The Inside Passage

Stretching 500 miles along the Pacific Ocean from the southern border of Alaska with the Canadian province of British Columbia, the Inside Passage is the most popular cruise destination for cruises departing from the West Coast of the United States, and Vancouver, Canada. Shaped by the natural forces of massive glaciers millions of years ago, the Inside Passage offers spectacular close-up views of glaciers at Glacier Bay National Park, stunning landscapes with high mountains crashing into finger-like fjords, excellent opportunities for whale watching, and various adventure activities like hiking, kayaking, and walking on glaciers.

There are several quaint towns like Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka which have a rich history as the home of the native Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people, as well as several gold prospectors who frequented the region during the Gold rush. Two important historical sights are the White Pass & Yukon Railroad in Skagway, which was originally built in 1898 for gold prospectors heading to the Klondike Gold fields during the Gold rush, and the Totem Bight State Historical Park near Ketchikan, which is packed with restored and re-carved totems.

Destinations

Key sights to see

Ketchikan

Located at the southern tip of the Inside Passage – Ketchikan is the first city as one cruises or drives north along the Inside Passage. 31 miles long, and never more than 10 blocks wide, the city has two large harbors, several cruise ship docks, and some historic streets like Creek Street, which was Ketchikan's famed red-light district until 1954. It is also close to Misty Fjords National Monument, and the Totem Bight Historical Park.

Wrangell & Petersburg

About 90 north of Ketchikan is Wrangell, one of Alaska's oldest settlements, and home to the Tlingit people for thousands of years. In 1834, the area was settled by Russian traders and from 1861 to the 1890s, it served as the jumping off point for three major Gold rushes up the Stikine River. Another 50 miles north, lies Petersburg, the center of Norwegian culture in Alaska. Petersburg is most famous for the Little Norway festival that it hosts in mid-May.

Sitka

Located on Sitka Sound, fronting the Pacific Ocean, Sitka is famous for its Tlingit and Russian heritage. The city has 22 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, including the the Russian Blockhouse, Russian Bishop's house, and Castle Hill, a stronghold of the Kiksadi Tlingit clan, and the location of several Russian buildings, one of which is where the Russians officially handed over Alaska to the United States on October 18, 1867.

Juneau

Juneau, Alaska’s state capital, is the only state capital in the United States that can only be reached by airplane or boat. Some of the key sights in the downtown area are the State Capitol Building, historic South Franklin Street, which has many buildings dating back to Juneau's gold mining days, and the Mount Roberts Tramway. Juneau's most iconic sight though is the Mendenhall Glacier, a part of the 1,500 square mile Juneau Ice Field.

Skagway

The last stop on a cruise through the Inside Passage, Skagway was the starting place for more than 40,000 gold-rush stampeders who headed to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. The Broadway district in town features historic false-front shops and restaurants, from the gold-rush era. The most popular activity in town is the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, originally built in 1898 for the stampeders headed for the Klondike gold fields.