Totem Bight State Historical Park

This place was a great piece of history.If you are in the area what you most likely will be.If you are taking a cruise ship, it is definitely a cool sight to see. Learning about the natives and the way that they lived and their culture is really interesting. The type of artwork that they use is like none other, and the stories that they depict are truly bizarre. It is a must see for any history enthusiast.

Awesome experience with a well knowledged tour guide who has lived in the area for around 20 years. Clark's Custom Island Tours on Viator.com was fantastic, this was just one of the many stops we made today on the tour. Very cool to learn about how everything was made and what the totem poles actually mean, cause they are really not meant to just be decorative.

A great experience of native history! We took the bus from downtown and it took about 25 minutes to get there. We were able to see inside the joint historical reconstructed building, and had a unique perspective from a Parks Ranger. Thank you again for the enjoyable experience!

Fantastic place to get to experience Totems first hand. Place is beautiful and filled with history. Highly recommend having a guided tour to really experience everything there is to learn about. Wasn't crowded and we were blessed with extremely rare and Sunny day!

What are great place to visit. We had only a short time there as part of a tour but would go back without the tour. Neat place.

There's no visitors center or information booth so there's some information you might not get in the park, such as the stories the totem poles are telling. But there are a lot of signs about the history of carving and the native arts and artists. Beautiful Park and doesn't take super long to get through. The bus from Ketchikan takes you right into the park and it's a short ride from town. The totem poles are beautiful as well!

The guided tour by the state naturist gives you the history of THE TOTEM and other natives artifacts history, facts and details. Breath taking views and great preservation of history. In addition, it has the tallest totem in North America.

It is a small park that has some pieces and art of the Native American culture. You're probably will need to research a little bit what these pieces are to learn more because there is no info shared in the park.

Date of visit: July 19, 2025 This was a stop on an excursion from our cruise and it was very interesting, with a great setting right on the water, making for a great picture backdrop. The park does have a $5 entry fee per person May through September, so you may want to weigh that fact if you don't have a great interest in totem poles! If you do go, make sure you check out the Clan House and notice the storage underneath your feet as literally dozens of people would sleep in this facility at the same time. Coming with a guide may be your best bet as parking is limited and someone who knows the stories adds much more color to the experience.

A lovely place to check out if you have some extra time! I visited the park in addition to another excursion I had booked for that day (via cruise). This park can be somewhat deceivingly small from the parking lot, but once you head down the walkway, there are a multitude of totems to learn about. It was really interesting learning not only about the history of the totems, but of the restoration projects being done to them as well. There is also a replica house that you can see the inside of too and great views of the water!

While on our cruise, we opted out of buying this excursion and decided to DIY it. As soon as we got off, we hailed a taxi and made our way to this park. The taxi was about $40 each way plus $5 entrance fee. We definitely saved some money alone just by doing this. The con was that we were not able to get the education portion of it, but they did have plenty of signs to read along the route. This is a great easy walk through park, passing by tons of beautiful totems, each with a story. A great spot to check out if you make it to Ketchikan!

Beautiful park with impressive totems. Came with a guide who was very knowledgeable on the subject matter. Glad to have guide, otherwise the tour would have been just "okay".

Totem Bight State Historical Park sits 10 miles northwest from the downtown Ketchikan area. It's a casual and quiet place to visit for an hour or so. If you are arriving in Ketchikan for the day by cruise ship, I would NOT suggest making the effort to come here for your day excursion. I believe there are more worthwhile ways to explore Ketchikan, unless you're a real fan of totem poles. I was in Ketchikan for 3 full days and had a rental car with me so Totem Bight was worth the drive to go check out. It's $5 entry fee per person for which you fill out a slip and drop payment at a fee station. Then you have a simple paved and boardwalk pathway (less than 1 mile) through an 11 acre old growth rainforest to see 14 totem poles. Also, interestingly I guess you could say, your $5 entrance fee purchase is only good for a 1 hour time limit visit! Why is that? I don't know. But it forced me to check my watch occasionally to ensure I didn't exceed 60 minutes. Also, upon arriving, I initially drove past the parking lot section reserved for cars. When I realized I was now in the lot arranged for RV's and tour buses, I turned my car back towards the area afforded to cars which was basically entering One-Way traffic the wrong way. After exiting my car, a park ranger fast approached me and introduced himself. I got the point. I was lazy in the moment instead of making a full 360 U-turn back onto North Tongass Highway and reentering the proper way. I said sorry to the ranger and admitted fault before he could hand me a citation, because I could sense it was coming if I wasn't apologetic. And all this while it was drizzling outside and I could have been the only visitor in the park at the time. Alright, lesson learned. My mistake. Regardless of the confrontation with the park ranger, the walk through the rainforest was pleasant. Even on a dreary day, Totem Bight made for a good way to escape the stress of the crowded downtown cruise ship port area of Ketchikan. Totem Bight sits along the rugged coast of the Tongass Narrows. I'd describe the setting as a peaceful sanctuary paying homage to the indigenous Tlingit and Haida peoples of Southeast Alaska. The totem poles were vibrant and statuesque. A lot of them good for picture taking, if you'd like. Halfway through the walking tour is the Clan House, offering an "inside look at Alaska Native culture and history" according to travelalaska.com, which is a worthwhile website providing detailed information on Totem Bight Park. For a brief 1 hour visit, Totem Bight State Historical Park is a fine park for getting up close to and learning the historical significance behind locally handcrafted totem poles. It's not so thrilling, but is good for breaking away from too much time spent in the downtown cruise port section of Ketchikan. Next activity from here, you can drive 5 miles away to Perseverance Lake Trail for hiking and spending more time in nature.

"Cause your love, is better Than any love I know It's like thunder, lightning The way you love me is frightening Oh you better knock, knock, on wood" (David Bowie) If you are a fan of totem poles, you'll go bonkers over the fourteen wood totem poles that are scattered around the Totem Bight State Historical Park. They honor symbols of Tlingit Indian mythology and legend, so you'll see poles with images of a Thunderbird killing a whale, a brave wearing a Bear Hat,. a raven, a sea monster, and a halibut among other symbols. The poles are intricately detailed and hand carved, and are quite breathtaking. The park is also the home of a Clan House that would be home to 30-50 Indians. Each family had its oen sector of the house, and shared the common fireplace in the center of the room. There were built in hiding spaces under the floor planks, so the families could store their family possessions and heirlooms. This is a very enjoyable park to stroll around in and enjoy the history of the area's Native People.

I have tried over and over and over again to get Yelp to merge these two pages into one. It makes zero sense why there are two pages, with exactly the same location info, for the same place. Anyway, here's a copy and paste from my other Totem Bight review: Great little park to sit by the ocean and have a picnic, drink a beer, or both! They have a great selection of totems, although not as great as the ones in Sitka, I would argue! Most of the negative reviews seem to be folks that took a special trip here from their cruise ship...I could see it maybe not being worth it in that context. But if you're staying in town for a few days, it's worth taking a long urban hike, or a cheap city bus, out to this park. It's not enormous. If you ran, you could blaze through all the official trail in 5-10 minutes. But this is a place you sit and soak in. There are fantastic saltwater views. This the perfect place for a picnic! Some great totems here too. Although, I gotta be honest, I like the totem park in Sitka much more, personally.

I wouldn't make an effort to come all the way out here for a 30 minute walk. It's a 45 minute bus ride from the cruise dock. This place is clean and pretty but definitely underwhelming. Entrance is only $5, so it's not a big deal if you just happen to pass by this location, but definitely not make this your only excursion at Ketchikan.

A great state park and a relaxing way to spend an hour. It is completely UNNECESSARY to book a tour for this as you can take the Silver Line bus (use Google Maps, it's very accurate in terms of bus lines and arrival/depart times) all the way to near the end of the line and be dropped off right at the park. Beautiful place with informative placards. I would go in the morning before the crowds and then head back to town for lunch for the afternoon.

Alaskan Cruise Adventure! Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with this excursion. The tour guide was good and super informative. But it just felt really really dragged out. This tour could have been so much shorter and given us more time to check out the town. I recommend if you want to check out Totem Park, to just do it on your own so you can go as fast or slow as you want.

Totem Bight State park offers good insights into Totem/Story poles and their rich history. Entry fee of $5 per person. Don't forget to pick up the brochure at the entry (they are in a covered box at the entry booth where you deposit the money) without the brochure you won't know what you are looking at, unless you are part of a guided tour. Park is not very big, it's located close to Cruise ship dock than the city. About 25min drive from town, taxi costs about $45. Connected with public transport, bus comes 13mins on the hour. Don't forget to visit Potlach Totem park, which is right next door (just few steps away). Potlach has free admission. Highly recommend visiting Potlach Totem park also.

Recommend coming here on your own instead of doing a shore excursion with a cruise line to save both time and money! We visited during our quick stop at the port in Ketchikan and still had plenty of time to see other attractions and walk around the city before having to jump back onto the ship. Our time in Ketchikan was limited, so we flew off the ship as soon as we got in after 7am - thankfully, many things open early to cater to tourists. We were able to grab the city bus (Silver Lake North) from a short walk down from the cruise ship berths. The stop is located under Aisha Jewelers, which is across the street from the large Tongass Dock Store. You can check the online schedule to see when the bus is supposed to arrive next - ours was a few minutes late, so don't walk away too soon! You need exact change and it's $2/person for a one-way ride to Totem Bight, taking less than 30 minutes. We were the only people there when we arrived, apart from the rangers. There's a $5/person entry fee and the ranger will give you a map for a self-guided tour of the totems. It seems like they offer guided tours as well, as we saw large groups arriving on tour buses, but the self-guided tour and map were sufficient for our needs, and we were able to make our way around at our own pace and much faster than any of the groups that came after us. There are about 14 various totems to see in the park, as well as a clan house and totem restoration area. The totems were very cool and the map had a brief description of each. It was a bit disappointing that they were all replicas and not as old as expected, though it makes sense as they are extremely exposed to the elements (of course, it was raining that day). The park itself is not large and walking the main trail took only about an hour. There is a gift shop farther up the road, though it is not actually affiliated with the park. After finishing, we waited for the city bus again (Silver Lake South this time) back to the downtown area. You can then use the free downtown shuttle to get around or just walk since the other attractions aren't too far away from each other. Overall, it was an inexpensive and nice stop while in Ketchikan!

We had limited time in Ketchikan, so we disembarked from the cruise ship as early as possible and headed out. A cab dropped us off at Totem Bight early...about 7:30 am. Besides a ranger, we were completely alone in the park. It was beautiful and peaceful. We really enjoyed the quiet after being on a cruise ship. There are many very cool totem poles in this park. The signs are very educational, too. We enjoyed looking at and reading about the totem poles at our own pace. This park is not large, but has several totem poles. I believe it would also be highly accessible to someone in a motorized wheelchair. Totem Bight is right next to Alaska Totem Trading and Potlatch Park. There are more totem poles and a vintage car collection at Potlatch Park, so don't miss it, either.

Outstanding park. Bring cash as it was self service payment. Take the bus here and back - no need to book a tour. Hourly busses, and if you spend more than an hour here you moved slowly or are truly a photography addict. Superb displays of totem poles as well as restoration efforts. Awesome views of the coastline

As part of our Cruise Shore excursion we got to visit this park. AWESOME! Our guide was so informative! The land is so pretty and serene. There is so much to learn from the First Nations. The totems are beautiful and the stories are wonderful. I would go again. This is a MUST SEE when visiting Ketchikan!

Beautiful park on the water. Really cool totems with informatiinal placards along the way. $5 entrance fee. Restrooms available. Takes about an hour meandering through the park taking pics. Don't pay for a tour. Take the silver line north (use app to buy day pass for $5) and enjoy!

Very interesting tour and history of totems. We didn't know much about them so the detailed information was welcome. The more you learn, the more interesting they become. Good overview of Alaskan Native American culture. Authentic totems, clan house and a carving shed all located in Tongass National Forrest; a breathtaking rainforest and beach with tide pools.

A peaceful, interesting place to visit about 10 miles from Ketchikan, easily accessible by bus. One of the highlights of my explorations in Alaska. There are about 15 totem poles, all of them beautifully crafted in the twentieth century, along with the clan house. A map with a helpful description of the meaning of the totem poles can be found near the parking lot, and it takes about 30 minutes to walk through the park leisurely, though it's probably worth spending even more time there. Unlike some of the other totem sites in Ketchikan, this doesn't feel cheap or commercialized, nor does it attempt to show you, the tourist, some mythically untouched original native culture. The work is from the 20th century and shows the careful work being done to continue earlier traditions of the Tlingit and other native peoples.

For the cruise stop in Ketchikan, this was the only thing I really wanted to do. You can go through the entire park within an hour, which is perfect because the buses run hourly. As of May 2017, you just exit the cruise ship and find the bus stop for the SIlver Line (I got on at Front and Dock St.) The fare is now $2 per person, no senior discounts allowed. It'll take about 30 minutes each way. Every tourist on the bus will get off at the park, so it's impossible to miss. Also, after the park, the bus essentially just makes another stop before turning around coming back the way it came. You wait at the same stop you were dropped off to return to the ship. At some point of the return trip, this silver line bus requires everyone hoping to return to the cruise dock to exit the bus and wait for the free downtown shuttle. The park was well taken care of, and despite an entire bus unloading passengers, people disperse pretty quickly so the park doesn't feel too crowded. There are restrooms available too. The totem poles are well maintained and because of the ever-present rain in Ketchikan, it's incredibly green. Bring an umbrella or waterproof clothing. Set aside 2.5 hours for the whole trip While the park is accesible for handicapped, the bus ride is fairly crammed.

I got to visit this beautiful spot while on a Princess Cruise excursion. The port area of Ketchikan in July was quite chilly and rainy. The fog over the water was so pretty. I really liked the totem pole carvings and local shops. I only got to spend a few hours here, but well worth it.

Great State Park with lots to see. Lots of Totems and even a small beach area. There is a traditional indian house and everything. Very easy to tour on your own.

Please see my review on the visitors center as these two are interrelated. Highly recommend this national park for its history, cultural information. The art and craft of the totem is stunning. Learning they use only objects from nature to carve, paint and build totems (and homes) is amazing.... Don't miss this.

Visited the park on a tour through the cruise company. It is a wonderful guided tour through town that goes to the park. How good your tour is really depends on the tour guide. The park itself is beautiful it has a few totems and a log house. The totems are beautifully carved and it is interesting to hear the stories that revolve around them. The log house is an authentic recreation built how they were for hundreds of years. Make sure you either enter or exit the cabin by its original door way to see what it would be like for the people who lived there.