It is easy to get caught up in the gift shops and forget that you are visiting a place that people have lived since time immemorial. Take this unique trip in Ketchikan in a dugout canoe to learn about several of the cultures native to Alaska while cruising down a creek through the rainforest. This is a truly incredible trip that will show you a different side of Ketchikan and show you the beauty of the natural world, the reason people have always made this place their home.

On this unique tour in Ketchikan, you can travel through the canal streets of the city to the Saxman Village attraction. This trip will take you back to a simpler time when the native people of the area traveled by dugout canoe.

management | Alaska Canoe Experience | TripAdvisor

Dugout canoes have deep meaning for the Native tribes that have lived in Southeast Alaska, and have for thousands of years. In this area, every aspect of life is connected to the water and the food that the ocean provides.

management | Alaska Canoe Experience | TripAdvisor

Ketchikan is Alaska’s first city, and a place that people have lived for thousands of years. The Tlingit, Haida and Tshimsian peoples have all inhabited the Ketchikan area.

Jonathon | Flickr

Canoes were traditionally carved by hand and decorated with symbols. When a boat went out on a fishing expedition, residents sent the crew off with traditional song and you will hear some on the excursion.

management | Alaska Canoe Experience | TripAdvisor

Paddle to the Saxman Village attraction, a place designed to inform visitors about the Alaska native cultures of the area.

Roy Luck | Flickr

Saxman Village has a collection of over two dozen totem poles and information about their meanings and carvings.

mark byzewski | Flickr

At the Saxman Village attraction, you can watch a performance of traditional native dance and song. Young people from the local community perform in the daily presentation.

Roy Luck | Flickr

In Ketchikan, don’t miss this chance to hear traditional songs sung in languages that have echoed over the water for thousands of years. You will never forget this dugout canoe paddle in Alaska.

Alaska Canoe Experience Official Website

Watch a video about the Alaska Canoe Experience here!

management | Alaska Canoe Experience | TripAdvisor

Jonathon | Flickr

Roy Luck | Flickr

mark byzewski | Flickr

Alaska Canoe Experience Official Website

Have you had the Alaska Canoe Experience? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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