Why You Should Go Snorkeling in Ketchikan, Alaska

Covered from head to toe in black neoprene, I looked like a tough broad.

With a wiggle here and a shake there, I’d successfully gotten myself into a snug, quarter-inch-thick wetsuit. Complete with hood, boots and gloves I was as ready to go snorkeling – in Alaska.

“It just sounds totally crazy,” admits Fred Drake, owner of Snorkel Alaska. 

A PADI scuba instructor for 30-plus years, Drake has taken more than 50,000 people snorkeling in Ketchikan, where summer water temperatures average 55 degrees, but can reach a balmy 65 degrees in mid-summer. When I visited this year at the end of August, the water had already dipped to the lowest end of the range. I tried not to think about it as our group of six climbed onboard the shuttle for the short one-mile drive from the Snorkel Alaska shop to the Mountain Point snorkel site.

The tide was low and sea stars were scattered around the rocky beach. Careful of where he stepped, Drake walked into the water as if we were in Hawaii. Once he gave the all-clear, fellow guide Kurt Trennert helped me tighten my fins and I quickly but awkwardly took the plunge. As my wetsuit filled with a thin layer of water, my fears of freezing disappeared. The water was chilly, but the top-notch gear was keeping me comfortable. All I could think about was the cluster of some of the largest sea stars I’d even seen, hanging out on a rock a foot or so from my face.

Then there was the lion’s mane jellyfish, practically glowing as it floated by. I managed to roll around and get a picture, but there was nothing graceful about the way I moved in the water. Thick wetsuits limit mobility, and it took some time in the water for me to adjust. 

The shallow tide pools were teeming with colorful marine life of all shapes and sizes. We spotted a reddish-orange sea cucumber that was so plump, it might not have fit into the palm of my hand. Spiny sea urchins were everywhere. Drake has also had once-in-a-lifetime encounters with an orca and a humpback whale while on snorkeling tours. 

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No snorkeling experience is needed to participate, just a spirit for adventure will do. Toward the end of the tour, Drake likes to take more experienced snorkelers interested in doing some free diving to a 100-foot wall that lies just off the beach.

I’d tell someone on the fence, ‘Hey, you only live once.’

Guided tours run May through September, are limited to 10 snorkelers and typically include about an hour in the water. It was at about the 45-minute mark of my Alaska snorkeling adventure that I started to feel the chill.

I thought about getting out, but got distracted when a bald eagle landed on a nearby rock to enjoy a freshly caught fish. I found another massive purple sea star and managed to take a few more photos. (The thick gloves did a good job keeping my hands warm but made handling my camera tricky.) Before I knew it, another 15 minutes had gone by. That’s when I decided I was ready to get out of the water and into a hot shower. 

It must be a common thought. Back on dry ground, I was still working on removing my weight belt and hood when Drake popped open a cooler filled with warm water for the group to pour into our wetsuits. It was a feeling of pure joy. 

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Once available as a shore excursion via all the major big-ship cruise lines, snorkeling tours can now only be booked directly with Snorkel Alaska. Transportation is included; the Snorkel Alaska shuttle picks up guests at the “Liquid Sunshine” rain gauge located downtown directly across the street from the “Welcome to Ketchikan” sign. Clients should bring a bathing suit, a towel and an extra pair of socks. (It’s easier to pull on your wetsuit when you’re wearing socks.) All the necessary snorkel gear is provided.

“Almost everyone is worried about the cold unless they have some type of cold-water experience,” Drake said. “I’d tell someone on the fence, ‘Hey, you only live once.’ You will stay warm, and you are in really good hands with me and my staff in the water with you.” 

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