Bears Excursion in Ketchikan

[janetmojo]

Good Morning,

We are headed out this Friday on Celebrity and have booked the excursion Bear Country and Wildlife Expedition.  My hubby would really like to see bears (even though we have bears in our own backyard here in Florida ha ha.)  Typically we do not do ship excursions.  Does anyone know if there is a cheaper way we could do this on our own?  I saw a couple reviews that said they took you to a place that is accessible to the public?  The rest of the excursion is no biggie for us so if we could save $400 or maybe even $200 and do this another way I would appreciate it.

[kochleffel]

I've done this tour. It's on the expensive side for a tour by land, because it has a minimum of two guides -- one who stays with you and one who goes ahead to spot bears.

 

 

[quack2]

I would strongly advise against taking one of the "bear viewing" tours being hawked on the pier.  You won't see bears.

 

I did a flightseeing excursion several years ago to Neets Bay.  Saw lots of black bears up close.

[Dancing Shoes]

Anan Creek is good, but requires a permit and you fly in.  Fills up fast.  

[donaldsc]

57 minutes ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Anan Creek is good, but requires a permit and you fly in.  Fills up fast.  

 

Also the number of bears at any place depends upon the number of salmon in the stream which can vary from year to year.  If you are there at the wrong time, you will be disappointed.  We have been to Anan 3 times on a tour out of Wrangel which is the best way to do it.  You get more bear time than if you do the tour as a fly in ship tour.  Two of the times we saw lot and lots of bears.  The 3d time we were a bit early and although we did see bears, there were less than on our first 2 visits.

 

DON

[quack2]

Since visiting Brooks Falls last month, I think any bear viewing excursion may be a bit of a let down.

 

[Mary Ann 2]

If you really want to see bears catching salmon in a stream, it is worth spending the money for a private excursion.  We chose Hummer Adventures and loved it.  They took my husband and I and 4 others an hour away where there are no roads from Ketchikan.  It is much more likely that you will see bears away from town and roads. Hummer Adventures are one of the few that have a permit from the US Forest Service to go to the bear blind near Traitor's Cove.  You are up above the stream and bears with a fantastic view.  We saw two different bears catching salmon (who were jumping and swimming up the stream).  It was truly a bucket list adventure of a lifetime!  I can recommend them with no reservations!!

Edited August 28, 2021 by Mary Ann 2

[mkca91]

Great to hear your review on the Hummer Adventures.  We are scheduled to do that next week.  Where else did they take you and what did you see?  Thank you!

[Glaciers]

Your timing is good as the salmon run is happening now in Ketchikan so there is an increased chance to see bears on the tours.  Another option is to go 7 miles south to Herring Cove by rental or cab.  It’s more of a residential area and parking is slim to nonexistent so you need to be respectful of the property owners.  Although the bears are more frequent early morning or evening they can still be seen at times. 

[Mary Ann 2]

58 minutes ago, mkca91 said:

Great to hear your review on the Hummer Adventures.  We are scheduled to do that next week.  Where else did they take you and what did you see?  Thank you!

We went by boat, so we saw all the sights between Ketchikan and Traitor's Cove.  The bears and salmon are really the main attractions to this tour.  Are you doing the Hummer boat tour or a Hummer mobile tour?  Even they say the boat tour has much better odds of seeing bears.

[mkca91]

We are doing the Hummer mobile tour.

[rubytue]

On 8/30/2021 at 1:31 PM, Mary Ann 2 said:

We went by boat, so we saw all the sights between Ketchikan and Traitor's Cove.  The bears and salmon are really the main attractions to this tour.  Are you doing the Hummer boat tour or a Hummer mobile tour?  Even they say the boat tour has much better odds of seeing bears.

What month did you go? I know this is an old post, but I’m looking at this tour for late July. It seems the salmon run is more of and august thing. 

[Mary Ann 2]

On 6/17/2022 at 9:41 PM, rubytue said:

What month did you go? I know this is an old post, but I’m looking at this tour for late July. It seems the salmon run is more of and august thing. 

It was the middle of August. You could call one of the tours; we used Alaska Hummer Adventures.  They could tell you more about late July.

[DogLover]

Chiming in a bit late with this post but .... August 2021 we did a Seaplane tour with SeaWind Aviation to Traitor's Cove for bear viewing. We originally were booked with them in August 2019 but weather prevented the flight. Fast forward to 2021 and weather was on our side. We saw several bears, it was incredible!

 

Yes, expensive, but HIGHLY recommend! 

 

https://www.seawindaviation.com/seaplane-tours/

Edited June 19, 2022 by DogLover
add a line