Alaska is house to extra wild bears than every other U.S. state, however not all bears are created equal. Whether you’re hoping to identify large coastal brown bears fishing for salmon, smaller black bears foraging within the forest, and even polar bears roaming the Arctic coast, these 10 greatest locations to see bears in Alaska promise wild encounters you received’t quickly overlook. From fly-in journeys on distant lakes to guided excursions alongside the Inside Passage, there’s a bear journey for each sort of traveler. Viewing bears within the forty ninth state is one thing I’ve skilled firsthand just a few instances, and it’s at all times a thrill. Here’s the place to see bears in Alaska, together with really helpful excursions and suggestions for a protected and unforgettable expertise.
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1. Crescent Lake, Lake Clark National Park (coastal brown and black bears)
This stunning glacier-fed lake is tucked inside Lake Clark National Park on the Alaska Peninsula, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage. I celebrated a bucket-list-worthy birthday in Alaska with a flightseeing tour to Crescent Lake to view brown bears dwelling their greatest lives. It stays one among my most vivid journey reminiscences.
After our floatplane skimmed to a cease on the lake, we climbed aboard a small pontoon boat operated by Redoubt Mountain Lodge. From the water, we watched bears fish for salmon within the shallows, totally unfazed by our presence. Unlike their inland cousins—the notoriously ornery brown bears (ahem, grizzlies)—Alaska’s coastal brown bears thrive on an abundance of salmon, retaining bellies full and temperaments extra easygoing.
This bear-focused journey was a part of an adventure-packed, multi-day itinerary with Salmon Berry Tours. We flew with Rust’s Flying Service, which additionally presents direct bookings for impartial vacationers. The flight itself was gorgeous, hovering over turquoise-blue lakes and rivers, jagged mountain peaks, and seemingly countless wilderness. (Be certain to learn my suggestions for movement illness earlier than you go, particularly if you happen to’re inclined!)
Afterward, we warmed up with sizzling cocoa and a scrumptious salmon lunch on a small, distant island. Redoubt Mountain Lodge additionally presents in a single day stays, the place company can get pleasure from bear viewing and fishing excursions. If you’re on the lookout for a fly-in journey that mixes journey with serenity, Crescent Lake offers a really memorable expertise.
2. Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park (coastal brown bears)
Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park is the enduring Alaskan bear viewing vacation spot you’ve possible seen in pictures, with large coastal brown bears standing midstream, mouths open, catching salmon mid-leap. It’s distant, dramatic, and completely well worth the effort.
If you’re on the lookout for the quintessential Alaska bear expertise, Brooks Falls delivers. Just be ready for restricted availability and ebook your Brooks Falls Tour nicely prematurely, particularly throughout salmon runs in peak season.
I haven’t been to Brooks Falls but, however my well-traveled dad and mom have. (Am I jealous? You guess!) My dad, Tom Lanin, says, “Of all the wonderful things to see and do in Alaska, the most important must-see for us was the brown bears feasting on salmon at Brooks Falls. We were not disappointed, seeing as many as eight bears at a time, many gorging themselves on enormous salmon. We loved it!”
To get there, you’ll must ebook a fly-in journey, usually from Anchorage or Homer. Many guests keep in a single day at Brooks Lodge, which presents guided excursions and entry to elevated remark platforms.
3. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (coastal brown, grizzly, and black bears)
An straightforward and protected place to see bears in a natural-looking atmosphere is on the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. You’re just about assured to see each black and brown bears at this nonprofit sanctuary close to Portage, a small group close to the pinnacle of Turnagain Arm.
The heart rescues injured and deserted wildlife and offers spacious enclosures that mimic their pure habitats, surrounded by wetlands and mountains. During our Salmon Berry multi-day group tour, we noticed bears at this sanctuary, together with wolves, moose, musk ox, plains buffalo, and different native creatures.
Walking alongside the elevated Bears Boardwalk, the atmosphere was so lush that I nearly felt as if I used to be viewing these highly effective creatures within the Alaskan wilderness, not in a wildlife conservatory. Seeing black bears and brown bears mere ft away was a panoramic expertise. Life-sized cutouts of a black, brown, and polar bear provide guests a placing visible comparability of every species’ dimension, making it straightforward to know simply how large these animals actually are.
This scenic cease is good for highway trippers heading between Anchorage and Seward. Portage is about 50 miles from Anchorage and a cease on the Alaska Railroad, midway from the state’s capital metropolis to the Kenai Peninsula. If you’re taking the practice, no automotive is required to achieve the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, because it’s only a 5- to 10-minute stroll from the station.
4. Denali National Park, Interior Alaska (inside grizzly bears)
Denali National Park presents a glimpse into the rugged world of actually wild grizzlies—the leaner, extra solitary cousins of the calmer salmon-fed coastal brown bears. These grizzly bears roam the tundra and alpine slopes of Alaska’s inside, foraging for berries, roots, and floor squirrels in a panorama of extremes. With fewer meals sources and harsher circumstances, Denali’s brown bears are typically extra aggressive, making respectful distance important.
Visitors can spot bears from the consolation of the park’s shuttle buses alongside the 92-mile Denali Park Road, particularly in summer time when bears are lively close to open meadows and riverbeds. Denali is accessible by automotive, practice, or bus from Anchorage and Fairbanks. A Denali naturalist-guided hike presents an opportunity to study bear habits, ecology, and the fragile stability of life in Alaska’s inside.
For majestic views of Mount Denali and the Alaska Mountain Range, ebook a keep on the nature-focused luxurious Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, positioned simply a few scenic hours from the nationwide park entrance.
5. Kodiak Island, Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak brown bears)
Kodiak Island, a.okay.a. Alaska’s Emerald Isle, is house to the legendary Kodiak bear. This is a subspecies of brown bear discovered nowhere else on Earth. Isolated for over 12,000 years, Kodiak bears have advanced into among the largest land omnivores on the planet, typically even rivaling polar bears in dimension. What units them aside isn’t simply their bulk, however their calmer temperament, formed by the island’s wealthy ecosystem and ample salmon runs.
Accessible through day by day quick flights from Anchorage with Alaska Airlines or by ferry from Homer, Kodiak Island presents a distant but reachable wilderness expertise inside the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.
6. Kaktovik, Northern Alaska (polar bears)
While most bear viewing in Alaska focuses on brown and black bears, wild polar bears do roam the far north. Kaktovik is a distant Inupiat village on Barter Island within the Arctic Circle from which polar bear viewing excursions depart. Reaching this island within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is an journey in itself, with most vacationers flying into Kaktovik on small chartered airplanes from Fairbanks.
One TripAdvisor contributor exclaimed about their Polar Bear Adventure with Planet Earth Adventures, “There is no way to describe this amazing experience. I had been to Churchill (Canada) to see the bears, but this far surpassed that experience. The first day, we saw 32 bears on the beach! Every day after that, we saw bears, and close enough for good photos, even with my iPhone.”
Embark on an Alaskan polar bear-seeking mission from late August by October. That’s when the bears collect close to the shore, ready for sea ice to type.
Unfortunately, polar bear viewings in Alaska are declining as a result of shrinking sea ice, inhabitants loss, habitat disruption, and unpredictable bear habits pushed by local weather change and human exercise. If seeing wild polar bears in Alaska is in your bucket listing, ebook your Alaskan Polar Bear Adventure whilst you nonetheless can.
7. Ketchikan, Inside Passage (black bears and occasional grizzlies)
Ketchikan is famed for black bear viewings, with Herring Cove providing one of many few vehicle-accessible spots simply 10 miles south of this fashionable port metropolis’s downtown. Adventurous hikers can discover solo (bear spray really helpful!), however my husband and I opted for a guided shore tour throughout our Alaskan cruise.
Led by a naturalist, our small group hiked a one-mile stretch of the 64-acre Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary. Though we noticed a hibernation den and remnants of salmon left by black bears in a stream, almost two hours handed with no bear sightings. Just as murmurs of disappointment started, phrase got here from one other information: a bear was headed our approach. We hustled to the following viewing platform, and inside minutes, a black bear ambled under us. Not probably the most dramatic encounter, however nonetheless a thrill to witness wildlife in its pure habitat.
Why seek for black bears in Alaska? According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, black bears are the smallest and most ample within the state. Typically, black bears are extra timid and fewer confrontational than brown bears, particularly when stunned or confronted. This means they’re usually simpler to watch safely than brown bears. A naturalist suggested throughout one among my Alaska journeys, “If you see a bear in a tree, it’s probably a black bear. Bears don’t climb trees for no reason. Don’t look up. Look around because something larger probably chased it up that tree. And that something is probably a brown bear.”
Learn about native tradition and spot wildlife like bears, salmon, and eagles throughout a Ketchikan Alaska Native Cultural and Scenic Shore Excursion with my trusted associate, Get Your Guide.
8. Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska (coastal brown bears)
The Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska is house to each brown bears and black bears. The fifth-largest island within the U.S. is accessible through cruise excursions or chartered excursions from Sitka and Juneau. Part of the Tongass National Forest, this island is densely forested, laced with berries, and wealthy in salmon streams, making it prime bear territory. In truth, Chichagof Island has the highest inhabitants of bears per sq. mile of anyplace on the planet.
Many Inside Passage cruises provide bear-focused excursions right here, usually combining wildlife viewing with cultural experiences in close by villages. Most vacationers attain the island through cruise ship. If you’re on the lookout for a bear journey that doesn’t require a fly-in journey or in a single day keep, a Chichagof Island Bear Search Tour is a superb possibility.
9. Pack Creek, Admiralty Island (coastal brown bears)
Known because the “Fortress of the Bears,” Pack Creek is positioned about 40 miles south of Juneau and is accessible through a 30-minute floatplane experience, adopted by a brief paddle or hike to the viewing space. There’s an remark tower and a seashore viewing website, each providing wonderful probabilities to see bears of their pure atmosphere. With very restricted day by day permits and no crowds, Pack Creek presents one among Alaska’s most intimate bear-viewing experiences. Book your Pack Creek Viewing Adventure through Get Your Guide now.
10. Alaska Zoo, Anchorage (black, brown, and polar bears)
The Alaska Zoo is the one place within the state the place you possibly can see all three native Alaska bear species: black, brown, and polar. The bears stay in habitats designed to imitate nature, with academic indicators and scheduled enrichment demos. It’s a managed care facility, so the expertise doesn’t have the uncooked, wild really feel of Alaska’s distant bear-viewing spots. Still, if you happen to’re quick on time or touring with youngsters, the zoo presents a handy and protected method to see bears in Alaska.
Tips for a Successful Bear Viewing Trip in Alaska
Whether flying right into a distant lake or climbing by Alaska’s wilds, right here are some things to bear in mind:
- Go throughout late summer time: This is peak salmon run season, which implies bears are most lively and visual.
- Choose a guided tour: Local guides know one of the best spots, will educate you about Alaska and wildlife, and perceive methods to preserve you protected.
- Skip the snacks: Bears have an extremely delicate sense of odor, and bringing meals might put bear observers in peril. Food could also be prohibited (as at Pack Creek) or allowed in designated areas solely (like at Brooks Falls). Some outfitters present meals.
- Bring bear spray: Whenever exploring nature in Alaska and not using a information, bear spray is an absolute should. (And learn instructions so you understand how to make use of it earlier than you set out!)
- Permits are required: Limited licenses are sometimes required to entry wild bear-viewing areas. Typically, these are included in guided excursions.
- Wear a lot of layers: Alaska climate is unpredictable, and you could get moist on some excursions.
- Bring binoculars and a zoom lens: You’ll wish to seize the second with out disturbing the bears.
- Check age restrictions: Many excursions aren’t appropriate for youthful kids as a result of security or logistics.
Explore More of Alaska
The largest state within the U.S. invitations us to decelerate, look nearer, and really feel extra. It’s the place to go to attach with nature and rediscover surprise. Here are extra tricks to make you lengthy for an Alaskan trip.
Discover the small, quirky city of Talkeetna, gateway to Denali. (It was the inspiration for the fictional city of Cicely within the TV present Northern Exposure!)
No automotive? No drawback! Here are walkable issues to do in Seward, a small coastal city with a giant persona.
Dig into the greatest meals in Talkeetna, from freshly tapped birch syrup to caribou meatloaf and fireweed ice cream.
Get enthusiastic about viewing bears in individual in Alaska by watching Disneynature’s Bears Movie, a timeless traditional that follows a mama brown bear and her two cubs within the wilds of Katmai National Park.
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Which of those bear-viewing adventures sounds most enjoyable to you? Share your feedback and questions under!
A Note from Colleen: I didn’t obtain any financial compensation associated to this weblog submit. Visit Anchorage and Salmon Berry Travel & Tours hosted my most up-to-date go to to Alaska. Click their hyperlinks to study extra about what to do in Alaska. As at all times, my opinions and suggestions are my very own.