At first, looking at the old totems was boring. But when our guide started telling us about how a wealthy person would hold a totem to give away all their wealth and start over again as a poor person the totems seemed to come alive.

We took a $7 taxi from the cruise ship up the hill to the Totem Center. The Totem Center is very interesting and the $5 admission was reasonable. The best part was walking back down along the river and seeing the millions of huge salmon spawning in the creek! As you walk down the street you will see a wooden... More

Wonderful place to see the older native totems and learn about local Native culture.

I'd first like to mention how well done this center is. It's not huge, but it's a nice, modern building and they've designed it to really enhance the totems and displays. We started off with a short introduction by the tour guide. He explained a few things to us and he presented it very well. Following that, we had free... More

We hadn't really intended to stop here but our hike led us up the hill to the hatchery and we bought the combo ticket! I am glad we did. While we had admired the beauty of the totem poles on our trip we didn't really understand their significance or history. This small museum is a great ambassador. We discouvered totem... More

It's not the largest museum in the world, but it's huge considering the subject matter. It must be terribly difficult to preserve wooden poles that were left outside for decades. The museum has done an excellent job of portraying the historical significance and geographical spread of totems in the region, as well as preserving those they could obtain. Some have... More

If the salmon are spewing, this is a good destination after following the Creek St boardwalk and then trail upstream. The museum is small but well-done.

We had some time to utilize before a kayaking tour and we took the free shuttle bus here. After being encouraged to buy the combo ticket for the fish hatchery tour too, we entered the building to find 5 (!) original totem poles which are beautifully displayed and preserved. They are carved, not painted at all like Alaskan totem poles... More

My wife and I had the day in Ketchikan, as one of our cruise ship pit stops. We didn't know what to expect, but besides shopping or going off on an excursion, there are not a lot of choices in the town. It was a beautiful day so we walked to the Totem Heritage Center (as well as the Fish... More