Tongass National Forest Attractions & Things to do

While in port in Ketchikan, take to the skies over stunning Misty Fjords National Monument on this 1-hour flighted tour. Board a floatplane and fly over the lakes, sheer cliffs and waterfalls of Misty Fjords, a part of Tongass National Forest covering more than 2 million acres of alpine wilderness. Keep an eye out for any wildlife including bears, eagles and other marine life. Tour duration includes a 1-hour flight, safety orientation, loading and unloading time and gift shop time.

• Fly on an incredible journey with breathtaking views of the Misty Fjords National Monument with Ketchikan’s premier flight seeing operator
• With 45 years in business and trusted legacy partnerships with all major cruise lines, we bring experience and knowledge that will make your trip unforgettable
• Window seat guaranteed
• Engaging narration that enhances your experience
• 100% Guarantee that you will NOT miss your cruise ship all-aboard
• Private van transportation including pickup and delivery
Duration: 2 hours.

Experience our home in a comfortable, fun and safe family atmosphere! We created this customized tour for families and small party's up to 6. This is your experience and we can build our tours to meet our clients needs! We have something for all age groups from beaches, totem parks, hikes to local favorite Hole in the Wall. We will do our best! If you have a local store in mind that you want to visit then we will gladly make a stop!

Our guides are local citizens who call this wonderful place home. We offer exclusive opportunities to see and experience the local Native Cultures of Revillagigedo Island! We are always on the lookout for wildlife but we can make no promises just know we working hard! We build our tours to accommodate our guest and we have years of experience. This is your touring experience and we will do our best to accommodate your group!
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Go on an adventure as you explore the deep mysterious waters of island studded sea passages in search of wildlife aboard a rugged Zodiac expedition craft. Your experienced captain and expert naturalist will use their considerable local knowledge of the area to unlock the secrets of this biologically rich ecosystem. You will feel the ocean breeze on your face and taste the salty sea air as you skim across the waves. You will indulge your curiosity as you navigate narrow channels, next to rocky coast lines, emerald forested islands, and black sandy beaches. You will become an explorer, a mariner, an adventurer.
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes.

Are you looking for a fun, fast, and exhilarating excursion? Then you're in the right place! Get ready to wind through the Tongass national rainforest while soaring over glacially fed waterfalls. Did we mention that we have more lines than any other zipline course in Alaska?
Duration: 4 hours.

Spend your time in port in Ketchikan paddling through the waters of the Pacific Ocean and discovering Alaska's Eagle Island. On this shore excursion, you'll have the opportunity to glimpse a vast array of wildlife, such as Alaskan starfish, bald eagles, humpback whales and orca whales. A perfect opportunity to explore Ketchikan's beautiful scenery awaits!
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

If you’re thinking, “Zipline tour? Been there, done that,” maybe you just need to up the ante. This thrilling zipline tour in Tongass National Forest will have you flying through an Alaskan rainforest canopy at heights up to 135 feet (41 meters) above ground. Across several thousand feet of cables you’ll have unique vantage points to look for bears feeding on salmon and watch bald eagles soar through the sky. This exciting experience from Ketchikan is limited to nine people per group so you can enjoy personalized attention from your guides.
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

Lighthouse Excursions is a locally owned & operated Ketchikan tour company, and we pride ourselves on providing guests with an experience of Southeast Alaska through local eyes. Our Lighthouse, Totems & Eagles Excursion is a grab-bag of some of Ketchikan's top attractions, with a little something for everyone. Whether you're a lighthouse enthusiast, a history and culture buff, or love seeing wildlife in their natural environment, this tour is for you! We're passionate about where we live, and we love showing it off to guests from all over the world.
Duration: 3 hours.

Come join us on a lovely 3.6-mile roundtrip hike through an Alaska State Park into the Tongass National Forest. Enjoy a small group of up to 7 guests! First relax on the 40-minute scenic drive to the end of the road. Then hike an improved gravel trail alongside a river with glimpses of waterfalls. Walk through a magical old-growth rainforest displaying impressive specimens of Sitka spruce and western red cedar fencing in the trail.

Besides some stairs at the beginning of the hike, the trail flattens out and winds along the river valley below a ridge. 1 mile down the trail, our destination is a stone bench beside a serene bow in the river, where we can pause and enjoy one another and the peace and quiet.

This tour is led by owner and operator, Tongass Teague. Enjoy connecting with him, each other, and the wilderness of Southeast Alaska. Ask about practicing mindfulness! Ask about our endangered old-growth forests and how to protect them!

Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

Join this amazing 2-hour Eco Tour with an experienced local guide in a small group with maximum of 11 guests. Explore the Rainforest on a nature trail in the Tongass National Forest and stop at a beautiful waterfall viewing area. Admire the lush green rainforest with giant trees, cascading creek and moss blanketed forest floor. Journey to the Totem Park where you will hear stories behind the magnificent totem poles and learn about the fascinating Alaska Native Culture. We are local family owned business in Ketchikan and love to share our beautiful surroundings with you. Our rainforest walk and totem park tour allows you to visit 2 wonderful locations with knowledgeable guide.

Duration: 2 hours.

Island Wings Air Service is owned and operated by Alaska veteran pilot Michelle Masden, who started flying in 1977 and began her business in Ketchikan in 1993. Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Share our love of flying through our vast Alaskan wilderness. Experience the freedom of flight over the wild grandeur of the mountains, the islands and the endless sea. In business since 1993, Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Our focus is the quality of your experience. From the handling of your reservation, to the equipment we operate, to the places we visit; we don't compromise and neither should you. The total time for this tour is 4.25 hours including: the flight, three hours onsite at Traitors Cove Bear Viewing Observatory, and fifteen minutes for the pick-up and drop-off.
Duration: 4 hours 15 minutes.

As the original electric bicycle tour in Southeast Alaska, we're excited for you to join us on an easy, enjoyable ride on the "road to nowhere". This road dead ends at the edge of the dense Tongass National Forest, an extensive wilderness where you will then take an enjoyable, guided, educational hike along a well maintained trail beside an active salmon spawning stream. The hiking features a beautiful waterfall along the path as well as stunning beach views with potential to spot intertidal creatures, black bears and marine mammals along the coast. The dense rainforest is the highlight of the loop trail through the Tongass and is always changing throughout the season. After enjoying your guided hike you'll return to your e-bikes to cycle back to our marina for smoked salmon snacks along with vegan options and beverages. All our tours provide round trip transportation from both the Downtown Cruise docks & the New Dock at Ward Cove. Excellent rain gear is provided should you need it.
Duration: 4 hours.

Take a 4-hour guided kayak tour to Clover Pass, (2 -2.5 hours in the kayaks) with scheduling to fit virtually every cruise ship. This is an amazing waterway with several rainforest islands, about 15 miles north of town. Your guides will get you away from the crowds and often to better weather where you'll paddle around 3 scenic islands where dense rainforest meets the sea. The Tongass National Forest is the largest National Forest in the U.S. and surrounds Clover Pass. Most tours encounter the resident Steller sea lions, seals, bald eagles and other birds, an immense array of intertidal life, and sometimes humpback whales, orcas, porpoises and jumping salmon along the route as well. Occasionally we even see Sitka deer or black bears down at the beach.

While specific wildlife viewing cannot be guaranteed, Clover Pass is second to none for wildlife viewing near Ketchikan and our micro climate, north of town, consistently provides dryer weather and calmer waters than downtown.
Duration: 4 hours.

Fill your need for adventure and excitement while in Ketchikan on this four-hour off-road Jeep and canoe tour ! Take control of a four-wheel- drive Jeep Wrangler® and drive through the rugged back roads of Tongass National Forest. Then join your companions in a Native American-style canoe to paddle across a mountain lake, where a hearty snack and a nature hike await you. While driving and canoeing, keep your eyes open for bald eagles, moose, dear, porcupines and the occasional bear!
Duration: 4 hours.

Explore Ketchikan the way the natives did on this rainforest canoe trip and nature walk. On this 3.5-hour Alaskan tour, paddle through a pristine lake in the Tongass National Forest while learning about Ketchikan's history and natural beauty from your expert guide. Take a short walk through the rainforest with your guide and learn about the forest's flora and fauna. Don't forget to keep your eyes out for native Alaskan wildlife!
Duration: 3 hours 30 minutes.

A motorized rigid hull inflatable Seahawk provides a short, but exciting cruise along the coast of Clover Passage where whales, sea lions, seals, porpoise, bald eagles and migrating seabirds may be spotted. Join your naturalist guide on a secluded beach in the Tongass National Forest, for a walk through natural, unspoiled beauty in the coastal rainforest on Betton Island. Hike through the beautiful old growth forest, and learn about botanic species native to this region.

Enjoy an Alaskan snack at a campfire and take some time to explore tide pools or other interesting elements of the natural beauty around you before returning.
Duration: 4 hours.

Come join us on a stunning 4-mile roundtrip hike in a small group of up to no more than 7 guests! This tour is led by owner and operator, Tongass Teague. Enjoy connecting with him, each other, and the wilderness of Southeast Alaska.

Hike an improved gravel trail alongside a forested lake below a mountain. Plenty of spots for picture taking. From there, the second mile’s more natural tread is mixed with gravel, large rocks, and roots as you ascend through an old-growth rainforest displaying large specimens of Sitka spruce.

Learn about some of our flora and fauna and hear about our complicated logging history and what it means for our future. Learn how to protect our endangered old-growth forests!

At 1100 feet of elevation, arrive at the bottom of an avalanche chute (devoid of snow in the summer), our destination. Be one of only two tours a day allowed on this cherished trail.
Duration: 3 hours.

This tour is off the beaten path and leaves the pavement and tourists behind for the more rugged mountain dirt roads in the backcountry of the Tongass National Forest, a local favorite drive. The tour is very rural and gains some scenic elevated views depending on weather conditions. We drive through some former logging sites as we explore the need for further conservation of our old-growth forests if we want to continue to breath clean air and if we want to fight climate change and protect one of the United States largest carbon sinks--the Tongass.

Duration: 2 hours.

A hiking excursion at Lunch Creek Trail that offers you a journey through Tongass National Forest's dense, lush landscape. The trail follows the creek, winding through old-growth forests of hemlock, cedar, and Sitka spruce. Hikers will encounter the
Duration: 4 hours.

This extended tour is one of the only guided mountain hikes in Ketchikan. And though we are not permitted to go the very top of the mountain, we do gain about 1100 feet in elevation to a high point of 1600 feet at the end of the improved trail, which pops out into the alpine with 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains and the lake and Tongass Narrows below. This tour is only allowed once a day.
Duration: 4 hours.