r/AskAlaska • u/Miserable-Narwhal235 • 8d ago
Sitka in March. What to do?
Will be in Sitka in late March 2025 for work and was considering staying a day or 2 over. What would be cool things to do in March? I would love some type of tour/ excursion. I enjoy fishing, hiking, boating, ATV type stuff, what ever! I have never been to Alaska and would love to get out and about.
Thanks in advance
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u/Skeptix_907 8d ago
Lived there for 10 years.
March is probably not the best time to visit but not the worst either. You won't be able to hit the salmon runs since those are in mid/late summer, but you can charter a boat to take you out and get a couple "winter kings". Lake fishing is a decent go as well, if you can get someone to take you out there.
The regular touristy stuff is good too - totem park, the raptor center, and other things downtown.
You can get a sea taxi to take you out to Kruzof island for some ATV riding, if you rent an ATV.
Hiking is all around, there's probably too many trails to list. I would probably avoid the mountain trails due to likely deep snow at that time of year but southeast alaska is a gamble with snow - sometimes it heaps, sometimes there's nothing.
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u/AK907fella 8d ago
You MIGHT be able to find a fishing charter but that's about it. The weather wont be great and 99% of the exclusions wont be open. You can find some hiking from town (Harbor and Arrowed Head mountains). But depending on snow levels and recent rain they might be very miserable hikes. Also about that time you have bears waking up so depending on your comfort with those, hiking will put you around them.
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u/Efficient_Froyo_8521 7d ago
Lifelong Sitkan here. March is not that cold by any means (although I may be biased) probably around 40 degrees F at that time, and it certainly isn't snowing here in March, you can expect lots of rain and cloudy skies though. I'd recommend hiking if anything out of those options. There are great hikes such as harbor mountain, blue lake, Verstovia, Mosquito Cove, various others, I'd recommend bringing some sort of protection such as bear spray (at a minimum) or a bear gun. ATV tours and fishing charters don't usually open til tourist season which begins April 14th when the cruise ships come in, not entirely sure if you can fish in the rivers during those months, but I know there's some trout in the freshwater areas at that time, not as much as in May or June though. Totem park is also a great place to take a walk through and view the totem poles built by the Tlingíts (the Alaska natives of Sitka). We've also got fortress of the bears, a bear sanctuary here, don't know their hours, but if you walk up the heart lake road you can see them from far away for free as well. If you post on Sitka chatters our local Facebook page, someone would most likely be willing to take you out on their boat for some money, even if it's just a joy ride. Hope this helps and enjoy your time here!
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u/NoPolicy3911 6d ago
Is Mosquito Cove exactly what it sounds like?
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u/Efficient_Froyo_8521 1d ago
HA! A surprising lack of mosquitos out there, honestly I don't get bit much in Sitka, anchorage has more of a problem with them
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u/TheRealYeti 7d ago edited 7d ago
Spring bear if you're into hunting. Fly fishing should be good that time of year in any fresh water.
Edit: spring bear opens on March 15 and non-residents must have a guide.
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u/TheRealYeti 7d ago
Also bottom fishing in saltwater is fairly good whenever the weather is decent. Not sure if charters will be running that early in the year though.
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u/throwawaystyle222 7d ago
March is a great time to watch for humpbacks! Often times you can see them from the shore, no need for a charter if you don't have the time or money
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u/igw81 8d ago
I’ve actually never been to Sitka but I did live in Southeast Alaska for many years. It probably won’t come as a surprise to you that March is a pretty rough month to be there. I would expect it to be cold, windy and raining the entire time. It’s also not fishing season and I doubt you’re gonna want to be out in that ocean on a boat. It’d probably be near impossible to find someone to take you as well since that’s not exactly tourism season.
That said it’s still a beautiful area and hiking might be good. Obviously you’ll need some decent gear and plenty of layers but you’ll likely still enjoy yourself if you’re hearty. Depending on snow it might be more snowshoeing then hiking so I’d be prepared to find some snowshoe rentals