Ketchikan & Prince of Wales in Southeast Alaska

We flew to Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island in Southeast Alaska with the intention of taking the ferry to Prince of Wales Island to ride the roads there. The whole area is a rainforest. There are 45 miles of road out of Ketchikan and we rode them both directions.

The South Tongass Highway out of Ketchikan passes through the Native Alaskan village of Saxman. This area is the ancestral home of the Tlingit and Haida Indians, well known for their colorful artwork and totem poles-- super cool to see from the bike!

Rue and I took the three hour ferry from Ketchikan to Hollis on Prince of Wales Island. We spent the night in a cabin in Hollis and started our ride the following morning. On the first day out the Polk Camp road we stopped at a salmon ladder-- a man-made aid to help the salmon swim up a raging river… read more

We started the second day on Prince of Wales in Klawock. Christina, Linda and Lottie flew over to explore the island with us. For their entire trip we had straight sun-- the only sunny days on POW for the whole summer. It's been the rainiest summer in 50 years. Lucky ducks! We had a plan to camp at Memorial… read more

From our camp at Memorial Beach, Christina and I rode north to the end of the road at La Bouchere Bay. We turned around and met the rest of the group in Whale Pass and continued together to Sarkar Lake to camp.

I woke up at 6am while everyone was still in their tents sleeping to connect the loop out of Whale Pass. I didn't see a single car and there was incredible mist in the air. Rue surprised me by picking me up in our friends' rental truck, so I didn't have to ride all the way back to camp.

Christina and I rode sweet pavement out to Coffman Cove to meet the rest of the crew. It's a cute little town with a burger joint and a community greenhouse.

I rode this little Coffman Cove loop connector solo. My aim was to ride all of the roads on Prince of Wales Island from The Milepost guidebook-- sometimes this made me ride funny little stretches with hitches in between to make sure I didn't miss any. We had amazing weather for the duration of our trip… read more

From the map, we thought we'd be tracing the beach with great views. Prince of Wales Island is a rainforest and the roads are surrounded by trees. Regardless, it was still a fun punchy ride. We camped at a baseball field in Thorne Bay for the night.

The Native Alaskan village of Kasaan was a highlight for the whole trip on Prince of Wales. It's right on the water. On such a hot day, we got in the water to cool off. Theres is a forested park with totem poles and a long house. Really special to see. On our final day in Prince of Wales (before catching… read more

Rue and I expected to hitch a ride from Control Lake to Craig to ride the remainder of the road. Christina surprised us in the truck with burgers and fries and gave us a lift-- this totally made my day. Craig is the biggest city on the island. Rue and I had a blast riding this stretch of road together… read more

We spent the night at the ferry captain's rental cabin near the ferry terminal at Hollis. A quick half mile ride got us down to the ferry and we took it back to Ketchikan. We flew out the following morning. Super lucky to have such good weather, especially considering this place is a rainforest.