Totem Bight State Park
🎭 Alaska’s Finest Totem Pole Collection — A rainforest walkway through masterfully carved Tlingit and Haida totem poles, a replica 19th-century clan house, and a CCC-era preservation site on the National Register of Historic Places — 10 miles from Ketchikan along the Tongass Narrows
In a clearing within the Tongass National Forest — the largest national forest in the United States — where ancient Sitka spruce and western red cedar tower above a carpet of moss and fern, a collection of towering Tlingit and Haida totem poles stands in a semicircle facing the waters of the Tongass Narrows. Totem Bight State Historical Park preserves one of the finest collections of restored and re-carved totem poles in Southeast Alaska, along with a full-scale replica of a traditional 19th-century clan house — a place where art, culture, history, and the temperate rainforest converge in ways found nowhere else in the United States.
The story behind Totem Bight is one of cultural rescue. In the early 1900s, as Alaska Native populations relocated to communities offering new economic opportunities, the elaborate totem poles that had defined their village sites were left to the relentless decay of the rainforest. Cedar rots. Moss grows. Stories carved in wood disappear. In 1938, the U.S. Forest Service launched a remarkable preservation project — funded through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) — that hired master Tlingit and Haida carvers alongside young apprentices to restore original poles or create faithful replicas before the originals were lost forever.
The Totem Poles
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Collection | 14 restored/re-carved Tlingit and Haida totem poles |
| Materials | Western red cedar — traditional carving wood |
| Carvers | Master Tlingit and Haida artisans (CCC project, 1938) |
| Significance | National Register of Historic Places (1970) |
The Clan House
The park’s replica clan house represents traditional 19th-century Tlingit and Haida architecture. The structure features hand-adzed timbers, a deliberately low and small entrance (historically defensive), a central fire pit, and raised sleeping platforms. A single clan house like this would have sheltered 30 to 50 members of an extended family of the same lineage.
Cultural Significance
- Totem poles are NOT idols — they record family lineages, tell stories, commemorate events, and display clan crests
- Reading a totem pole: Figures are read from bottom to top; the bottom figure is often the most important
- Clan crests include: Raven, Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Killer Whale, Frog, and others
The Rainforest Setting
The park sits within 11 acres of temperate rainforest — the wettest forest type in North America. Ketchikan receives over 150 inches of rain annually, creating the moss-draped, emerald-green landscape that makes the carved cedar poles even more dramatic. A paved walking trail winds from the parking area through the forest to the totem pole display and clan house.
Essential Visitor Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 9883 North Tongass Highway, Ketchikan, AK |
| Hours | 7 AM – 6 PM daily, year-round |
| Fee | $5/person (May 1 – Sep 30); Free off-season |
| Distance from Ketchikan | 10 miles northwest (~20 min drive) |
What do the totem poles at Totem Bight represent?
The totem poles at Totem Bight are not religious icons — they are carved cedar records that tell stories, document family lineages, commemorate important events, and display clan crests. Each figure on a pole (Raven, Eagle, Bear, Killer Whale, etc.) represents a clan identity or a character in a traditional story. The poles at Totem Bight were restored or re-carved in 1938 by master Tlingit and Haida carvers as part of a CCC-funded cultural preservation project.
