EXPLORING THE SALMON CAPITAL
Beyond serving as the point of entry for Waterfall Resort guests, Ketchikan is the gateway to the Southeast Alaska frontier and well worth exploring on either end of a fishing trip.
Acclaimed as the “Salmon Capital of the World” and a center of Haida and Tlingit culture, this lively port town engages visitors with everything from historic Creek Street attractions (galleries, saloons, lumberjack shows, fresh-from-the-sea fish and chips) to extraordinary totem pole parks and Alaska heritage centers to museums chronicling the origins of the region’s famed salmon fisheries and infamous red light district.
And farther afield for the adventurous visitor: the glacier-carved wilderness of Misty Fjords National Monument, the splendors of the Tongass National Forest, hiking and wildlife encounters with black bears and bald eagles, and more.
Getting There
Ketchikan International Airport is serviced by multiple commercial carriers and charter flights. Ketchikan is just a 90-minute flight from Seattle, making Alaska easily accessible to the Lower 48. At the airport, those guests transferring same-day, to and from Waterfall Resort, enjoy complimentary luggage handling and transfer service from our airport-based ground crew. We recommend the following carriers:
Ketchikan Hotels
Guests arriving in Ketchikan one or more days before their stay at Waterfall Resort have an opportunity to explore all the town has to offer. Because floatplanes to the resort depart at midday, guests arriving from the East Coast or abroad may prefer to spend at least one night in town to accommodate flight schedules. We recommend the following hotels:
If you’d like assistance booking either property, contact us at 800-544-5125. Guests adding one or more nights in Ketchikan at the end of their fishing trip enjoy complimentary frozen storage for all their Waterfall Resort fish boxes right through to their day of departure from Ketchikan International Airport.
Outdoor Adventures
Overnighting in Ketchikan is another chance to head outdoors and experience more of the beauty of the Alaska wilderness firsthand, with active adventures that run the gamut. A couple of our favorites:
For more information about what to see and do in and around Ketchikan, see the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau. For more information about Southeast Alaska, check out Audubon Alaska’s downloadable Ecological Atlas of Southeast Alaska.
