Alaska's ports of call
Making the most of your time ashore
The scenery is non-stop in Alaska, where snowcapped mountains and glacier-carved fiords provide a moving panorama for ships cruising the winding channels. Yet, for many passengers, the ports of call are the quintessential Alaska experience.
When you step off a cruise ship at an Alaskan port, you can engage in any activity that's your idea of a northern adventure. This might include dogsledding on a glacier, kayaking past a tidewater glacier or viewing humpback whales in a catamaran. But there is much to be said for just strolling the streets and soaking up a bit of local atmosphere. However you spend your time in port, it can be an opportunity to meet the people who live and work in Alaska.
The ports of Southeast Alaska (also known as the Alaska Panhandle) are dramatically situated at the base of coastal mountains and are connected not by road but by the state ferry system, appropriately named the Alaska Marine Highway. Surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, these pockets of human habitation bustle with cruise visitors during the summer months.
When several cruise ships are in port for the day, tour buses line up beside the piers, and passengers clog the nearby shopping streets. But nature is never far away and it's easy to escape the crowds, either on an excursion or simply setting off on foot to a nearby trailhead for a walk in the woods.
The main ports visited by cruise ships are:
JUNEAU, the state capital and home to a large fishing fleet, receives more than a million visitors each year. The city covers a large land area, with most of its 31,000 residents living in the Mendenhall Valley, but the downtown is compact and a short walk from the main cruise pier. In addition to historic gold rush buildings housing shops and restaurants, downtown attractions include a number of interesting museums, most notably the Alaska State Museum.
In Juneau, some of the best whale watching anywhere can be enjoyed on a boat excursion to Lynn Canal or Stephens Passage, where humpback whales feed in summer. Great hiking trails can be reached by taking the aerial tramcar up Mount Roberts or by taking a shuttle bus to Mendenhall Glacier. Last summer Juneau received a record number of cruise passengers and tickets to Mendenhall Glacier were in high demand, so it's worth booking a shore excursion to this popular attraction.
If your budget allows, take a flightseeing trip over the Juneau Icefield. Especially thrilling is landing by helicopter at a sled dog camp where huskies trained for the Iditarod are waiting with their drivers to take you mushing across a glacier.
KETCHIKAN was a rowdy place in the 1930s during its heyday of salmon fishing and the town's colourful past has been preserved in the boardwalk houses of Creek Street. Set on pilings, Creek Street bustles with sightseers, while a quieter section of the boardwalk leads upstream to the creek's fish ladder. Tlingit totem poles are on display throughout the town and at Totem Bight Historical Park where poles can be viewed in a forest setting, and at Saxman Village, which hosts a potlatch in the Beaver Clan House.
If seeing wildlife is a priority, float plane rides are offered to Neets Bay where black bears feed in a salmon creek and can be observed from viewing platforms. Ketchikan is adjacent to Misty Fjords National Monument — a wilderness reserve encompassing winding fiords and mountain lakes. Flight-seeing tours operate out of Ketchikan and a few of the cruise ships navigate these narrow waterways to give passengers an up-close view of the pristine scenery.
SKAGWAY, a famous boomtown during the Klondike Gold Rush era of the late 1890s, is located at the head of a beautiful fiord and comes to life each summer with the arrival of cruise ships. A visitor to Skagway will have no trouble imagining the gold rush days strolling the town's main street thanks in part to the National Park Service restoring many historic buildings such as the old railroad depot and the Mascot Saloon. Other gold rush buildings now house shops and restaurants, including the Red Onion Saloon — frequented by Robin Williams and his fellow cast members when scenes from The Big White were filmed at White Pass above Skagway.
Taking the narrow-gauge train journey aboard vintage cars of the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad will get you to this dramatic mountain pass. When the train rolls out of Skagway it follows the river valley past glacier-fed waterfalls and overhanging rock ledges before climbing 870 metres, past chasms and clifftop views, to the summit. Other activities in Skagway include rock climbing along the granite cliffs of White Pass. There are good hiking trails close to the cruise piers and maps are available at the Park Service office.
Walks I have enjoyed in Skagway include the two-kilometre hike to the Gold Rush Cemetery where the outlaw Soapy Smith was laid to rest. This walk also leads to beautiful Reid Falls. Other good hikes include the one to a waterfront park reached by a footbridge from the docks. Another is the more demanding climb up to Lower Dewey Lake — highly recommended for those wanting to work up a sharp appetite for dinner.
SITKA, a former outpost of Imperial Russia, enjoys a beautiful setting on the edge of island-dotted Sitka Sound. Its most prominent landmark is the distinctive peak of Mount Edgecumbe — a dormant volcano located across the water on Kruzof Island. With the Pacific Ocean at its doorstep, the waters off Sitka offer some of the best boating excursions in Alaska. Sea otters are abundant in these waters and humpback whales are frequently sighted.
A walk along the town's parklined waterfront, past boat-filled Crescent Harbor, will take you to Sitka National Historical Park and its groomed forest trails containing replicas of historic totem poles. Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 and the state's Russian past is commemorated at several historic sites in Sitka, including St. Michael's Cathedral and the Russian Bishop's House, painstakingly restored by the Park Service.
ICY STRAIT POINT became a cruise port in 2004 when the local Tlingit community converted its obsolete cannery into a museum and gift shops selling locally made crafts. Shore excursions capitalize on the port's remote wilderness setting with opportunities for sea kayaking, halibut fishing and boat trips to view humpback whales in the waters off Point Adolphus. Land activities include mountain biking, brown bear viewing and descending from the mountaintop on the world's longest zip line ride.
Vancouver resident Anne Vipond is the author of the best-selling guidebook Alaska By Cruise Ship, now in its 10th edition. The book has colour maps and photography throughout. Distributed by Heritage Group Distribution, it is available in bookstores across Canada. For more information visit: www.oceancruiseguides.com