Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan, Alaska

Misty Fjords is about 20 miles from Ketchikan and is only accessible by ship or plane. Small cruise ships with Inside Passage itineraries often include a day sailing in this magnificent park, or an air excursion can be booked in Ketchikan.

Misty Fjords has been a National Monument since 1978 and sits in the middle of the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The area is beautiful--granite cliffs soaring towards the sky, and misty clouds covering the surrounding lush rain forest. Wildlife is plentiful, and the water is peaceful. The only distractions in Misty Fjords are the numerous flight-seeing planes, which sound like huge mosquitoes as they buzz about.

Before entering the Misty Fjords, the Spirit of Yorktown stopped near a tiny cove to pick up two young women who were serving as summer rangers in the Misty Fjords National Monument. They lived in a floating A-frame cabin, which was anchored in the cove. High tides in the Misty Fjords can change water levels by as much as 20 feet, so living on the water is a good choice. (It also may help protect them from bears.) The rangers use kayaks to move around the park, keeping trails open and doing wildlife surveys. A larger boat picks them up once a week to go into Ketchikan for some R&R and supply replenishment. They were both very knowledgeable about the Misty Fjords and the flora and fauna of southeast Alaska. Their stories of wildlife encounters (those pesky bears) were enthralling.