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Creek Street, Ketchikan © Ketchikan Visitor's Bureau |
The 'salmon capital of the world' started as a summer fish camp on the shores of Ketchikan Creek used by the Tlingit natives, and became a major salmon canning centre. Native Inuit heritage plays a large role in the tourist destination of Ketchikan's culture today with the largest collection of totem poles in the world found in Ketchikan Totem Bight State Historical Park, Saxman Native Village and the Totem Heritage Center Museum. Rustic Creek Street with its wooden boardwalks and stilts was once the town's red light district, and today the houses have been converted into restaurants, shops and galleries. The town is a popular cruise destination and is the starting point for most Inside Passage tours. Excursions into the surrounding wilderness include air or boat trips to nearby Misty Fjords, an area of pristine, spectacular scenery with soaring cliffs, waterfalls, lakes and glaciers.
