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Interpretive signs and occasional ranger talks fill in the story gaps, while your eyes feast on the scenic vistas. Most likely your large ship will dock about 6 miles north from town at what the locals call the Old Sitka Dock. There’s a complimentary shuttle bus that runs back and forth about every 10 minutes to the center of town. You’ll find that there are plenty of excursions that you can arrange to do on your own. Even if you wait til the last minute, shore excursion operators are lined up at Centennial Hall, where the port-to-town bus ends.
See owls, eagles, and more at Alaska Raptor Center
Small cruise ships may spell 'Victory' for Sitka's new industrial park dock - KCAW
Small cruise ships may spell 'Victory' for Sitka's new industrial park dock.
Posted: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The current structure is a replica of the original after an accidental fire destroyed the cathedral in 1966. The church requests a donation for visitors who wish to enter, which is used for repairs and maintenance of the building. When your ship arrives, you are greeted by the stunning mountain view and beautiful waters surrounding Sitka Sound.
Have a Drink at Harry’s Soda Shop
Along the way, hikers will often see plenty of deer, eagles, and other wildlife scattered throughout the rainforest. If you are looking for a town tour, check out Sitka Checkered Tours. Jeff Budd will meet you at the terminal and take you on a private tour of the town while visiting many of Sitka’s historical sites and wildlife centers. Over one million people voyage on an Alaskan cruise every year, and many of those cruise ships include a stop in Sitka, Alaska.
Take a Boat Cruise to Goddard Hot Springs
Explore the Indian River Trail for a longer, more intermediate hike, which spans over eight miles. Once you get to the base of Sisters Mountain at around four miles in, start making your way back. In the late summer in Alaska, colorful salmon crowd and jump upstream along the river. Tongass National Forest is the largest forest in the United States, spanning over 500 miles of lush cedars and conifers, dense rainforests, and magnificent glaciers. More than merely a temperate rainforest, Tongass National Park includes streams for swimming salmon, picturesque fjords, and sweeping bays.
See the Russian Bishop’s House
Or you can simply walk through Sitka using a map you’ll receive at the dock. Home to the Kiksadi clan of the indigenous Tlingit people until the mid-18th century, when Russian explorers ventured across the Pacific. What they found was an inhabited island rich in natural resources from sea to mountains. Graced with a temperate climate, teeming with salmon and other fish, the Russians set their sights on the sea otter trade. Depending on the cruise company, your ship may drop anchor offshore instead of pulling into the port.
Visit Sheldon Jackson Museum
Set sail along Sitka Sound on an intimate fishing charter, and learn the tricks of a great catch from a professional fishing captain. Feel the thrill of the chase while surrounded by fresh evergreens and towering peaks in the near distance. Aside from being one of the best places to fish in Alaska, whale sightings are common here, as are harbor seals, sea otters, and even sea lions.
While Sitka isn’t a common port on most Inside Passage itineraries, several cruise lines visit Sitka. Major players like Royal Caribbean, Princess Cruises, Norwegian, and Holland America all offer voyages that make stops at this quaint town. For travelers looking for a more intimate experience, smaller, upscale cruise lines like Oceania, Silversea, and Regent Seven Seas also feature Sitka in their itineraries. From its beautiful national parks and cultural and science museums to locally-made arts and crafts galleries and wildlife encounters, you’ll want to revisit again. In 2018, fewer than 160 ships visited Sitka from mid-May to very early October.
St. Michael’s Cathedral
Although it’s possible to see whales around Sitka at any time of year, your best chance is between September and December. If you happen to take a September cruise, make sure you plan time to visit the Whale Park. This rescue center for orphaned bears is set deep in the heart of Tongass National Forest. From the safety of secure observation decks, you can watch the bears eat, play, and swim in their natural habitat. The friendly guides are happy to share details about the bears, their behaviors, and how they were rescued.
Visitors can get within 25 feet of the handful of bears who live here at any given time. The following guide will walk you through a day in Sitka, Alaska, from your docking location to top excursions. I booked the tour independently through Sitka Sound Tours, not through the cruise ship. But it is easy enough with the free shuttle from the Sitka cruise port. First, let’s get one thing out of the way — don’t expect to see a castle when you visit. Anchoring in the bay, you’ll take a tender back and forth into the port.
It’s not Jiro Dreams of Sushi, but for a local, friendly sushi place, it’s fine. Listen to whale songs and view enormous whale bones from a killer whale. The Sheldon Jackson Hatchery is salmon hatchery under the auspices of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Inside, visitors can view contains the museum’s collection of objects from each of Alaska’s Native groups including Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Aleut, Alutiiq, Yup’ik, Inupiat and Athabascan.
The influence of the Russian Orthodox faith lives on in Alaska, and there are plenty of followers of the church today. The trail follows mixed terrain, from second-growth forest of Sitka spruce, hemlock, and cedar, as well as muskeg. The final stretch to the base of the falls is more challenging, but it’s worth the effort to see the river cascading 70 feet over the rocks. Sitka Sound Science Center is an educational facility for local students but is also open to the public, with a salmon hatchery and aquarium to explore. There’s not a lot in the way of buildings to see at Castle Hill now, but once you’ve hiked up the trail to the top, pause to think of the history that’s been made here.
Second, I can peak inside cool looking houses without getting arrested. So naturally I was eager to step inside the house of Ivan Veniaminov, the first bishop of Alaska. It’s a mustard colored nod to Russian colonial architecture and offers a fascinating (and free) lesson into the history of Sitka and the influence of the Russian Orthodox church. Be sure to connect with a park ranger for a guided tour of the second floor.
This house, also called the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Tribal Community House, offers a look into their culture and how they lived off the land. On the harbor, the Sitka Historical Museum is a great place to learn about the history of Sitka and the surrounding area. Sitka is delightfully different, curiously quirky and one of the most special places you’ll ever visit, whether on a cruise or a land-based vacation.
You could spend hours in this small museum learning about Tlingit, Russian and American history through the incredible collections of everything early Sitka. In 2022, the town of less than 8,000 year-round residents expects close to 480,000 cruise ship passengers to arrive. Look for beautiful Alaskan artwork and stop for a banana split at the old-fashioned Harry Race Pharmacy and Soda Shop. Bring home hand-made knitted woolen apparel or a box of artisan chocolates or sea salt. Sitka is small, really small, and you don’t need to purchase a shore excursion from your ship to see what’s there.
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