Start from 20 curated places around Ketchikan, AK, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Alaska Fish House
Perched at the salmon landing on the waterfront, Alaska Fish House is the go-to spot for alder-grilled Alaskan salmon, halibut and chips, and house-smoked salmon chowder that draws long lines on cruise ship days. The menu leans on the local catch — whatever was running that week tends to make it onto the board. Outdoor picnic seating overlooks the harbor.
Burger Queen
A Ketchikan institution on Water Street with zero tourist pretense — straightforward burgers made with quality beef in a no-frills room where local fishermen eat regularly. The menu is short, service is fast, and the prices are genuinely reasonable by Southeast Alaska standards. One of those places that's been there forever because it's simply good.
Trails & outdoors
Deer Mountain Trail
Ketchikan's signature hike climbs 3,001 feet to the Deer Mountain summit, rising through Sitka spruce and hemlock forest before breaking out onto alpine ridge terrain with views across the Inside Passage and surrounding islands. The round trip is 5.5 miles and takes most hikers four to five hours. A Forest Service A-frame cabin near the summit can be reserved for an overnight stay above the treeline.
Ward Lake Trail
An easy 1.3-mile loop around Ward Lake, eight miles north of town, threading through old-growth temperate rainforest with Sitka spruce draped in lichen. The flat gravel path is family-friendly and accessible in sections, making it the best trail for non-hikers or rainy days when Deer Mountain isn't worth it. Fishing access at the lake edges is a bonus during salmon season.
Things to do
Southeast Alaska Discovery Center
The Forest Service-run discovery center on Mill Street is the best single-stop introduction to Southeast Alaska — covering the Tongass National Forest, Tlingit and Haida culture, commercial fishing, and the region's natural history through dioramas, films, and hands-on displays. Better-produced than most national park visitor centers, and it covers genuinely complex regional history with clarity.
Tongass Historical Museum
Housed in the Centennial Building next to the public library, this compact museum traces Ketchikan's history from its origins as a Tlingit fish camp through the gold rush and cannery boom. The collection includes Native artifacts, historical photography, and fishing industry equipment in a well-curated format. Good primer before you walk Creek Street.
Landmarks & sights
Totem Heritage Center
This museum houses the world's largest collection of original 19th-century totem poles, rescued from abandoned Tlingit and Haida village sites in the early 1970s. Unlike the outdoor poles around town, these are preserved indoors — letting you study the cedar carving in extraordinary detail. The permanent collection spans dozens of poles alongside clan regalia and Native artwork.
Creek Street Historic District
A row of colorful wooden buildings perched on pilings above Ketchikan Creek, Creek Street served as the town's red-light district from 1903 to the 1950s. The boardwalk is now lined with galleries, boutiques, and Dolly's House Museum — the preserved parlor of the district's most famous madam. In summer, watch king and coho salmon pushing upstream right beneath your feet through the creek below.