360 Of 365: Ketchikan

   Ketchikan is known as Alaska’s “first city” due to its location at the southern tip of the Inside Passage—it is the first city you reach as you cruise north, and for many visitors, their first introduction to the beauty and majesty of Alaska.


   Just 90 miles north of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Ketchikan hugs the bluffs that form the shoreline along the southwest corner of Revillagigedo Island. Stretching 31 miles long but never more than 10 blocks wide, Ketchikan is centered on Tongass Avenue. On one side of the avenue, many businesses and homes are built on stilts out over the water, while on the other side they cling to the steep slopes and often have winding wooden staircases leading to their doors.