KETCHIKAN MOUNTAIN LAKE
TREK TO AVALANCHE CHUTE
WHERE WATER, FOREST, AND MOUNTAIN LIGHT MEET
Guided Ketchikan Shore Excursion Hike in Old-Growth Rainforest
Cruise-ship friendly departures + returns
Small groups
Return-to-Ship Guarantee**
This is more than a hike—**it’s a small-group trek from a mountain lake into rugged old-growth, leading to the base of a dramatic avalanche chute where the forest opens and the landscape suddenly feels bigger. Cool air. Rock and root underfoot. Big Ketchikan mountain energy.
Best for travelers who want: a moderately strenuous hike with a real payoff—elevation, texture, and views—guided at a steady, supportive pace with local context and a return-to-ship plan built in.
At A Glance
Ports: Ketchikan, Alaska & Ward Cove, Alaska
Duration: 3 hours
Distance: 4 miles roundtrip
Group Size: Maximum 6 guests
Activity Level: Moderately Strenuous (includes 800 ft. of elevation gain, uneven rocky, rooty terrain)
Rates: $224.50 per Adult, $199.50 per Child, $995.00 per Private Tour
Note: This is a rural hike with no facilities along the trail. Leave-no-trace and tobacco-free and drug-free policies apply.
This hike is different (in the best way)
This is the tour for guests who want something more alpine-feeling—a little more effort, a lot more elevation payoff. You start on a service road that runs up to a mountain lake, then climb into old-growth, where the trail becomes more rugged underfoot.
Your destination is the base of a real avalanche chute—a steep mountain corridor shaped each winter by snow and stone. The trees open, the air changes, and the landscape suddenly feels bigger.
We pause there to take it in—photos, water, breath—then descend back through forest and lake light to the trailhead.
What you’ll experience
A quiet trailhead and a subalpine lake with reflections of ridgelines and shifting mist
A gradual climb that transitions into rocky/rooty terrain
Old-growth spruce and cedar with birdsong and filtered light
The avalanche chute viewpoint (~1,100 ft elevation) with open mountain scenery
Place-based storytelling: ecology, cultural history, and why old-growth preservation matters
Who this is for (and who it’s not)
Great fit if…
You want a small group and a steady, supportive pace
You’re up for a moderately strenuous hike with uneven footing
You want a destination that feels more “mountain” than “park trail”
Not ideal if…
You have injuries, balance issues, or medical concerns (this one gets technical)
You need a smooth, consistent trail surface (expect roots/rocks)
You want the easiest hike option (your Magical Old-Growth Creek Trek is the more accessible choice)
Your guide (much of the time)
Teague is the owner of Tongass Teague and your guide on select departures. He’s a local, trail-seasoned naturalist at heart—equal parts calm leader, storyteller, and attentive host. Expect an unrushed pace, a sharp eye for the “small miracles” of the rainforest, and the kind of steady guidance that helps you relax and let the Tongass work on you a little.
Your guide (some of the time)
Chad is an Alaska-based guide in his second season with Tongass Teague (2026). He knows this trail inside and out—because he first experienced it as a guest in 2024 and came back to guide in 2025. Small-group, unhurried, and safely led from start to finish.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS TOUR
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Ketchikan has cruise ship berths right downtown, Berths 1 through 4. Each berth is about a ship-length long. Sometimes a fifth ship will tender out in the narrows and shuttle passengers to a floating dock near berth 3. I meet guest inside a glass shelter next to Sockey Sam’s at Berth 3.
We also have ships that dock at our Ward Cove port, which has two berths—Ward Cove West (WW) and Ward Cove East (WW)— and is about 15-20 minutes north of town. These guests need to take a complimentary shuttle from the Ward Cove Welcome Center to be dropped off at Berth 4. Then they will need to walk to meet us at Berth 3. Ward Cove guests should allow for 1.5 hours from when their ship docks to safely meeting a tour in downtown Ketchikan. And usually the last returning shuttle from Berth 4 in Ketchikan to Ward Cove is 1.5 hours before the ship departs. For the Mountain Lake Trek To Avalanche Chute, we sometimes can drop off guests at Ward Cove if our schedule allows. Please check with your guide.
For private or custom tours, arrangements can be made to pick guests up and drop them off at Ward Cove or their specific berth downtown.
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Our Ketchikan Mountain Lake Trek to Avalanche Chute and our Alpine Overlook Adventure are much more strenuous and technical hiking wise and have limited offerings of only one of those per any given day. This is not a tour for those with injuries, balance issues, or medical problems.
At 3.5 hours long and about 3.5 miles roundtrip, our Magical Old-Growth Creek Trek is our most popular and accessible hiking tour, often offered twice a day to service both morning and afternoon ships. With some stairs and rolling hills in the first section of this trail and some roots to navigate later, this tour is described as moderate. The trail is a well-maintained gravel trail.
Our Ketchikan Backcountry Adventure: SUV Tours in the Tongass is a comfortable driving tour that is only 2 hours and 15 minutes long.
If anyone has concerns about pacing, injuries, or bringing along young children, our private or custom tour options are the way to go so that we can adapt to your needs specifically.
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Yes! We live in a rainforest and it is part of what feeds the forest’s beauty and adds to our experience. So be prepared and bring waterproof rain gear, no matter the weather, as the weather can change quickly in Alaska. We also have ponchos if anyone doesn’t have rain gear.
Often, but not always the case, it can be storming downtown where the ships dock but much more pleasant at the end of the road where we hike.
