06/04/2026
Did you know Ketchikan is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest?
The Tongass covers nearly 17 million acres across Southeast Alaska, making it the largest national forest in the United States and the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world.
That explains a lot about Ketchikan.
The rain, the deep green mountains, the moss-covered trees, the salmon streams, the bald eagles, and the lush forest trails all come from this incredible rainforest ecosystem.
More than 80% of Southeast Alaska lies within the Tongass, and Ketchikan is one of the easiest places to experience it. You can step from the waterfront into rainforest scenery surprisingly fast.
It’s one of the reasons Ketchikan feels so different from many other Alaska ports.
Did Ketchikan’s rainforest scenery surprise you when you visited?
