By the early 20th century many Tlingit and Haida families had moved from their old villages to towns where there was work, and the totem poles they left behind were decaying in the rain. In 1938 the US Forest Service began a programme, staffed through the Civilian Conservation Corps, that hired Native elders and young carvers to salvage, repair and re-carve these poles. On the site of an old fish camp called Mud Bight, north of Ketchikan, they built a model village with a clan house and a set of poles. It became a state park after Alaska’s statehood and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Totem Bight is small — you can see it in 45 minutes — but beautifully set. A trail leads through mossy rainforest to a clearing on the shore, where fourteen poles stand around the clan house with the Tongass Narrows behind. Signs explain each one, which makes it the best place near Ketchikan to learn how to “read” a totem pole on your own.
Top things to do: Totem Bight State Historical Park
Step inside the clan house
The cedar community house is a model of the kind that would have sheltered several related families of a single lineage in the early 19th century. Stoop through the low oval entrance — designed to be easy to defend — to see the central fire pit, the plank platforms and the carved house posts. The painted façade depicts a stylised raven.
Read the poles
The fourteen poles include copies of Tlingit and Haida originals from several villages. Look for the Kadjuk Bird Pole, the Thunderbird and Whale, the Sea Monster Pole and a memorial pole topped by an eagle. Each has an interpretive sign; the visitor area by the car park has displays explaining the main types — memorial, mortuary, heraldic and house-front poles — and the figures that recur.
Walk the forest trail
The approach path winds through classic Tongass rainforest of western hemlock, Sitka spruce and cedar, thick with moss and ferns. It is level, surfaced and only a few hundred yards long.
Watch the shore
From the beach in front of the clan house you look across the Narrows to Gravina and the outer islands. Bald eagles are common, and at low tide the rocks are full of starfish and anemones.
How to get there
- Location: about 10 miles (16 km) north of downtown on the North Tongass Highway, roughly 20–25 minutes by road — and only a few miles beyond Ward Cove.
- By bus: the borough’s public bus runs north along the highway to the Totem Bight area about once an hour. It is the cheapest way, but check return times carefully against your ship’s departure.
- By taxi or car: straightforward; there is a car park at the entrance. Taxis can wait or return for you.
- By tour: several guided excursions include Totem Bight with transport and a guide who brings the stories to life.
Insider tips
- A small entrance fee per person has been charged in the summer season in recent years; guided tours normally include it. Carry a little cash or a card.
- Combine it with Potlatch Park, which is right next door, or with Ward Lake on the way back.
- Tour buses arrive in waves. If the clearing is crowded, walk the forest loop first and come back in ten minutes.
- Do not touch the poles — oils from hands speed up decay — and never lean against them for photographs.
- The park is open all year; the gift shop and rangers are there in the summer season.
Best tours for this sight
These bookable Ketchikan excursions fit best with a visit to Totem Bight State Historical Park:
Guided tour from $84 Ketchikan: Alaska Native Cultural and Scenic Shore Excursion
A good-value introduction to the Native cultures of Southeast Alaska. You travel north along the coast to Totem Bight State Historical Park, where a guide explains the poles and the clan house, with stops for scenery and wildlife on the way. The most-reviewed Ketchikan tour on the platform.
- Totem Bight State Historical Park with a guide
- Stories of the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples
- Chances to spot eagles, salmon and bears along the way
Guided tour from $85 From Ketchikan: Potlatch Totem Park and Herring Cove Tour
A guided visit to Potlatch Park to discover the art of totem carving, followed by a stop at Herring Cove to look for wildlife — eagles all season and bears when the salmon are in. One of the lowest-priced tours with transport.
- Guided visit to Potlatch Park
- Learn about the art of totem carving
- Wildlife spotting at Herring Cove
Guided tour from $129 Premium Rainforest Experience in Ketchikan
A guided tour from Ketchikan into the Tongass National Forest, visiting waterfalls and salmon spawning streams and watching for black bears, eagles and seals along the way. A compact way to see the forest without a long hike.
- Guided exploration of the Tongass National Forest
- Waterfalls and salmon spawning grounds
- Look for black bears, eagles and seals
