10-Day Alaskan Cruise - Sitka

Totems, Rain Forests, Spawning, Seagulls, and Squirrels

Jun 24, 2026

10-Day Alaskan Cruise - Sitka

Sitka was one of my favorite stops on the cruise. Once again, it was raining, but not too hard. Cool, but not bitter cold and no wind. I understood the weather better when I learned that Alaksa was one big rainforest. Who knew? I didn't. But I will definitely be better prepared next time.

When you get off the boat, you go to a shuttle stop where sweet, friendly gentleman put you on a school bus and drive you about 10 miles into town. The guides told us there are about 8500 people that live on the island year round. They have 2 stoplights and 1 roundabout. The crime rate is really low and most people leave their keys in their car with the doors unlocked. Because if they take the car, really, where are they going to go? 

They also shared that Sitka is the largest city in the United States! It's over 4811 miles, with only 14 miles of paved roads. I live in Jacksonville, Florida, the largest city in the continental United States (it takes at least 30 minutes to get anywhere) But I was so excited to find that I had made it to the LARGEST city in the US.

Today's highlights:

  • Sitka National Historical Park / Totem Park
  • Salmon Spawning (end of season, peeeee---uuuu)
  • Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. 
  • Dillon Sprague's Original Art
  • Baranof Fry Bread

 
Sitka National Historical Park / Totem Park & Salmon Spawning

Once off the shuttle, we headed the Sitka National Historical Park / Totem Park. It's a short walk along the Sitka Sea Walk which walks past the harbor, a park and a beach area.

On the way we walked past the Sitka Sound Science Center which was releasing some Salmon. It was fun to see them jumping around. It was near the end of season so a lot of the salmon had already spawned. After spawning, they die, so the air was ripe with the smell of hundreds of dead salmon that had washed up on shore. But not for long, the seagulls and other wildlife were feasting on all the available fresh food!

Those greige things littering the beach are dead salmon pulled up by high tide. If only there were smellavision.

We got to the park before 9, and started on the longer loop. The trees were beautiful. Again, walking in a rain forest, lush beautiful landscape full of ferns, moss, and wildlife. We listened to the unusual calls of the birds above in trees that we couldn't see. We saw several small, fast squirrels with stumpy legs, like the corgi of squirrels. So cute, but I kept my distance. I've never been very fond of squirrels since Daniel Martin's pet squirrel attacked me in the 3rd grade. I was then blamed for said attack and accused of antagonizing said squirrel. I digress, but I'm still mad about that. 

As you walk along the path you also see all these totem poles. There are 20 totem poles total, and they date back to 1904.

They also have a lovely visitor's center with neat displays and presentations of local history.

 
Alaska Pure Salt Co.

When we were done, we headed back into town, and found a few interesting shops. My favorite stop was Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. . Now, you may not know this about me, but I'm a salt nerd. I like grey salt, sea salt, fleur de cell, etc. When I was observing the glaciers as we went thru the bay, and the beautiful clean seawater surrounding them, I was thinking, man I bet that's so full of essential minerals and probably really good for the body. So when I saw the Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. It was a must stop. 


They had a good variety of that nutrient-rich sea salt collected right from Sitka Sound. They collect the seawater, filter it, then very carefully evaporate it in stages to create a delicate pyramid-shaped salt flake. In the store they had several flavors to choose from like vanilla, blueberry, coffee, lemon-lime, and you could also do a tasting. I loaded up :)



Dillon Sprague's Original Art

Alaska Pure Sea Salt Co. also had some hand-made items and prints by local artists, and one of the artists featured was Dillon Sprague with 57.NorthArts (instagram)

He uses a medium called fumage - where an artist uses a lit candle to deposit soot onto the surface of paper or panels, as one would use a brush and paints for a painting. The artist then uses knife blades and other implements to carefully scrape away the soot to further refine their image. His images were stunning and creative in such a unique manner that I've never been exposed to.

Check it out  Home — 57 North Arts

Baranof Fry Bread

Finally we headed back to the boat and happened upon Baranof Bread and Batter food truck that served Fry Bread. You had your choice of toppings, sweet - with sugar and cinnamon or savory - with olive oil and everything seasoning. Or you could get just plain. We chose sweet and it was a delicious, warm, non greasy, pillowy bread that was flat but a little bigger than a pita with a slight crunch. I've never had anything like it and don't have a good comparison. So I think you should just try it and let me know what you think!


Two more ports to go! Join me as I tell you about the next ports on this Alaskan Cruise. You can also check out our 2 part podcast about this Alaskan Adventure!