Alaska's glaciers and wildlife get all the attention, but the culture is what keeps you coming back. From charity gambling in neighborhood bars to cannabis lounges built inside old chain restaurants, the Last Frontier runs on a frontier mindset that shapes everything from how people drink to how they socialize.
What Do You Call Your "Guys Trips"?
- Pull-tab charity gambling in local bars funds everything from veterans' organizations to youth programs, and it's as social as bar culture gets.
- Every cannabis product sold in Alaska is grown and manufactured in-state - federal law prohibits interstate commerce, creating a craft scene with genuine local character.
- Cruise lines like Virgin Voyages are bringing ships to smaller ports like Sitka and Prince Rupert in 2026, opening access to communities where culture isn't packaged for tourists.
- Native Alaskan totem carving is a living tradition you can watch in real time at heritage centers in Ketchikan and Sitka, not just artifacts behind glass.
- The post-fishing bar ritual - where the day's catch becomes the evening's story - is as Alaskan as it gets.
There's a version of Alaska that exists on postcards and cruise brochures - all mountains, bears, and blue ice. That version is real, and it's spectacular. But the Alaska that sticks with you is the one you find inside a Ketchikan bar at 7 PM, pulling paper tabs with strangers while someone three stools down tells you about the 40-pound king they landed that morning.
What You Drink in Alaska Says a Lot About Where You Are
One of the things I love about visiting new places is that you can learn a lot about the people from what they eat and drink. Walk into any bar in Southeast Alaska and you'll see the usual suspects behind the counter - Herradura, Jim Beam, the standard lineup. But the real move is asking about that bottle of Port Chilkoot you don't recognize, or whatever Alaska Brewing tap isn't available back home. I first tried Port Chilkoot's Boatright Bourbon whiskey in Skagway, Alaska back in 2018 and have been a fan of theirs ever since. Their 50 Fathoms Gin is made with hand-harvested spruce tips from Haines - the kind of thing that only happens when your distillery is surrounded by forest instead of farmland.
Juneau in particular has a bar scene worth wandering into. Amalga Distillery sits on North Franklin Street within walking distance of the cruise port, making their Juneauper Gin with foraged ingredients like Labrador tea and devil's club. The place was a 2024 James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Bar, and the communal tables are designed to spark exactly the kind of conversations you came to Alaska for. Honeslty you wouldn't expect this kind of quality and innovation if all you think of Alaska is that it's a remote place on the frontier ... but here we are. I love exploring this state!
Here's the real tip tho: walk past the tourist zone and places like Red Dog Saloon, and you'll find spots like The Alaskan Hotel and Bar - a historic building on the National Register with live music and real locals or Crystal Saloon. I spent an evening there talking with the bartender and a couple of guys swapping fishing stories, and that conversation told me more about life in Juneau than any excursion could.
And then there's the pull-tab scene. Alaska doesn't have casinos or slot machines. Instead, bars sell paper pull-tabs with proceeds going to local charities - veterans' organizations, first responders, community programs. It's low-stakes, it's social, and it's the kind of thing that makes an evening in Alaska feel completely different from anywhere in the lower 48.
Grown Here, Made Here: Alaska's Homegrown Craft Scene
The same isolation that shapes Alaska's distillery culture applies to cannabis tourism too. Alaska legalized recreational use in 2015, but because cannabis remains federally illegal, it can't cross state lines. Every flower, edible, and concentrate sold in an Alaska dispensary was grown and manufactured within the state.
The result mirrors what happened with the breweries and distilleries: small-batch producers creating products with genuine local identity because there's no other option. Good Titrations in Fairbanks operates out of a converted Chili's with a consumption lounge, show grow room, and cafe. Cannabis Corner outside Ketchikan has a lounge with couches, a fireplace, an arcade machine, and coloring books. Alaska was the first state to license on-site cannabis consumption, and the lounge culture that's developed feels more like a laid-back living room than a dispensary.
For Alaska guys trips, the whole craft ecosystem - breweries, distilleries, cannabis lounges - shares the same DNA: locally sourced, community-connected, and impossible to replicate anywhere else. Worth noting: consumption is legal only in private spaces or licensed lounges, not on the street.
Walking With an Elder Through Ketchikan's Real History
One of my favorite tours in Alaska is Where The Eagle Walks in Ketchikan, a small business owned and operated for 28 seasons by Joe Williams Jr. Joe is a Tlingit elder, born and raised in Saxman, and he's also the former Ketchikan Gateway Borough Mayor and former City of Saxman Mayor. When he walks you through downtown Ketchikan, you get the Native perspective on the town's evolution - how the Tlingit both shaped and were shaped by it. The three-hour tour covers Creek Street, Cape Fox Lodge, and Saxman Village, where you'll see Totem Row, the carving shed, and the Tribal House. This isn't a performance. It's a community leader sharing his home with you.
Smaller Ports and Smaller Ships Mean Bigger Culture
The 2026 Alaska cruise season is opening access to communities that haven't been on the standard mega-ship itinerary. Virgin Voyages is deploying Brilliant Lady from Seattle with stops in Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Haines, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia - a port most lines skip in favor of Victoria. Several itineraries include extended port stays, with Juneau visits running noon to 8 PM and other cruise lines stay even later - making Juneau, Alaska a great spot for a bar crawl.
But for the deepest cultural immersion, small-ship lines like UnCruise Adventures - now celebrating 30 years - offer something you almost can't find anywhere else in North America: Alaskans showing you their backyard. With ships carrying 22 to 86 guests departing from Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan, UnCruise navigates channels and coves that big ships can't reach. It's a fundamentally different way to experience Alaska, and it gives you first-hand access to the traditions and communities that make this place unlike anywhere else.
The Stuff That Happens Between the Planned Stuff Is What Makes Alaska Special!
The scenery is why you book a cruise to Alaska. The culture is why you start planning the next trip before you even get back home again. Whether it's pulling tabs in a Ketchikan bar, sipping Port Chilkoot whiskey while someone explains how they smoke their salmon, or walking through Saxman with a Tlingit elder who also happens to be the former mayor, Alaska's best moments aren't on the itinerary. Cruise lines like Princess and Holland America offer catch-and-cook fishing excursions. Icy Strait Point runs salmon fishing enrichment programs. There's even a Bering Sea crab boat experience. All of it has a flavor you can't get anywhere else - and the stories you bring home from the bar afterward are even better.
