Stay at Salmon Falls Resort Alaska and discover all the adventures, accommodations, restaurant dining, and more that this wondrous place has to offer.
Adventure Starts Here. That is the headline of the newly designed Salmon Falls Fishing Resort website that I had the opportunity to re-design this year. Having had the chance to visit in person last September for this project, you’ll see why I chose to break my streak of desert blog posts for this lush landscape visit.
With travel and vacations this year forever changed by the Covid-19 ( Coronavirus ) pandemic, areas like Ketchikan Alaska that have wide-open spaces, will be my alternative option over busy cities and crowded beaches this year. Alaskan Airlines is making sure travelers have extra space between guests on their aircrafts and this will be in effect until 6/30/20 – more information here. You can also view Alaska’s plan to re-open responsibly here.
Many Alaskan cruise vacations have been cancelled due to COVID, but there is still hope for those who want to keep their Alaska travel plans and be able to practice social distancing. Instead of a cruise ship filled with 2,600 people, I’ll opt for a boat of 6 or less when traveling the Inside Passage this year.
Salmon Falls Resort will re-open to travelers from June-September in 2020 and will continue to follow all recommendations for the safety of their guests as updates. They have taken new measures to protect all resort guests and employees – you can read all about that on their site here.
Getting There
The flight from Phoenix to Ketchikan was shorter than I expected. Family and friends have planned years in advance for Alaskan cruises and for some reason it was embedded in my mind that this type of trip required lots of advanced planning – this couldn’t be farther from the truth – We planned this last-minute trip in just 2 weeks prior to visiting!
In just 6 hours we had passed through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and our Boeing 737 landed on the island where Ketchikan is located. Salmon Falls Resort arranged a pickup via their resort van and a short ferry ride across the channel and a 30 min drive, we arrived at the resort.
Upon checking in, we were greeted by the friendly staff who were eager to tour us around the property and get us set up with our fishing license for the following mornings trip.
Things to Do – Visit the Waterfall!
If you don’t know by now based on my Instagram account, I’m OBSESSED with waterfalls. Salmons Falls has a waterfall on property which made for some beautiful September mornings watching the salmon swim upstream before our fishing boat left the dock. This is also a popular wedding photo location in Ketchikan, Alaska.
Enjoy a cocktail and a catch of the day
Salmon Falls Resort has a restaurant on property, The Timbers, and our package included this for our meals. Their on-site bar was also a huge hit with visitors. You’ll likely find fishermen enjoying a drink by the fireplace after a long day of fishing. Our bartender, Fabi, served up some great cocktails for us throughout our stay!
Visit Settlers Cove
After spending the day on the ocean aboard one of the resort’s custom fishing boats, Settlers Cove State Recreation Site made for a great way to end the day.
Located just north of the resort, a short shuttle drop off away, this site is home to ocean views, picnic areas and – my favorite – waterfall hiking trails.
A couple of my favorite Alaska outfit accessories:
- Love my boots – They have lasted on many adventures
- My daypack that I take EVERYWHERE
- My camera clips to hold my camera on the front of my backpack
- Black REI Jacket from my fishing trip
The Lunch Falls Loop extends over Lunch Creek, to either the beach or a one mile trail that loops through the forest. Our group decided to head to the shore first to check out all the salmon who were swimming up the stream.
THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF SALMON! Keep in mind this was still in September, which is just past the peak season to see this. There were also lots of jellyfish in the mix, some the size of basketballs washed into the river bed.
Thankfully we read the signs at the park entrance that warned of bears being in the area… it was on our mind and just as we started to head back to the trail, two baby cubs ran in front of us up the river and across. We all froze.
That was the first time I had ever seen a bear that close! As a huge Discovery Channel fan, I’ve watched enough episodes of Survivorman to know where there are baby cubs there is a momma bear nearby. We walked the rest of the trail cautiously, just waiting for a confrontation, that thankfully, never came.
Congrats to David, our photographer along with us, who has his camera out that snagged a photo of one of the cubs.
Get creative with your photography
Downtime was almost non-existent during this business trip. What a typical workday in the office would be, this most certainly was double. We wanted to capture as much as we could during the daylight we had, and even stayed up late into the evenings hoping for a glimpse of the northern lights the hotel employees had seen the night before. No luck though! We’ll have to come back :)!
Note: You can read more about the gear I typically bring on these shoots here.
We did find time to snap a couple group pictures to take home with us so we can always remember the unforgettable week in Alaska and the beauty of Tongass National Park and the surrounding areas. Salmon Falls Fishing Resort is a great place if you are looking for places to stay while visiting Ketchikan or for tourists who might be looking for thing to do when their cruise ship ports.
Spend a day or two Fishing
They don’t call it a fishing resort for nothing! Salmon fishing is the main draw for many fishermen all around to visit this “salmon capital of the world”. We spent two days with the fleet of Salmon Fall’s boats and you won’t believe who reeled in the biggest fish! – Check the link below to read all about the fishing experience at this resort.
Read more about the Salmon Fishing Experience by reading my other blog post! We came home with 11-15lbs each of fresh salmon, halibut, rockfish, lingcod, and more.
Overview
- Approx. 6HR flight from PHX, with stop in SEA, via a Boeing 737
- Resort Name: Salmon Falls Fishing Resort (16707 N Tongass Hwy, Ketchikan, AK 99901)
- Shuttle offered to and from the airport
- The Timbers Restaurant & Bar is on-site
- Salmon Falls Resort offers fishing packages, lodging and much more!
Disclosure: Some of the product links above are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I only share products I have used, tested and love!
