The totam poles are beautiful. It does not take long to walk around and see everything. There are some up and down hill walking. You can watch through the window ant the natives carving the totams.
I was not really that interested in seeing the totem poles. We took the trolley tour because when we booked the tour prior to arriving in Ketchikan we didn't realize that it was such an easy walk to Creek Street. we really were interested in just seeing Creek Street. It was just something I wasn't interested in.
Enjoyed hearing the history of the totems...Stories, why specific colors were used, etc. There was an also an artist on-site who was repairing a damaged totem. Interesting to watch.
Took a cruise excursion here while in Ketchikan. We were first escorted into a large room that resembled a high school auditorium. We were shown a video about the Saxman village and the Tlinglit people. We were then taken to the clan house and saw an Indian dance show and the audience was invited to come up to participate as well. We were then shown the totem poles and the tour guide gave us some explanations and stories related to them. We also saw the totem pole carving house as well. We spent about 2 hours here. It was an interesting morning-- something different to see.
Went with Classic Tours with Lois Munch and learned quite a bit. Also met Nathan Jackson a famous carver.
We thoroughly enjoyed our driver/guide, Mel Briola, as we experienced the Saxman Native Village on September 12th. By this point in our 2 1/2 week trip, we were fatigued. He brought history to life with stories and humor.
Long before cruise passengers began spending money in Ketchikan on plastic totem pole letter openers made in China, the Tlingit spent their summers there fishing for salmon. A line of faceless shops can cater to all your souvenir needs, but if you want to learn about the people who shutter at the thought of die-cast totems, there’s a family-friendly tour of culturally rich Saxman Native Village ($49). Inside a grand cedar tribal house is a performance by a native dance group. The natives barely break a sweat during their auto-pilot performance, but the tourists eat it up.
Went here during a quick layover from Bellingham to Juneau via the Alaska ferry. A couple of other passengers and I took the bus from the Ferry Terminal down to Saxman. The bus turns around just south of the Village. Great inexpensive way to get around. I enjoyed my quick visit to Saxman, and was lucky to have a beautiful sunny day for it.
I took a city bus to and from Saxman Native Village and spent time checking out the totem poles, informational signs, and rainforest terrain. It's so wildly different than anything I've seen before that I really enjoyed it and would have enjoyed the "official" tour, had time permitted.
A must see if you are visiting Ketchikan. Excellent examples of Northwest Totem Poles. The carved panels on the tribal house are excellent. The carving shed is open to the public during the summer tourist season and there are normally several artists working.