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Ketchikan Basics

Ketchikan, which bills itself as the "Salmon Capital of the World," is located on Revillagigedo Island and sits astride the Ketchikan Creek in Southeast Alaska. Revillagigedo is the 12th largest island in the United States. With a population of around 7,500 inhabitants, Ketchikan is Alaska's fifth largest city by population. The area's population is around 14,000 people.

The mainstays of Ketchikan's economy are tourism, fishing and fish processing. Each year, Ketchikan attracts over 1 million tourists, mostly in the summer season, and most of the tourists arrive by cruise ship. In 2010, the city will play host to 429 cruise ship visits spanning the period May through September.

Ketchikan is situated in a maritime climate zone noted for its warm winters, cool summers and heavy precipitation. The area surrounding Ketchikan is a rain forest. It's overcast a lot in Ketchikan, with the city experiencing an average of 300 days of cloudy weather each year. And it gets a lot of rain, too; Ketchikan has the heaviest average rainfall in North America, at over 162 inches annually, including 32 inches of snowfall. That's 13.5 feet! Summer is the nicest time of the year to visit the city.

First Impressions

Ketchikan works hard to preserve its frontier town Alaskan heritage. The city is described as being "three miles long and three blocks wide," as everything is close to the waterfront. It's easy to go directly from your ship to the shops and points of interest in town.

Ketchikan is an arty town that really hums during the summer cruise season. With up to six ships visiting the port in summer, the cruise ship passengers almost outnumber the locals. But the town really has it together in managing the chaos; a free shuttle takes visitors on a loop around downtown, and the buses and vans transporting passengers from the Cruise Ship docks to their tours further afield perform like a well oiled machine.

Your ship will make port at one of the four cruise ship berths that are located in downtown Ketchikan. If there are more than four ships visiting Ketchikan at the same time, the additional ships will anchor in the Ketchikan Creek and passengers will take a short tender trip to the town's downtown pier. In downtown Ketchikan, tour and shuttle buses, taxis and other forms of transportation are readily available for passenger excursions to the area's tour attractions.

The summer is the nicest time of the year in Ketchikan; there's less rain, the average daily high is in the mid-60s (F), the days are long and the town bustles with the rhythm of the tourism industry.

Time Zone

Ketchikan is on Alaska Time, nine hours earlier than Greenwich Mean Time during standard time, or eight hours during daylight savings time. Daylight savings time begins on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.

Language

English is universally spoken in Ketchikan.

Currency

The U.S. dollar is the official currency in Alaska. Canadian dollars are accepted in Alaska as well. You'll also find Canadian coins circulating freely in the state, and are accepted at par to their U.S. counterparts.

Banks and ATMs

ATM machines in Ketchikan can be found at bank branches, select hotels. Bank branches with ATM machines can be found at the following locations:

Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo has two offices with ATMs in Ketchikan; the branch closest to the Cruise Ship docks is located at 306 Main Street; another branch is located at 2415 Tongass Avenue.

Alaska Pacific Bank: This Alaska-based bank has two branches with ATMs in Ketchikan; the branch closest to the Cruise Ship docks is located at 410 Mission Street; the other office is located at 2442 Tongass Avenue.

Key Bank: Key Bank has a branch with an ATM located at 2531 Tongass Avenue.

First Bank: This Alaska-based bank has three branches with ATMs in Ketchikan; the branch closest to the Cruise Ship docks is located at 331 Dock Street; other branches are located at 2530 Tongass Avenue, and 2030 Sea Level Drive.

To see the locations of Ketchikan's ATMs, see our Ketchikan ATM map.

Weather

Ketchikan is situated in a maritime climate zone noted for its warm winters, cool summers and heavy precipitation. The area surrounding Ketchikan is a rain forest. Summer high temperatures range from 55 to 65; winter high temperatures are around 40--not what one generally thinks of when speaking of Alaskan weather.

Ketchikan is no place for sun worshipers, as it is cloudy an average of 300 days per year. And it's wet, too: Ketchikan has the heaviest average rainfall in North America, at over 162 inches annually, including 32 inches of snowfall. That's 13.5 feet!

The summer season is the driest time of the year, with the persistent rainfall dropping to only 7 inches in June, and less than 6.5 inches in July. And with almost 18 hours of daylight in June, the natives and tourists alike walk around with smiles on their faces.

Ketchikan Average Temperatures
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg High - F	38	41	44	49	55	60	64	65	59	51	44	40
Avg High - C	3	5	7	9	13	16	18	18	15	11	7	4
Avg Low - F	29	31	33	37	42	47	51	52	47	41	34	31
Avg Low - C	-2	-1	1	3	6	8	11	11	8	5	1	-1

Ketchikan Average Precipitation
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg, Inches	11.9	11.3	11.2	9.9	8.7	7.0	6.4	9.1	12.2	20.3	15.7	13.7
Avg, mm	303	288	283	250	221	177	163	232	309	515	400	348

Ketchikan Average Daylight Hours
	Jan		Feb		Mar		Apr		May		Jun		Jul		Aug		Sep		Oct		Nov		Dec
Avg Daylight Hrs	9.2		10.9		12.8		14.6		16.3		17.8		16.3		14.5		11.9		10.3		8.7		7.5

Ketchikan Weather Forecast, AK

Keeping In Touch

Internet Cafes

You can find internet access in Ketchikan at the following locales:

Starbucks, located at 2417 Tongass Avenue, offers Wi-Fi in their Ketchikan store.

The Ketchikan Public Library, located at 629 Dock Street, offers once-a-day Internet access for 15 minutes to visitors. Guest User passes can be obtained at the Circulation Desk. To sign up for an Internet slot, please go the Registration Kiosk next to the Circulation Desk. The library is open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Wednesday, and from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on Thursday through Sunday.

Ketchikan Coffee Company at the New York Hotel, located at 211 Stedman Street, offers G5 Macs and Wi-Fi internet access along with friendly service, delicious locally roasted Raven's Brew Coffee and espresso, as well as an assortment of Panini sandwiches, homemade soups, fresh salads, pasta dishes and baked appetizers over the lunch hour. Tel: (907) 247-2326.

Surf City Internet Cafe, Alaska's first internet cafe, offers internet access featuring Airspeed wireless DSL. Surf City is located at 425 Water Street. Tel: (907) 225-5475.

CJ's Internet Cafe, offers internet access on their computers. Located at 602 Mission Street. Tel: (907) 225-3474.

The Crow's Nest Internet Cafe, located at 308 Grant Street, has 15 internet terminals. They're open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm every day during the summer months; cost is $5.00 per hour. Tel: (907) 225-6119.

To see the locations of Ketchikan's Internet Cafes/Wi-Fi locations, see our Ketchikan Internet Cafes/Wi-Fi map.

Finding US Newspapers

The Ketchikan Daily News is the city's newspaper, and it can be found in select locations in town.

Kindle Connectivity

In Ketchikan, you can download your Kindle newspaper and magazine subscriptions, as well as books and selected blogs, through AT&T's EDGE/GPRS coverage in the city.

Local Holidays & Festivals

Look for the following local festivals, holidays and events taking place in Ketchikan in 2012:

New Year's Day, January 1.

Festival of the North, February. A month-long festival featuring events that include the Annual Wearable Art Show, where you'll see functional and not so-functional wearable art creations in a runway fashion show extravaganza, as well as the Quilting in the Rain annual quilt show, an exhibition of over 200 contemporary and antique quilts on display.

Seward's Day, March 30. Commemorates the signing of the treaty by which the United States bought Alaska from Russia.

Good Friday, April 6.

Easter Sunday, April 8.

Alaska Hummingbird Festival, Month of April. A celebration of the annual return of the Rufous Hummingbird and other migratory birds to Ketchikan. Activities include guided hikes, art shows, activities for children, and many other birding events.

65th Annual Ketchikan King Salmon Derby, Memorial Day Weekend to mid- June. A Ketchikan tradition held to benefit various ketchikan causes. Cash prizes are awarded.

Ketchikan Fourth of July Celebration, July 4. They have fun in Ketchikan on the nation's independence day. Food and game booths, Kiddie and Main Parades, High School Reunion gatherings, Ketchikan's annual Timber Carnival, a rubber duck race down Ketchikan Creek and fireworks.

37th Annual Blueberry Arts Festival, August 3 to 31. An event that's unique to Ketchikan, featuring over 70 arts and crafts vendors, food stalls, games, a battle of the bands contest, the Gigglefeet Dance Festival, a special juried art exhibition, slug races (you won't find this very often), pie eating contests and more.

Alaska Day, October 18. Anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory and the raising of the U.S. flag at Sitka in 1867.

Thanksgiving Day, November 22. A day to give thanks for the things one has at the close of the harvest season.

Winter Art Faire, November 23 to 25. Featuring fine arts and crafts for the holiday season.

Christmas Day, December 25. The second most important Christian holiday, after Easter.

Cruise Lines Making Port

Ketchikan is one of the most popular destination for the seasonal Alaskan cruise ship trade, which extends from May through September. It's not unusual to have up to six ships visiting Ketchikan at any one time. In 2012, Ketchikan will host just over 840,000 cruise ship passengers sailing on 434 ships. If you'd like to see which cruise ships are scheduled to make port in Ketchikan, check out our Ketchikan Cruise Ship Schedule - 2012.

The following cruise lines make port in Ketchikan: