Hi there!
In May 2023, I went from Saxman Park by bus to the Ketchikan cruise port while on an Alaska cruise.
Yes, it was FROM Saxman Park TO the cruise port, because I had done a Snorkel Alaska tour in the morning, and Saxman Park was on the way back to the cruise port, so I asked to be dropped off at Saxman Park! Then, I took the bus back to the cruise port.
Your experience may vary!
While at the Saxman Park bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive, I met some people from the cruise ship who walked from the cruise port to Saxman Park, and then they took the bus back.
It’s a 3 mile walk, and it seems you’ll be walking on a sidewalk that’s directly along the main road.
Just a note in case you want to get in some extra walking.
The best cruise ports to see totem poles in Alaska are Ketchikan and Sitka.
In Ketchikan, the best places to see totem poles are at Saxman Park and Totem Bight State Historical Park.
I actually do prefer the Totem Bight State Historical Park because it feels more like it’s in a natural setting!
Both of these “totem parks” in Ketchikan are accessible by bus from the Ketchikan cruise port.
If you’re going to Creek Street, there is the Chief Johnson totem pole nearby too.
👆 Bus route from Ketchikan cruise port to Saxman Park.
For my one day in Ketchikan on the day I went to Saxman Park, I did the snorkeling tour in the morning, and then I went to Saxman Park directly afterwards, and then back to the cruise ship.
If I had not yet been to Creek Street, I would have gone to Creek Street after Saxman Park.
See more about what I did during my Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage!
👆 You can take a bus to see totem poles in Ketchikan!
👆 There is a bus stop near the cruise port in Ketchikan! You will take the Silver Line South bus to get to Saxman Park.
👆 There is a bus stop near Saxman Totem Park so you can go to Saxman Park by bus from the cruise port! Spot the bus! Spot the totem poles! The bus will drop you off along the highway, and then you’ll walk up the road past totem poles to get to Saxman Park to see more totem poles!
👆 You will take the Silver Line North bus to get back to the Ketchikan cruise port from Saxman Park. There is a bus stop in front of the Saxman Park gift shop, which is in a different spot than your drop-off spot. You can ask gift shop employees about the bus to give you confidence you’re waiting for the bus in the right spot!
Cost to do Saxman Park on your own
The cost of doing Saxman Park on your own is $4 to $9 per person.
You will need $4 for the bus in cash ($2 each way).
Before I went, I had seen mentions online of a Saxman Park entry fee that is $5.
But when I went, I did not see anywhere that they collected this.
While I was waiting for the bus and walking around, I did notice a little shed near the main road that seemed like it might be a spot to collect an entry fee, but it seemed like something that would be staffed.
So be prepared to pay $5 per person just in case for the cost of the Saxman Park entry fee.
If you prepare ahead of time, you can also pay the bus fare through an app on your phone instead of through cash.
More Alaska cruise ports on your own: In Juneau, you can take a bus to Mendenhall Glacier in Tongass National Forest on your own… as long as you don’t mind walking a little extra! In Sitka, you can see totem poles in Sitka National Historical Park on your own.
Saxman Park excursions
Princess also offers excursions to Saxman Park that includes a Native Alaskan cultural performance.
I understand that you will only be able to see such a cultural performance at Saxman Park through an excursion. I understand that this is not offered to people who show up to Saxman Park on their own.
For example: Saxman Native Village with dance performance
You can log into your account at princess.com to see more combination excursions that include Saxman Park.
Since I was on a Princess cruise, I know for sure that Princess offers Saxman Park excursions. I understand that other cruise lines do as well.
How to get to Saxman Park
It’s easy to get to Saxman Park on your own!
You can get to Saxman Park by bus from the cruise port.
There is a bus stop that is near the Ketchikan cruise port, and from there, it’s a direct bus to Saxman Park to see totem poles in Ketchikan!
Google maps makes planning for the Saxman Park bus super easy.
It can help you with locating the bus stop, and it can also help you figure out the bus timings.
You just need to make sure you have cash in dollar bills so you can take the bus.
Or, you can be prepared ahead of time by paying for your bus fare through the designated Ketchikan bus app.
👆 Take the Ketchikan bus, or walk to Saxman totem park?!
More below about what you need to know to get to Saxman Park by bus!
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What to know about taking the bus to Saxman Park
You can use google maps to help you plan your bus trip to Saxman Park.
Make the “Ketchikan cruise ship docks” as your starting point, and make “Saxman Tribal House” as your destination.
Then, click the public transit option.
If you’re still at home, you can change the “depart at” time to get a better idea of bus timings available. It may also be helpful to change the day of the week, as weekdays vs weekends may be different.
👆 When you are docked in Ketchikan, you can use google maps to figure out when the next bus to Saxman Park is.
There is a bus stop near the Ketchikan cruise port.
If your cruise ship will be docking right in Ketchikan town (like many Princess cruise ships do), then there is a bus stop near the cruise ship.
You won’t have to walk far to get to the bus stop.
It is the sheltered bus stop on the same side of the road that the cruise ship is on.
👇 When you are in Ketchikan cruise port, you can use google maps and your current location to figure out where to go for the bus stop near Ketchikan cruise port.
👆 Bus stop near Ketchikan cruise port. Explore the map.
There is also a Ketchikan Visitor Center pretty much right at the cruise port. If you are going to ask for directions to the bus stop at the visitor center, be sure to specify that you want to go to Saxman Park. If you just say you want to go to “totem park” or that you want to see totem poles, they may give you directions on how to get to Saxman Park or they may give you directions to Totem Bight State Park.
NCL docks far away at Ward Cove. There is a free shuttle to downtown Ketchikan from Ward Cove.
You can also take a bus from near Ward Cove, although I’m not sure which option would actually be better!
Maybe you will like having a direct bus to Saxman Park, instead of having to “transfer” once in downtown Ketchikan.
It might be a bit of a walk from the Ward Cove cruise port to the bus stop.
But, I have met some people from a Norwegian cruise ship who did take the Ketchikan bus! (That was at Totem Bight State Park.)
👆 You can take a direct bus from Ward Cove to Saxman Totem Park. There is a bus stop kind of near Ward Cove. It might be a 10-15 minute walk to get to the bus stop. Explore the map.
There is a bus stop at Saxman Park.
It seems that the bus stop to Saxman Park is along the main road, since I saw people get dropped off.
Then you will just walk straight up on the street that goes “inland” to get to Saxman Park.
It will be obvious when you are there.
You will just follow the totem poles!
The bus stop to get back to the cruise port is directly in front of the totem park across the street from the gift shop.
To get the bus back to the cruise port, you don’t need to wait by the main road.
The bus will come along basically in front of the grassy area of the park.
It’s around a 10 minute bus ride between the Ketchikan cruise port and Saxman Park.
Ketchikan cruise port to Saxman Park by bus will be around 10 minutes.
You can follow along on google maps to know when you’re getting near.
Since Saxman Park is a big tourist spot, I would think that the bus driver will announce when the Saxman Park bus stop is coming up.
You can also expand out on google maps to see all the bus stops.
The bus driver will be announcing upcoming bus stops, so you can follow along that way too.
It’s $2 in cash for a one-way bus fare.
No change will be given, so you want to have $4 in dollar bills, $2 each way.
You can pay your bus fare using the Ketchikan bus app.
If you want to go cashless on the Ketchikan bus, you can download the Token Transit app and pay your bus fare that way.
You will show your phone to the bus driver when you get on the bus.
The Silver Line South bus TO Saxman State Park is once an hour at 43 minutes past the hour.
You will take the Silver Line bus SOUTH to get to Saxman Park.
At the time that I took the Ketchikan bus in May 2023, the bus was scheduled once an hour at around 43 minutes past the hour, from the bus stop near the main Ketchikan cruise port.
So for example, there is a bus to Saxman Totem Park from the Ketchikan cruise port at 8:43am, 9:43am, 10:43am, 11:43am, etc.
You can use google maps to confirm the bus timings.
It seems it’s normal for the bus to be a few minutes late.
So don’t stress if the bus does not arrive on time.
You’ll get dropped off by bus along the highway and then it’s a short walk to Saxman Totem Park!
The Silver Line North bus FROM Saxman Park is once an hour at around 10 to 15 minutes past the hour.
You will take the Silver Line bus NORTH to get back to the cruise port from Saxman Park.
This part is easy since I think it will be the only bus that will be picking you up from Saxman Park.
At the time that I took the Ketchikan bus in May 2023, the bus was scheduled once an hour around 10 to 15 minutes past the hour, from the Saxman Park bus stop.
So for example, there is a bus from Saxman Park to the Ketchikan cruise port at 10:14am, 11:16am, 12:13pm, 1:14pm, etc.
You can use google maps to confirm the bus timings.
When you are on the bus going to Saxman Park, you can ask the bus driver for confirmation about the time of the bus to get back to the cruise port.
If you are still at home and doing a little planning, then another way you can use google maps is to adjust the time.
For example, you can see the suggested bus route if you want to be back to the cruise port by 1pm.
The bus stop back to the Ketchikan cruise port is in front of the Saxman Park gift shop.
You’ll take the bus back to downtown Ketchikan.
One hour is enough time at Saxman Park.
Actually, 15 minutes is enough time.
Of course, you can always spend longer if you want to take in your surroundings in more slowly.
But for most people, you won’t need more than 30 minutes at Saxman Park.
That is being generous.
If you’re not doing a tour, there really is no way to get an explanation of what you’re looking at.
This is another reason why Totem Bight State Park is better. You can get an info brochure at Totem Bight so you can get a better understanding of what you’re looking at.
So for example, your plan for Saxman Park can be like this:
- 9:43am: bus from Ketchikan cruise port
- 10am: arrive at Saxman Totem Park
- Walk around to see totem poles at Saxman Park
- 11:16am: bus from Saxman Park (or, you could even get on the 10:14am bus)
- 11:30am: arrive at Ketchikan cruise port bus stop (or, be back around 10:30am)
So if the bus is on time leaving from the cruise port and you want it to be a quick trip, then you could even be fine with just 15 minutes at Saxman Park.
You can see a bunch of totem poles at Saxman Park!
Walk around, look at the details of the totem poles, you have time until the bus comes!
And that’s a bit about getting to Saxman Park by bus!
I went to Saxman Park in May 2023. I was on a Princess cruise that made a stop in Ketchikan. Your experience may vary!
See more about how to take the bus in Ketchikan (with pictures!)
HAPPY BUS RIDE TO SAXMAN PARK!
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