Ketchikan Trolley Tour: Totems, Falls & Wildlife in 2.5 Hours

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

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Duration2h 30m

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

A replica cable car trolley does the driving while your guide handles the history.

The Tongass Trolley is a 2.5-hour guided tour of Ketchikan aboard a replica 1800s cable car, with stops at Saxman Native Village, Rainbow Falls, the Totem Heritage Center and a wildlife cove. A live guide in English shares the city's history and the cultural heritage of local Tlingit and Haida tribes while you ride. Children from age 2 are welcome, and the tour ends at your starting point near Front Street or at Creek Street for shopping.

2h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Ketchikan sightseeing and wildlife tour

Drive past eagle's nest to Saxman Village
View Tlingit and Haida totem poles
Drive down the coast to small cove
Look for wildlife at Herring Cove
Stop at Rainbow Falls for photos
Visit City Park fish hatchery site
Tour Totem Heritage Center artifacts
Return to town and stop at Creek Street

The Experience

You board a replica 1800s trolley near the Visitors Center on Front Street and settle in while your guide begins the tour. The route starts with a short drive past an eagle's nest to Saxman Native Village, where you'll see a collection of Tlingit and Haida totem poles. Your guide shares the cultural history as you pass through, then the trolley heads down the coast to a small cove in Herring Cove—a wildlife stop where black bears, harbor seals, eagles and salmon swimming upstream are often spotted. Wildlife is never guaranteed because they are wild, but the location gives you a good chance.

After the cove, the tour stops at Rainbow Falls, known for the mist created by the raging waterfall. On a sunny day, that mist forms a rainbow across the falls—a photo opportunity the guide will point out. The trolley then takes a scenic route back into town, passing City Park, which used to be a hatchery with wading ponds where young fish were raised before they made their way around the Pacific and back to spawn. Your final stop is the Totem Heritage Center, on the National Register of Historical Places for its collection of authentic 19th-century totem poles, carvings, baskets, regalia and photographs that document the heritage of local native tribes.

The tour ends where it began at the Visitors Center, or the driver can drop you at the historic Creek Street district if you want to explore shops and restaurants on your own. Parking is included. Infants can ride in a stroller, and service animals are allowed; infants must sit on an adult's lap.

What’s included

Parking.
a live guide in English sharing Ketchikan's history and the cultural heritage of local tribes.
stops at Saxman Native Village to see Tlingit and Haida totem poles, a wildlife cove in Herring Cove, Rainbow Falls for photos, and the Totem Heritage Center to view authentic native artifacts and 19th-century totem poles.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomeInfants must sit on laps

Operated by KETCHIKAN EXPEDITIONS LLC

Is this one for you?Most Ketchikan tours ask you to arrange your own transport between stops and piece together the history yourself. This one moves you through four key sites in a trolley while a guide connects them—the trolley does the driving, the guide does the explaining, and you get the full story without building the day.