Bordering the splendid Tongass National Forest is the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. This rainforest reserve can be found 8 miles from Ketchikan and is full of cedar trees, hemlock and tall stands of spruce. The forest floor is covered in moss, a variety of wild flowers and berries. This rainforest is sure to provide a unique travel experience to every visitor.
There are many exciting things to do and discover during a visit to the rainforest, like visiting the Alaska Wildlife Foundation center and the historic Alaska sawmill. Visitors may interact with the Alaskan Reindeers or watch how a totem pole is made by a Native master carver.
Guided tours are available to take visitors along the available trails. Most guides like making sure that every tour is as personal as it gets so each group consists of a maximum of 15 people. Each tour will take around an hour and forty minutes. A full hour is usually dedicated for the nature trail, 30 minutes for the interpretive center and 10 minutes for the sawmill. All of the guides are well trained, not only on the details of the surrounding area, but also in first aid just in case a medical emergency should arise.
The tour will take you through the rich rainforest and on to an elevated boardwalk running along the banks of Eagle Creek, known to be one of the richest salmon spawning streams in Alaska. Located across the boardwalk is a major fish hatchery.
Watching the salmon and the various plants are not the only things to do along the trail. Bear watching is now included in the tour. Platforms and sky-bridges were built in 2010 to provide unique vantage points to watch the bears in the area. The abundance of salmon in the area attracts the bears and even Bald eagles and some other birds. The Sanctuary is surely a place to visit for nature lovers.