| Page Views: 8,187 Last Visit to Sitka: October, 2003 | Sitka--One of the MOST beautiful places in the US! by PA2AKgirl - last update: Jan 27, 2005 |
An Incredible place to visit | Often called Alaska's most beautiful seaside town |
I lived in Sitka for the better part of 2003 working as a National Park Ranger. Having never been to Alaska, and moving directly from New York City, I didn't know what to expect, but it was truly amazing. The people are virtuous, friendly and sincere. They believe in what the do and the Tlingits have an amazing culture. They still carve totem poles and other things out of red cedar, they do beading, basketry, weaving, silversmithing...just to name a few things...and it's beautiful. |
|  | And an even better one to call home:)) I would like to address some of the questions I get about Sitka and clear up some of the "confusion"Alaska is a huge state.
Whereas Texas, the largest state in the lower 48 is 261,914 square miles, Alaska is 570,374 square miles. I worked in the southeast, down by British Columbia. Juneau, the state capital, is 87 miles to the north/northeast Therefore, not everything you hear about Alaska applies to the whole state. For example:
Sitka doesn't receive 6 months of daylight, 6 months of darkness. Again, we are talking about someplace way south of the "interior" (Sitka--at 56 degrees north, Fairbanks--64+ degrees) Sitka does get a lot of daylight in the summer...it gets dark at like 11pm and light at 4 or something, but there's never the 6/6
Sitka doesn't get cold. In fact, the winters are MUCH warmer there than they are in Pennsylvania. They get to right around freezing, not much below in the dead of winter. Summers are moderate...average in the mid 60s.(F) Why is this? Because it's right on the ocean and its climate is controlled by the warm ocean currents, the same currents that moderate a lot of coastal towns.
The majority of the native population living in Sitka is "Tlingit". To learn more about the native groups in Alaska, please refer to this site: Alaska Native Heritage Center
And finally, while a lot of people are familiar with the saying "In Alaska, the odds are good, but the goods are odd" it doesn't apply to Sitka. There is pretty much an even ratio of males to females. Sorry, ladies. Are the goods odd? Well, go check them out yourself :-) |
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| Pros: | "Beautiful, Clean, amazing wildlife, Decent nightlife, friendly people" | | Cons: | "Expensive to live there, lots of rain, only accessible by plane or ferry" | | In A Nutshell: | "GO! You will fall in love with this place and be surprised how it's unlike your stereotype of Alaska" |
PA2AKgirl's Sitka Travel Tips
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 Comments for PA2AKgirl about Sitka | | | | |
StumpTim Wed Jul 15, 2009 01:45 UTC
wow - I remember those totems - I went fishing there 15 years ago - and I want to go back - is Rosy's Bar still there in the town of Pelican? | llifetimealaskan Wed Jul 15, 2009 00:54 UTC
other sandy beaches in sitka include John Brown's beach by the coastguard pavillion, and HPR rec by magic island. Plus you can take a boat to many surrounding islands with gorgeous beaches. | starship Tue Jun 3, 2008 18:58 UTC
Nice page! Lots of info. here for first timers and return visitors (never heard of banana slugs!!). With the Alaska pipeline, why is gas so high there? We're at about $4/gal. here now. | CesVT Mon Feb 26, 2007 00:38 UTC
Hi, Katey! I'm so glad I read your page! I have been dreaming of visiting Sitka ever since I read Michener's "Alaska", and you just almost brought tears to my eyes... Now, I DEFINITELY want to go!! (now, still a lot of planning and saving to do***sigh***) |
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