Tlingit, along with other local tribes, are known for their distinctive and beautiful totem poles. Ketchikan boasts the largest collection of these artistic native expressions in the world. The local Totem Heritage Center, which is now listed on the National Historic Register, is credited with saving and preserving dozens of 19th century totem poles from abandoned villages.

The wild days of Ketchikan

During the gold rush, Ketchikan was the first Alaska port of entry for prospectors arriving by ship to search for riches in the gold fields.

Many miners, far from home, were eager to sample the creature comforts provided in the little wooden buildings that lined Creek Street.

In 1903, when the growing number of bordellos proved too much for the local gentry, the town council ordered all houses of ill repute to relocate across the creek – a distance of about 75 feet. The problem was getting to the other side of the creek. A bridge was hastily constructed, but it was not liked by the miners who could now be seen as they crossed over in search of bawdy amusement.

Soon after the "relocation," the shy, but determined fun-seekers began to navigate the creek a little to the north of the town. Under the cover of darkness, they made their way south to the new red light district via a footpath known today as “Married Man’s Trail.”

Prostitution was outlawed in Ketchikan in 1953, but the town is still proud of its billing as “The place where both salmon and men came upstream to spawn.”

Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff