Harrigan Centennial Hall is the Sitka cruise shuttle drop-off and pick-up location

Hi there!

If you’re arriving to Sitka by cruise ship, your time in Sitka will start at the Harrigan Centennial Hall in downtown Sitka! Kind of.

Most cruise ships will dock at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal, which is actually about a 15 minute drive to downtown Sitka. But from the cruise port, there’s a free cruise shuttle, and that will drop you off at the Harrigan Centennial Hall.

If Sitka is a tender port for you and you will be dropped off at Crescent Harbor, then similarly, you will be pretty much right at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

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So basically, Harrigan Centennial Hall will be your starting point to exploring Sitka on your own. If you book a tour independently, chances are your meeting spot is around here too.

And I do think you should make it a point to go inside the Harrigan Centennial Hall!

When I’ve been there, they had a table with pocket-size Sitka walking maps. So if your plan is to do a little downtown Sitka walking tour on your own, you’ll want to be sure to stop in to get that.

There’s also a little museum inside, called the Sitka History Museum, and this will detail the Russian-American history of Sitka which is quite interesting. Sitka used to be the capital of Russian America, and it was also the location of the where Russia sold Alaska to the US.

And then, if you are in Sitka on a Wednesday, there’s a Russian and Ukranian cultural show that you can attend inside Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Oh, and there are bathrooms, as well as a spot to fill up your water bottle.

So once you get off the cruise ship at the Sitka Sound Cruise Terminal, you’ll follow the signs for the cruise shuttle.

Although not necessary, it’s a good idea to make a shuttle reservation. If you end up getting off the cruise ship and there’s a long line, you’ll thank yourself!

After a 15-minute ride or so, you’ll get dropped off in downtown Sitka at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Head inside so you can get paper copies of Sitka walking maps!

You can download the Sitka pocket guide map to your phone before you go.

Look for the Sitka History Museum to get your intro to Sitka. While it is small, if you take your time to read through everything, you can spend 20-30 minutes here.

If you go to the bathroom you’ll see the language of the local Native Alaskans of Sitka when you go to the bathroom! (The Tlingit people are native to the Sitka area.)

Right outside the Harrigan Centennial Hall, you’ll also find a map sign to get you started.

You’ll find these sorts of maps and directional signs all over Sitka.

So, where to go from the cruise shuttle drop-off?! You can do one or more of these things!

Walk along Crescent Harbor and the seawalk past Sage Beach to get to the Sitka National Historical Park visitor center to see totem poles.

Go to the Russian Bishop’s House to see if a national park ranger will be giving a free tour soon.

Walk to Castle Hill to see the spot Russia gave Alaska to the US.

Head to the Sitka National Cemetery.

Continue the Russian theme and get Russian dumplings at Sitka Pel-meni.

Walk to the Baranof Street trailhead or Indian River trailhead to start a hike.

Or… just start walking through downtown Sitka!