Ketchikan Kayak Company

Ketchikan Kayak Company

Ketchikan Kayak Company
5
Bike ToursEco ToursPrivate ToursNature & Wildlife ToursKayaking & Canoeing
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:30 AM - 7:00 PM
About
Relaxing and educational eco-tours in the wonderland of Southeast Alaska by Sea Kayak or Guided E-bike & Hiking Tours.
Ketchikan, Alaska
Meets animal welfare guidelines

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Tours and Tickets by Ketchikan Kayak Company
Travelers talk about

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

5.0
5.0 of 5 bubbles1,211 reviews
Excellent
1,166
Very good
33
Average
4
Poor
5
Terrible
3

Debbie M
Los Gatos, CA130 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021 • Couples
We signed up for this ebike and hiking adventure at the last minute. The weather was rainy, but mild temperatures. The staff was very friendly and professional. They agreed to pick us up just one block from our airbnb and took us to the place to get our ebikes and rain gear. Danielle took us for a lovely 6 mile ebike ride where we found the trailhead to the rainforest hike. It as a great hike, not too strenuous, but lots of steps up and down. Good waterproof hiking shoes with traction are important. They do provide rain pants and rain jackets if needed. Danielle pointed out lots of vegetation along the trail and spied a momma bear on the shore of the waterfall eating a salmon. Her cubs were up a tree. If was very exciting to see these beautiful wild bears in their natural habitat. Bear sightings are not guaranteed, so we felt fortunate to see them. After the hike we motored back to the starting point where the offered light snacks and beverages. I highly recommend this tour for those who enjoy getting away from the crowds and enjoying the great outdoors. We LOVED every minute of it.
Written August 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Drew S
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2021 • Friends
I would recommend this company 1000 times over to anyone traveling to Ketchikan. I called relatively last minute once I realized how beautiful the weather was going to be and they accommodated it so easily. This was one of my first activities in Ketchikan and I am so grateful for Devon for hooking us up with such a beautiful spot!! I could have sat out on the water all day if I had the choice because it was absolutely breathtaking.
Written May 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Stacy
Denver, CO5 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2021 • Solo
Trip Advisor lists so many things to do in Ketchikan but almost no one runs outside of summer. 😔
It was so great to find Devon. He’s local and will take you out paddling year round. Has all the gear you need to stay warm and dry too! So informative and fun. Thanks so much!
Written April 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chris B
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Couples
Huge shoutout to Devon and Stan for running a last minute self-drive zodiac tour with just two of us. We had just had a previously scheduled tour cancelled and Devon was able to call Stan back from other assigned work at the last minute to get him to be our guide out on the water. We had a great time out there with Stan who was very knowledgeable and friendly and really it was the best outcome for us on a day that did not look good from the outset. Highly recommend these guys, but especially for the ‘drive your own zodiac’ tour which was a ton of fun.
Written August 11, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Laura E
Louisville, KY4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2020 • Family
We rented kayaks from Ketchikan Kayak Company. It was so nice to find a local company still open during this crazy time.

Devon, the owner of the company and a local was easy to communicate with and very accommodating. We met Matt at the shop to gear up and head out. Matt was very helpful and fun to talk with.

It’s so nice to see these small local company’s open and ready for business! I highly recommend this company!!
Written July 17, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Amanda Z
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2021 • Solo
I did the kayak tour with Grayson and had the best time. It was so relaxing and I got to see tons of wildlife. Devon was extremely helpful from the first contact to pointing out the best lunch spots in town when he dropped us back off. If I ever get the chance to be in Ketchikan again I’ll definitely be doing this again
Written November 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

RocketCityMama
Huntsville, Alabama19 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2012 • Family
We were cruising on Disney Cruise Line and had about five hours in Ketchikan. In the course of my trip planning, I had decided to make all our port plans independently in order to avoid paying top dollar and being herded around. Trip Advisor, of course, being a top tool in making my choices.

I started out by contacting Howard via e-mail with some questions. I had some concerns considering the ages of my children (one of which just turned seven, the minimum age for the tour, a few weeks prior). He assured me that most children enjoy the tour, but honestly stated slow/educational and some children with low attention spans might get bored. Since my girls (ages 7 and 9) are curious learners with decent attention spans, I thought they might enjoy it.

Now, let me say here that before committing to the trip, I asked my daughters what they thought. At first, they gave a vehement fear-driven "NO!". When I said "kayak" I think they pictured the slender sporty type navigating through class IV rapids. I went on YouTube and searched for "Ketchikan Kayak Company" and found a video of the tour that I think pretty accurately showed some of what you are likely to experience. (So go look yourself!) Upon seeing this, they were very enthusiastic about the kayak plan.

Howard was early meeting us right at the dock, and fortunately, so were the few other passengers from another cruise line. We were transported a short scenic drive in a van up to the the marina.

First, worth mentioning is up at this marina there were more bald eagles than I had ever seen in one place in my life (and this was the day after we went to "Eagle Beach" in Juneau and only spotted a few distant flights.) There were mature eagles, brown juveniles, locking talons, fishing, flying around, perched on a rock in the water practically in spitting distance. Truly, an experience by itself.

After watching the eagles and gearing up in waterproof gear and life vests (provided), we boarded tandem kayaks. Let me start this story by saying the other kayaks were being paddled by two grown men each, save for ours. Each (my husband and I) with one of our young daughters.

After a bit of acclimating, we were off! The tour started off much like the tour we watched on YouTube, and we were just having a grand ol' time. Our guide Howard (solo in a much more agile kayak) was careful to make sure each of my daughters got up close and personal with seastars and sunstars, and a very friendly, curious seal swam incredibly close to our kayak. Very exciting!

The kayaks were fairly easy to maneuver (at least compared to my experience with really ratty Girl Scout issue canoes), even as a single adult doing most of the work for a child. I'll mention here our ONLY complaint, is that my husband found his kayak exceedingly difficult to maneuver. His opinion as a physicist is that given the fact that he had a very lightweight 7-yr-old seated in the front of his kayak, he had no authority with the rudder that some ballast should have been added in his situation. (Hopefully Howard is reading this and can note for the future). Probably 10-20 lbs would have done it, as I weigh about the same as my husband and my 9 yr old is about 15 lbs heavier than our 7-yr-old and I was doing alright.

So after kayaking around for a couple hours, seeing sea lions, eagles, and just some beautiful seascapes, we ended up getting some light rain and then some wind. That increased. And increased. I'm not talking crazy windstorm or anything, but enough wind to be uncomfortable, and enough where a chubby housewife like me and a lanky desk-job guy like my husband began to question our capacity to tandem kayak with an almost-useless child to "help" against certain currents.

Howard is this super mellow guy and very helpful and non-threatening. He advised we wait out the wind, but when it didn't die down it came down to a "Better Off Dead" moment (if you've seen the 80s Cusack film). "See that opposite shore? Point your kayak there. Paddle, and if something pushes you sideways, turn."

Right-O!

So off I go, into the blue, and the shore seems a million miles away. The wind and drizzle pelting into my face, my glasses laced with raindrops, and my daughter screaming "THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE ON THE WEBSITE!" and paddling all but uselessly until I have to just tell her to stop in order to prevent her from just disrupting my momentum with her random flailing and paddle-collisions. My husband and younger daughter are faring even worse, but Howard is hanging back with them keeping them on coarse, sometimes by physically nudging their kayak with his when necessary.

There I am, convinced we might very well have to be rescued by the Coast Guard, though I am being assured by the co-guide that I am, in fact, making progress, in spite of all appearances to the contrary.

Knowing that, short of being rescued in an embarrassing ordeal, the only way I'm getting to that opposite shore is to paddle with all I've got, I steel myself to keep going. My back is killing me (leaning forward helps, just FYI) and my forearms are burning, and I am very acutely feeling at a severe disadvantage to the two-grown-men kayaks that have made substantially more progress than I have.

Just then, my deficiency is is rewarded by the sound of a blowhole shooting off water and a splash. I turn around, and there, behind me, but in front of my husband's kayak, are a couple of *humpback whales*! NO JOKE! I am far close than any whale-watching tour gets, I am awed, amazed, and a little bit SCARED! I can't stop, I've got this hard-earned momentum, a little girl in the kayak with me, and there are fifty foot long animals rolling in the water behind me. I keep looking back at these amazing animals, and use the boost of adrenaline from the experience to keep going faster than ever. AMAZING! My husband and younger daughter got an even better view.

By the time I get to the rocky shore, the wind dies down, and two more humpbacks are swimming about not far at all, giving my daughter and I a fantastic view as we recover from our ordeal, before we see them sounding deep.

So there I am just blown away by this literary story arc of an experience I've just had in my three-hour kayak tour. CRAZY.

Of course, our experience had a lot of random circumstances come together, and I imagine each tour is different. All I can say is, don't let concerns about kids, about being nonathletic, about rain, get in your way of trying this experience if you have an interest in doing it. If you have a good attitude and enjoy nature and adventure I can't see how you wouldn't enjoy this trip, even if there are no whales or zephyrs throwing drama into the mix. I can't imagine a more gorgeous environment in which to kayak, and you are in great hands with Ketchikan Kayak Co.

I also have to say, I think it is an excellent value - while much pricier than just renting a kayak and going for it, it is still FAR more reasonable than any comparable cruise-affiliated excursion and what you are paying for in terms of safety, area expertise and time-management while out on the water is WELL worth it.
Written May 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Linda L
San Francisco, CA134 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2017 • Couples
We took the electric bike and forest hike in June 2017. The company provided protective clothing in case the weather was wet (it wasn't) and to keep out the wind. The e-bikes were such fun for us "seniors" (65+) and we followed a road up into national or regional forest with very little effort. They gave us practice time in the parking lot before we set out so we'd know how to manage the bikes, that really helped as the bikes are much heavier than regular ones. The tour had a lead and tail guide, but we were the only guests along with two naturalists.
The forest hike/walk was really informative as the company guides and the two naturalists shared many facts and queried each other for more information on the flora and fauna of the area. Facts about the history of the area were also shared. The hike ended at the beach and the guides were able to spot the spouts of some distant whales (my eyes are not so sharp). This was a really special tour due to the friendly guides, the off-the-beaten-track location, and getting to ride the e-bikes!
We regretted that due to the age limit we weren't able to bring any of our grandchildren with us, but can understand that children would not be able to manage the heavy cycles. Our grand daughter loved the phots that we brought back that included the guide's dog who hiked with us.
Written December 26, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Jeff_Frazier
Louisville, KY72 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2018 • Family
Meghan and Danny were excellent guides. We crossed the channel to watch eagles guarding their nests and sea lions playing in a cove in Clover Island. We had a great experience and highly recommend the kayak tour
Written June 13, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

LDAFLL
Plantation, Florida, United States4 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2014 • Family
This is our second trip to Alaska and our second time kayaking in Ketchikan. The first time was enjoyable but we decided to use a different company for a different location. Howard was extremely professional with the reservations, even going as far to move up the time to accommodate our ships departure. He never takes a large group, we were 7 in 4 kayaks. This kayaking was wonderful and better than our first experience. Our first time the guide rushed us from place to place and it always seemed like a sprint to see something else. With Howard we went at a pace that enabled us to see and feel the beauty and nature around us. We saw Bald Eagles, nests, sea otters, land animals and just really had a good time talking with Howard and learning about life in Alaska. I reccommend it highly. It was my husbands and my favorite activity in Alaska and both our daughters also enjoyed it immensely. Not to be missed.
Written June 3, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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