If you can’t afford a wildlife cruise, try Whale Park, 4 miles south of downtown, which has a boardwalk and free spotting scopes overlooking the ocean. Best of all is listening to whale songs over the 'hydrophone.' Fall is the best time to sight cetaceans; as many as 80 whales – mostly humpbacks – can gather between mid-September and year's end.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Sitka National Historical Park
2.67 MILES
This mystical juxtaposition of tall trees and totems is Alaska’s smallest national park and the site where the Tlingits were defeated by the Russians in…
3.18 MILES
East of downtown along Lincoln St, the Russian Bishop’s House is the oldest intact Russian building in Sitka. Built in 1843 by Finnish carpenters out of…
3.29 MILES
Built between 1844 and 1848, this church stood for more than 100 years as Alaska’s finest Russian Orthodox cathedral. When a fire destroyed it in 1966,…
3.43 MILES
Old headstones and Russian Orthodox crosses lurk in the overgrown and quintessentially creepy Russian Cemetery (located at the north end of Observatory St…
2.71 MILES
This is no zoo, or bird show for gawping kids. Rather, think of it more as a raptor hospital and rehab center – and a good one at that. The 17-acre center…
2.83 MILES
East along Lincoln St on the former campus of Sheldon Jackson College is Sheldon Jackson Museum. The college may be gone, but this fine museum, housed in…
Old Sitka State Historical Park
8.08 MILES
There are no physical remains of Old Sitka (known historically as the Redoubt), the original Russian settlement in the area, although archaeological digs…
3.35 MILES
Walk west on Lincoln St for the walkway to Castle Hill. Kiksadi clan houses once covered the hilltop site, but in 1836 the Russians built ‘Baranov’s…
Nearby Sitka attractions
1.42 MILES
If you haven’t seen a bear in the wild – or don’t want to – this rescue facility offers an opportunity to observe brown bears that were abandoned as cubs…
2. Sitka National Historical Park
2.67 MILES
This mystical juxtaposition of tall trees and totems is Alaska’s smallest national park and the site where the Tlingits were defeated by the Russians in…
2.71 MILES
This is no zoo, or bird show for gawping kids. Rather, think of it more as a raptor hospital and rehab center – and a good one at that. The 17-acre center…
2.83 MILES
East along Lincoln St on the former campus of Sheldon Jackson College is Sheldon Jackson Museum. The college may be gone, but this fine museum, housed in…
2.87 MILES
Sitka’s best children’s attraction is this hatchery and science center. Outside, the facade is being restored to its original appearance. Inside the…
3.18 MILES
East of downtown along Lincoln St, the Russian Bishop’s House is the oldest intact Russian building in Sitka. Built in 1843 by Finnish carpenters out of…
3.18 MILES
Within Sitka's recently rebuilt Harigan Centennial Hall, the town history museum was undergoing a full renovation at last visit. It was due to reopen in…
3.29 MILES
Built between 1844 and 1848, this church stood for more than 100 years as Alaska’s finest Russian Orthodox cathedral. When a fire destroyed it in 1966,…