Sitka, Alaska things to do, see and eat... on our own!
I have finally given the port of Sitka a great deal of research! We have been to Alaska twice before but this is a new port for us to experience! So many have told us about the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bears but these types of places were NOT on our radar. We have decided that we are going to explore the local shops, eats and historical areas that this port has to offer. I've watched
Youtube videos, visited the Sitka Visitor's page and checked out TripAdvisor reviews.
The small town of Sitka sits about 6 miles from the downtown and a shuttle is available at the port to drive us into town and drop us off at the Centennial Hall. I have read to get off the ship early as the line for the shuttle gets fairly long! Our ship is in port from 7 am- 2 pm so it will be an early day. Everything is a convenient walking distance from here.
If we don't have time for breakfast on the ship before heading out for early exploration we will pick up some coffee and breakfast at one of the local coffee shops. I have found two that interest us...
Highliner Coffee 7 am- 4 pm (327 Seward Street,) or
WildFlower Cafe’ and Bakery 7 am-1 pm (327 Seward St Suite 2). Both are convenient to the shuttle drop off area.
After a quick bite we will head towards St. Michael’s Cathedral which was built 1844-48 and then off to Castle Hill, a historical spot with great views of the Sitka Sound and Mount Edgecomb, a dormant volcano. Castle Hill is the spot in which the transfer of Alaska was made to the USA from Russia.
All the great stores and places to visit should be open by this time so we will head back to Lincoln Street and towards the Russian Bishop House. I've been told to stop here early for timed tickets to a tour of the 2nd floor. This is the oldest intact Russian era building built 1842. If a tour isn't available in a timely manor then we will just take a look at the first floor area.
Next we will head to the waterfront Sitka SeaWalk past Crescent Harbor to Sitka National Historic Park/Totem Park. There is a little museum, totem pole exhibit and there are some great walking paths here. Let's face it, after all that cruise eating... we will need a walk! I collect National Park stamps and hope to pick one up here on this trip!
The Sitka Science Center sounds like a great little stop with some tidewater tanks and exhibits on our way back to pick up the shuttle... their site says $5 pp. This is a great option if the weather is something we need to escape or if we have extra time.
There are a few places that we would love to shop and to visit to pick up a shared bite to eat so we will head back down Lincoln St and hit up some of the POP up food tents, a food truck and restaurants. Some not to be missed are
Ashmov’s Food Truck where we've heard great things about their Cod tips over jasmine rice, rockfish tacos, and fish and chips.
Also, we will have to make a stop at
Sitka Pel’Meni for Russian Dumplings.
There are also some great shops along Lincoln Street and I would like to visit as many as time will allow. We certainly don't have as much time here as I would like to have to fully explore but we will hit up as much as we can!
Some of the stores on my list are
Grandfather Frost, a Russian Christmas store,
Forget Me Knot, and
Fate Accompli, which have Alaskan made gifts,
Pure, a Sea Salt Store with much more and
Island Artist Gallery which is a co-op store with about 20 merchants.
If there truly is any time left when we get back to the port I've seen that the place to go is
Halibut Point Crab and Chowder.
That's a wrap on Sitka. I know there are a ton of other things to see and do and honestly I had a hard time not booking a kayaking tour here but as it is our first time in this port we really want to see the actual town
