It’s cruise season in Alaska, with more than 1 million cruise passengers expected between April and September in port towns from Ketchikan to Seward.

Cruise passengers who sign up for shore excursions can spend hundreds of dollars, if not more in the case of families, in each port they visit. Taking a helicopter to see Juneau-area ice fields can easily run $1,000 for a family of four for a one-hour trip. A nature tour near the tiny town of Ketchikan can run $89 for adults and $50 for kids.

But there are many low-cost and even free things to do in Alaska port towns, from hiking to exploring glaciers to learning about Alaska and Native culture. Here are some ideas from some of Alaska’s most visited ports.

Just remember: Your ship won’t wait for you if you run late from an outing you’ve organized on your own, so allow plenty of time to get back to port for your ship departure.

Ketchikan: This southeast Alaska town is now known more for tourism than for its once-thriving timber industry. But timber workers’ skills can still be admired at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, $35 (kids 3-12, $17.50) plus tax. Historic Creek Street, once a red-light district, now houses shops, galleries, restaurants and Dolly’s House Museum, former home of madam Dolly Arthur, where visitors can learn about Ketchikan’s bawdy past for a $5 admission. Off Creek Street along Married Man’s Trail, you can catch the salmon running in the creek from mid-July into September.

Free downtown shuttle buses stop near the docks.

Sitka: A must-see in this stunning town is the Sitka National Historical Park. A national monument, it commemorates the 1804 Battle of Sitka between the Tlingit Indians and Russians. Totems — many of them replicas — are scattered along the park’s two-mile wooded trail. There’s also a visitor center, where you can see Native artists working, and the Russian Bishop’s House, which the park service says is one of the last surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North America. The house tour is $4 (free for kids under 16).

Juneau: Alaska’s capital has a walkable downtown with museums, shops, easy access to trails and the state Capitol, which offers free tours. The popular three-mile Perseverance Trail is within walking distance from the port, though it requires a jaunt up steep streets. The trail, which forms a spine for a network of trails, features scattered exhibits on the region’s mining history, along with stunning views of rushing water, waterfalls and mountains. You’ll likely see birds — possibly a bald eagle — and maybe even a mountain goat, black bear or porcupine. The trail is steep and narrow in sections and can be hot, so bring water.

Hikers also can try the Mount Roberts Trail, though it’s an uphill trudge, muddy and mucky in spots. You can take the Mount Roberts Tram down for $10, or $31 round-trip (kids 6-12, $15.50).

Another popular destination is Mendenhall Glacier, reachable by bus. The $16 round-trip rides, offered by MGT Blue Glacier Express, run every half-hour, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. most days during the summer season. Hikes near the glacier include an easy stroll to Nugget Falls.

Seward: This is a final stop for some Alaska cruises, and many disembarking passengers head straight to Anchorage, 110 miles away, by bus or train. But there are plenty of reasons to spend a day or more here.