We departed the docks in Ketchikan by 6am, hoping for a nice smooth cruise across Clarence Strait (which isn’t always guaranteed). We dodged (okay not really “dodged”) a couple cruise ships on our way north in Tongass Narrows, and were met with relatively calm water and not much wind as we crossed Clarence and headed into Kasaan Bay.
We’ve been visiting Kasaan on our own (and once with a small flotilla) since 2015, and it’s always a favorite stop. Normally we can come in and tie up at the State of Alaska dock, wander the path into town, have a bite at the Totem Trail Cafe if they’re open, walk the trail through the forest to the totem poles and longhouse, and soak up the history of this magical place. This time, based on information in the 2025 Waggoner Guide that says “Access to the Kasaan Totem Park and the Sonihat Whale House is by tour only, contact so and so at this number to arrange for a tour” I thought “Uh oh, sounds like things have changed!” so I called the number for the tour guide. We are of course fine paying to support support the village and pay for a guide’s expertise, but I was really surprised that we wouldn’t be allowed to even walk the trail without a guide. The guide was out of town and I got a call back from a woman in his office. She said that in fact nothing has changed since we’ve been visiting, and to come in and just see Kasaan like we usually do. So that was nice to hear. She just asked us to leave the outside of the newer dock for the small cruise boat that was scheduled to come in at 2pm today. No problem!
As it happened, however, an enterprising young girl named Lydia, 11, came to our tour guide rescue! She ran up from the beach and gave us our own personal tour, with very entertaining commentary. She was professional and friendly and interesting and knew a lot…which of course she would, as she said she’s related to everyone in the village except for four people.
She was fantastic, and took some group photos for us even — we tipped her accordingly. She is headed to Survival Camp next month and plans to use some of the money to help buy drinks and snacks for everyone. Also, she is an artist…she loves drawing and sketching (people and animals mostly), and said the thing she loves most about living in Kasaan is the quiet — that she can just go sit on the beach and draw and not listen to a bunch of kids screaming. Loved her!
Here’s Lydia snuggling with a beautiful pup named Luna. Luna was VERY soft.
The cafe was not open today (except for the meal service the chef does for the kids) so Lydia went in to eat and we said goodbye and headed back to our boats.
A doe and two fawns on the beach near the docks:
We ended up meeting for a happy hour on the dock next to Turnagain, since the weather ended up so nice!
That’s Baranof Dream there in the background, part of the Alaskan Dream fleet — a smaller cruise company that’s a great option if you’re not so into the giant cruise ships.
A little later in the evening we met Skip on the dock and had a great chat with him…he’s lived in Kasaan for many years (the house with all the floats, along the trail), and we met his wife Linda back in 2016 when we were here for the celebration/longhouse rededication/potlatch (he said he was never as social as she was and spent most of that day in the kitchen washing dishes). She died in 2017 and so we talked about her a lot and he told some great stories and shared some wonderful memories of her with us. (That’s Skip, in the middle…Dave on the right and me on the left…thanks for the photo DeAnne!)
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Sound Waves and Turnagain…beautiful light on the dock:
Tomorrow, we’ll head north up to Thorne Bay.
Goodnight Kasaan!