Visiting Misty Fjords National Monument

Misty Fjords National Monument is just 22 miles east of Ketchikan, Alaska. It is part of the Tongass National Forest and has incredible sea cliffs, steep fjords, and rock walls 3,000 feet high that seem to just appear out of the ocean. Although the scenery is beautiful all over Southeast Alaska, the Misty Fjords is definetly one of the major highlights and not to be missed.

The best ways to visit Misty Fjods are by air and by sea. Flightseeing tours leave regularly from Ketchikan, Alaska when weather allows. Flights allow visitors to see aerial views of the landscape and many also include a lake landing, so guests can get out and take in the scenery from outside the plane. Flying in this area can be dangerous given the steep terrain and constantly changing weather, I recommend using a small local flightseeing company where the pilots are super familiar with the area such as Misty Fjords Air, Island Wings or Pacific Wing. Flightseeing tours are generally a few hours making them less of a time commitment than visiting by boat and giving you more time to explore Ketchikan if you only have one day on a cruise.

The other option for visiting Misty Fjords is by boat, which is my favorite option. It gives you time to really enjoy the scenery and wildlife on the trip out. The boat will take you past New Eddystone Rock, through the fjords, and into punchbowl Cove. The view from the water gives you great perspective on just how massive and spectacular the cliffs really are. There are also petroglyphs on the rocks inside the bunch bowl that you can see on a boat tour. These tours also have naturalists and guides onboard, so you can learn a lot about the history and the area from the tour.