This Alaska All-American Road Is the Ultimate US Road Trip
The Alaska Marine Highway is the only marine route in the country designated both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road. It runs over 3,000 miles of coastal waterway, and you can take your vehicle on board and step off at any of the stops. Cruising the Gulf of Alaska, the route passes drifting icebergs, breaching whales, cliff-sided fjords, Tlingit villages, and active volcanoes. This is mostly a ferry trip, with a car if you want one, and the logistics run a week or more end to end.
The full system connects over 30 communities between the Alaskan Panhandle and the Aleutian Islands, which requires coordinating several ferry schedules and takes over a week to complete. This five-day itinerary focuses on the southeastern portion of the route from Ketchikan to Skagway. It follows the path of many of the big Alaskan cruise lines and includes stops at the Alaskan capital, Juneau, the Misty Fjords, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.
Know Before You Go
The marine highway ferries run year-round, but are subject to cancellations and closures due to weather. High winds and stormy seas can affect the ferry schedule, so you should always check before you go. Be aware that the busiest months are from May to September, so if you are traveling then, you may want to make reservations for activities and sailings in advance. Ferry fares are dependent on how far you’re traveling and what kind of ticket you need. Since you will be overnighting on board, there are accommodation options. Passengers can either book a cabin, bunk down in a deck chair, or pitch a tent on the deck. Many ferries offer entertainment and amenities on board, including a restaurant, movie theatre, playrooms, and observation decks.
Please note that the route timing is not precise, as travelers rely on ferry schedules, and ferries only stop for a few hours at each destination. If you want more time in a town, you will have to rejoin the route on a different vessel, and that could extend your itinerary beyond five days.
5 Day Itinerary on the Alaska Marine Highway
Day 1: Ketchikan
Start your journey in Ketchikan, known as Alaska's "first city." First occupied by the Native Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples, this area became the gateway to the Alaskan interior in the early 1900s as loggers, miners, fishermen, and others discovered the region's rich resources. Today, Ketchikan is a busy town with summer crowds regularly spilling in from the cruise port. There is a lot to do in Ketchikan, so take a full day to see the city. Visit the Totem Heritage Center and the Tongass Historical Museum to learn more about Ketchikan's unique history. The "first city" is also known as the "salmon capital of the world," so be sure to stop by The Local Table, a downtown restaurant run by a 5th-generation Alaskan that specializes in wild-caught seafood and offers small group classes so you can learn how to cook like a local.
While in Ketchikan, don’t miss the chance to see one of Alaska’s most incredible natural wonders, the Misty Fjords National Monument, which is located just 22 miles east of the city. The monument is a wilderness area in the Tongass National Forest that features glacier-carved valleys, steep fjords, and dense coastal rainforest. There is no road access to the monument from Ketchikan, but you can see it via a ‘flightseeing’ tour and appreciate its breathtaking beauty from the air. Local tour operators include Island Wings Air Service and Misty Fjords Air & Outfitting.
Day 2: Wrangell
Your next stop along the highway is Wrangell, a six-hour ferry ride from Ketchikan. One of the oldest towns in Alaska, Wrangell has been ruled by four nations over its long history (Tlingit, Russia, England, and the United States). This scenic harbor town is steeped in Tlingit culture, and you will notice lots of eye-catching, colorful totems as you walk the streets. See more on Shakes Island, a tiny island in Wrangell Harbor accessible via a footbridge, where you will find the Chief Shakes Tribal House, a replica of the traditional Tlingit clan house of the Naanyaa.aayi Clan.
Wrangell is also a gateway to Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park, which contains rock carvings dating back 8,000 years. Check the water before you go, as most of the petroglyphs are only viewable at low tide. Wrangell is also known for its wildlife. Local tour operators offer trips to the Anan Wildlife Observatory, where you can see eagles, harbor seals, bears, and whales. You may also want to book an excursion to see the LeConte Glacier, North America’s southernmost tidewater glacier that’s resting at the end of a 12-mile-long fjord.
Day 3: Juneau
The ferry from Wrangell stops in the quiet town of Petersburg before continuing on an 8-hour leg to Alaska's capital, Juneau. Juneau's most popular attraction is the Mendenhall Glacier. The glacier is roughly 1.5 miles wide at its terminus, with ice up to 1,800 feet deep, and it is retreating about 170 feet per year. You can get a good view from the Visitor Center, but if you have time, it's worth taking one of the many hiking trails to get closer to the glacier and see Nugget Falls, where water cascades 377 feet into a glacial lake at the glacier's edge.
If you can’t, or prefer not to, hike, you can still get amazing views of the Juneau area landscape from the Mount Roberts Tramway, which rises 1,800ft above the city. The nature center at the summit is a great place to see bald eagles and other Alaskan wildlife, and there is also a restaurant serving up local seafood. If bears are your thing, you won’t want to miss Admiralty Island. Accessible via boat, floatplane, or kayak, the island is home to around 1,600 brown bears, as well as the world’s greatest concentration of nesting bald eagles.
Day 4: Haines
The ferry ride from Juneau to Haines takes around 4 hours and 30 minutes. This is the ideal stop for outdoor adventurers ready to take advantage of the Alaskan landscape. Haines sits on the doorstep of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, which hosts one of the largest concentrations of bald eagles in the world during the fall salmon run from October through December. The nearby Chilkoot Lake State Recreation Site is one of the best places for bear viewing from June to October. Venture off the beaten path with the Haines Rafting Company, which offers a guided tour through the preserve, where you can raft the glacial rivers, watching for eagles, bears, lynx, moose, and more.
Back in town, visit Fort William H. Seward, the site of a military outpost completed in 1904 to help the army monitor the flood of gold rush era prospectors heading north. While only a few buildings of the original fort remain today, the scenic and historic space is now home to an outdoor art gallery and hotel, just a ten-minute walk from downtown Haines. For more on Haines’ frontier past, drop by the Sheldon Museum on Main Street, where you can browse exhibits on life in the Chilkat Valley throughout the centuries.
Day 5: Skagway
It's just an hour on the ferry to Skagway, the northernmost town in the Inside Passage. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Skagway was a town with one thing on its mind: gold. More than 40,000 prospectors flowed through the community at the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. You can step back in time at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, which recreates that era with a six-block replica gold rush town, several museums, and a historic railway. The park is one of Alaska's most visited, and it also includes the eerie Dyea ghost town and Slide Cemetery, where dozens of prospectors killed in an avalanche on the Chilkoot Trail in April 1898 are buried.
Skagway’s most popular tour is the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, which was built in 1898 and now offers a range of half-day and full-day excursions. The railroad provides stunning views of Laughton Glacier, Glacier Gorge, and Bridal Falls on its way to the 2,888ft high White Pass, which marks the boundary between the United States and Canada.
Adventures in Alaska
It may not be a traditional road trip, but the Alaska Marine Highway is the ultimate northern adventure. This type of vacation is ideal for travelers who have longed to explore Alaska but didn’t know where to start. It’s an accessible way to experience the far north and see its wild beauty, visit its remote towns, and meet its people. You can fit a lot into five days when you travel by ferry, and you will also learn a lot. Many of the ferries on the highway have guides onboard who provide educational and interesting talks on Alaska’s wildlife, history, and culture. Take the Alaska Marine Highway for a once-in-a-lifetime journey that will leave you with a new appreciation for the rugged north.
