totem bight state park

Totem bight park was a nice place to go. The totem poles were beautiful ? The view is amazing . These totems are reproductions of the originals but you can see a lot of work went into these works of art.

Not much to the park if your looking for things to do. But, the view was amazing. Or cab driver said during summer a lot busier and museum is open. We enjoyed our walk and the sand on the beach was hard to come by anywhere else on our stay in Ketchikan. Lots of history and huge Totoem Poles near a Clan House.

We came here as part of a tour, maybe a bit touristy, but a neat stop. We didn't expect to see distorted orbs over faces in nearly all of our photos, even the faces on the totems were not spared!

Our day to see Totem Bight was blanketed (literally) in buckets of rain, but still it was a beautiful spot - I think the rain may have helped with the magic, and finding the feel of the place with NO other visitors; no traffic, no souveniers being sold, no rushing.

Totem Bight Park is part of the Tongass National Park system and it showcases the lost history of native totem parks. It should be pointed out that the totem poles in this reserve are reproductions of originals, painstakingly recreated from the remnants of historical poles long lost to the elements.You start the journey along a scenic woodland footpath that empties out onto the shore where you can view a handful of staggeringly tall totem poles, most with plaques that tell the stories of each pole as well as a brief history of totem poles in general.There is also a clan house that you can enter that once housed up to fifty members of a tribe. The story of the clan house is outlined on a nearby plaque. You can also read about the various totem poles in the park by picking up a brochure at the entrance to the park.

Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles, allegedly in the world! Ketchikan's economy is based upon government services, tourism, and commercial fishing. The city is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." This was one of our cruise boat stops; as we toured the Kenai Peninsula in Southeast, Alaska, during May 0f 2012. Frankly, there is not a lot of things to do in Ketchikan. The totem poles were unique, very colorful, and somewhat interesting. And each totem pole was to tell a different story! With this exception everything else in the area was typical trinket, and souvenir shops, all geared to the cruise boat tourist; which is a good source of monies for their economy.

Built originally by the CCC in the late 1930's - continually updated. The last major reworking of the native tribal house was in the 1980s. New carving and storage sheds add to the incredible display of native totems.

If you are interested in learning about totem poles, rather than just seeing them, I would strongly recommended taking a guided tour of this park. While learning about the different types was interesting in and of itself, learning the stories about the poles (and how to "read" them) was even more interesting. While I understand that guides can be an "iffy" situation, Jean and I were lucky enough to have Martin Greenough (Bus 284) as our guide for this place. MUCH more informative than we were expecting.

Don't miss this one. It is a short ride for town, and it worth it. Easy walk between different totems, and nice view of the harbor. It was special.

We took the local bus to Totem Bight Park. While there be sure to stop in and see the firearms collection in the trading post store. It's quite impressive. At the end of the parking lot where the store is there is a short trail that leads down to Potlatch Point. Down there is an impressive set up of native log buildings and more totems plus a nice collection of some old cars.It really is worth having a look at while you are there.

We visited in early September 2014, while there on a cruise with our grandkids. This was very disappointing for all of us. The guide we had was a zero for information. The park has a few totems, and probably a good guide could have made it more interesting. I was particularly disappointed we could not get into the clan house, or the totem repair facility to see them working on new and old totems. These two places were apparently included in some premium tours but not in our tour. We were not offered a premium option to buy. Quite frankly, this tour is not worth much, especially without the two additional buildings.The tour bus parked at the back of a muddy parking lot, and we were left to negotiate our way across the muddy mess -- both ways. Not a good situation on a rainy day (and most days are rainy in Alaska).My recommendation -- skip this tour and find a better totem tour in Alaska! I've been on better the last time we were in Alaska.

We only saw this attraction from the Eagles, Totem Poles, and Lighthouse boat excursion. But we were so glad we hadn't signed up to just go to the Park as there didn't seem to be many totem poles at all. Looked mediocre from our vantage point on the water.

It's a great little park to view totem poles unclose without the crowds. The park is about 5 miles outside of Ketchikan so if you can get there without a big tour group it is lovely.

Couldn't see totem poles. Totem Poles already wrapped in plastic for winter by 9/18. Disappointed this year.

We took a short bus ride from the town out to the park. The guide had everything including umbrellas for the rain. She knew the history and customs of the three main tribes. She knew so many stories of what the poles represented that we were amazed. Kat blended the history with the culture and the tour so there was never a dull moment. She even had cookies for us at the end of the tour. We also enjoyed the short trip around town. Yes, you could do this trip on your own....but you would miss 90% of the real meaning. We loved every minute. Thanks Kat.