Where to get national park passport stamps (and national forest stamps!) during your Alaska cruise

Hi there!

There are a number of national parks and national forests that you can visit in Alaska where you can get a souvenir stamp! This includes Alaska national park passport stamps for your national park passport book!

This means that there are cancellation stations (aka stamp stations) that you can look for during your Alaska cruise.

If you don’t have a national park passport book, there is no better time to start your mission of visiting 400+ National Park Service sites than your trip to Alaska! I’ll let you know below where you can get your book.

There are over 400 national park units, and that means your mission can be to go to 400 national park units to get a stamp! This includes national parks of different types of designations, including national parks, national historical parks, national preserves, and more.

There is a difference between national parks (managed by the National Park Service) and national forests (managed by the US Forest Service). The national park passport will only include units managed by the National Park Service, so it won’t include national forests.

But, national forests also do give out stamps (at least in Alaska they do!), so you may want to seek out national forest stamps during your Alaska cruise too!

You will have the opportunity to visit both national park sites and national forest sites during an Alaska cruise… well, depending on your cruise port stops, of course!

 

 

Even if you don’t have a national park passport book, you can stamp anything you want*, so you might want to bring something along for the purposes of national park stamps and national forest stamps as a sort of scrapbook item!

*Well don’t stamp your REAL government-issued passport that is used for international travel. That is actually a very bad thing to do and can make your passport invalid.

As a visitor of 20 regular national parks and more than 10 national forests across the United States, I wanted to go to national parks and national forests during my Alaska cruise! I am not a big stamp collector myself so I don’t have all of the stamps of places I went to with a stamp station.

But here is a list of national parks and national forests I’ve come up with that you can seek out ink stamps of “national” public lands!

 

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1. Glacier Bay National Park on the cruise ship

If you’re on a cruise ship that goes to Glacier Bay National Park, national park rangers will be on the cruise ship with you all day long. They will be bringing along a national park stamp!

There will be a desk set up with national park souvenirs that you can buy, and the passport stamp will likely be near this. You can check your cruise line’s activity schedule the day before to find out the exact location.

 

 

Tip: Listen out for the public announcements throughout the day. The park rangers will be talking all things glaciers and wildlife as it related to Glacier Bay and Alaska! If you’ll be spending time during Glacier Bay on your balcony, tune into the bridge camera channel on your TV so you can hear the public announcements through your TV!

 

2. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center, Skagway Unit

You can go to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center to get a national park stamp in Skagway cruise port.

This is in downtown Skagway which is within walking distance of the cruise port. So it can be one of the easy walks in Skagway that you do.

There will be stamps for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and the Chilkoot Trail, which is a national historic trail.

 

 

Tip #1: Make the visitor center your first stop in downtown Skagway so you can check out the park ranger program schedule. This way, you can plan out your day based on any of the special talks you want to attend!

Tips #2: To explore more of the Klondike Gold Rush history, you can take a shuttle to the Gold Rush cemetery, and while you’re at it, you can do a short hike to nearby Lower Reid Falls!

 

3. Sitka National Historical Park visitor center

You can go to the Sitka National Historical Park visitor center to get a national park stamp in Sitka cruise port.

This is within walking distance of where the cruise port shuttle will drop you off in downtown Sitka.

If Sitka is a tender port for you, it’s also within walking distance of where your water shuttle (tender boat) will drop you off.

I was not paying attention for the national park stamp when I walked into the visitor center, but a google review confirms that someone did get a stamp for the national park passport! (You can filter for the word “stamp.”)

Tip #1: Sitka National Historical Park is the best place in Sitka to see totem poles! (If you’re interested in totem poles, there are also lots of totem poles in Ketchikan!)

Tip #2: Another site managed by the National Park Service that you may also be interested in is the Russian Bishop’s House. Sitka used to be the capital of Russian America. According to the National Park Service, the Russian Bishop’s House is “one of the few surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North America” and “one of only four Russian period buildings left in North America.” You can do this as an easy walk in Sitka!

 

4. Kenai Fjords National Park visitor center (Seward)

I haven’t been to Seward cruise port, but it seems like you can get the stamp at the Kenai Fjords National Park visitor center in downtown Seward (map) and the Exit Glacier nature center.

Out of these 2 stamp locations, you will want to go to the Exit Glacier nature center to actually be in the national park! (map.) It seems like the Exit Glacier shuttle is the best way to get there from the cruise port.

Other than going to the Exit Glacier, the best way to experience the Kenai Fjords is to do a Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour. There is a review from 2019 that says someone got their national park passport stamp on the boat tour.

 

5. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Seattle Unit visitor center

If you’ll be starting your cruise in Seattle, then you can also go to the Seattle Unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park to get a national park stamp.

The visitor center is located in downtown Seattle, so it’s easy to get to if you plan to explore Seattle before your cruise.

I stayed in downtown Seattle and walked to the visitor center. You can make a totem pole a part of your walking route too. (map.)

 

6. Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, Tongass National Forest (Juneau)

You can go to the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center to get a national forest stamp in Juneau cruise port. This is in the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area of Tongass National Forest.

There were also pre-stamped little pieces of paper that were available for the taking at a little booth that you’ll see as you start your walk to the visitor center.

There are Mendenhall Glacier tours that go to the visitor center, including a combo tour of the Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching. You can also go there on your own, including by bus.

Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States. It covers much of Southeast Alaska, which is where you will be spending most of your time during your Alaska cruise.

Tip #1: The Mendenhall Glacier is the most popular glacier to see from land during an Alaska cruise. From the visitor center is actually one of the best spots to see the glacier, but you’ll also want to walk to Photo Point to see it too. Many people also make the walk to Nugget Falls while here.

Tip #2: Some of the other best ways to experience Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area is the Mendenhall Glacier Ice Adventure tour or hiking the West Glacier Trail. But, while you will be doing these activities in Tongass National Forest, you won’t be going to a spot that will allow you to get a national forest stamp.

 

👆 Stamp station at Mendenhall Glacier visitor center in Tongass National Forest in Juneau cruise port. FAQ: Why isn’t Mendenhall Glacier listed in the national park passport book? Answer: The Mendenhall Glacier is managed by the US Forest Service, so you won’t find it listed in your national park passport. But the Mendenhall Glacier stamps are blue to match the Pacific Norhwest and Alaska region towards the back of the book.

 

 

See more about going to the Mendenhall Glacier on your own.

 

 

7. Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, Tongass National Forest (Ketchikan)

I haven’t been to the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center in Ketchikan cruise port, but it seems like you can get a national forest stamp here. This is located in downtown Ketchikan and within walking distance of the cruise port. (map.)

Tip: According to the US Forest Service, Tongass National Forest is the “largest intact temperate rainforest in the world.” Ketchikan is a good port to experience the Alaskan rainforest. There are rainforest tours in Ketchikan, including a 2 hour combo tour with a rainforest walk and totem poles and an old-growth creek hiking tour.

 

🤔 Another national forest stamp in Ketchikan? There is a very old report on cruisecritic where someone says they got a national forest stamp while onboard a Misty Fjords boat tour, which goes through Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness which is a part of Tongass National Forest. I did see one more person reference this, but again it was very old. I haven’t seen anyone more recently mention a stamp, so I’m not sure if a stamp station is still set up onboard the boat. But, it is a way to experience Tongass National Forest! You can also see Tongass National Forest from above by doing the Misty Fjords seaplane tour!

 

8. Chugach National Forest on a boat tour (Whittier)

When you’re in Whittier cruise port, do the 26 glacier boat tour or the glacier quest boat tour and you can get a national forest stamp! These are the best excursions to do in Whittier.

There will be a national forest ranger onboard as your naturalist to explain to you all things Prince William Sound, which is the part of Chugach National Forest that the boat tour takes place.

Read the 26 glacier tour reviews.

 

👆 Chugach national forest stamp station set up by the forest ranger onboard the 26 glacier boat tour.

 

 

 

Can you get a national park passport stamp at Hubbard Glacier?

Hubbard Glacier is in Wrangell-St Elias National Park.

But even if you are on a cruise ship that goes to Hubbard Glacier, you won’t be physically in the national park, since the waters are not a part of the national park (unlike Glacier Bay).

Here is a national park map pdf that shows park boundaries. Look in the lower right corner for Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay.

So by going to Hubbard Glacier by cruise ship, you will SEE Wrangell-St Elias National Park, but you will not actually be IN the national park… so does it count?! 🤪

There is someone on cruisecritic from over 10 years ago who said they got the national park passport stamp by going to Hubbard Glacier, although I’m not sure how. 🤔

 

Denali National Park passport stamps

If you are on a cruisetour that goes to Denali National Park, well, you know that you are going to this national park! Reports indicate that there are several Denali National Park stamps that you can get.

 

How to buy a national park passport book

You can buy a national park passport book at americasnationalparks.org, or you can buy it on Amazon here: Passport to your National Parks on Amazon.

National park passport books are also often sold at national park visitor centers, although in the case of your Alaska cruise, I would buy it before you go just in case!

If your cruise starts in 2 days and it’s just not possible to get it before you go, then you can look for the passport book at the first visitor center you go to. If they don’t have it, you can stamp a piece of paper and glue it into your passport book when you do get it!

 

HAPPY STAMPING YOUR NATIONAL PARK PASSPORT!