Can you see bears without flying?

[sbt518]

I'm starting to think about planning for Alaska next summer and my husband will NOT get into a helicopter or small plane, he HATES to fly. If he did, he'd have to be so doped up that he's probably sleep through the entire thing so there would be no point anyway!

 

But I'd really love to see some bears. He would also like to. Obviously seeing wildlife is never a guarantee but we're wondering if there are places where we can see bears on a land tour or boat tour? We haven't picked an itinerary yet for our cruise or land tour so anything is pretty much an option.

 

We do plan on going to Denali and doing a full day shuttle there so I think bears are a possibility.

 

I'd rather not go flightseeing without him because we do go on vacation to be together, we both work a lot. So if anyone has any suggestions on excursions we'd really appreciate it.

[donaldsc]

I'm starting to think about planning for Alaska next summer and my husband will NOT get into a helicopter or small plane, he HATES to fly. If he did, he'd have to be so doped up that he's probably sleep through the entire thing so there would be no point anyway!

 

But I'd really love to see some bears. He would also like to. Obviously seeing wildlife is never a guarantee but we're wondering if there are places where we can see bears on a land tour or boat tour? We haven't picked an itinerary yet for our cruise or land tour so anything is pretty much an option.

 

We do plan on going to Denali and doing a full day shuttle there so I think bears are a possibility.

 

I'd rather not go flightseeing without him because we do go on vacation to be together, we both work a lot. So if anyone has any suggestions on excursions we'd really appreciate it.

 

You can get to the Anan bear viewing site from Wrangell by boat. However, it is a full day trip and you have to fly in and out of Wrangell. We did it last year and are going to Wrangell again especially to do it again with our granddaughter.

 

http://www.breakawayadventures.com/anan.htm

 

DON

[mapleleaves]

If bear viewing is a priority I recommend that you do some research to learn more about bears, viewing locations, best time period at the various locations and how to access. If you have more information you can make better choices about when to sail and which ports offer the best viewing opportunities.

Do you want to see brown bears or do you care?

A good place to start is the Alaska Fish and Game web page. This link has general info about bear viewing. And at the bottom of the page you'll see BEAR VIEWING SITES IN ALASKA. Open each of those links for specific information on each location.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewing.landmammals&species=bears#anchor

[AKman2495]

Sure, you can see all the bears you want. Just put some salmon strips on your husband and go to the nearest salmon stream. Wait for a while and you will see lots of bears. :D

 

The problem, or course, is how to see bears SAFELY. Most bear watching places take you to lakes where you can watch them from the lake in a boat.

 

About the only place you can safely watch bears on the ground is McNeil River and that you have to fly to.

 

Yes, bears in Denali are a real possibility. In a pinch, if you can get to the Alaska wildlife conservation center you can see bears relatively close-safely.

 

That is if Denali is a flop with the bears.

[tee_harbor]

There have been good reports of sighting from ground tours out of Hoonah (Icy Straits is the 'port'.) You're taking around by someone's old uncle in a van down old logging roads; no flying required.

 

I'd take Mapleleaves' suggestion and determine what's the best time of year for sightings wherever you decide to try. Generally August/September when the salmon are in the streams is your best shot, although we've been seeing tons here in Juneau as bears are forced into our neighborhoods to search for food. Heck, come by and wait for the daily visit from 'my' bear! I have heard of cab drivers/tour guides taking tourists into the trailer parks on garbage day, knowing some will be spotted. But for the conventional tourist experience, go with the salmon spawning. :D

[bjbear]

There have been good reports of sighting from ground tours out of Hoonah (Icy Straits is the 'port'.) You're taking around by someone's old uncle in a van down old logging roads; no flying required.

 

I'd take Mapleleaves' suggestion and determine what's the best time of year for sightings wherever you decide to try. Generally August/September when the salmon are in the streams is your best shot, although we've been seeing tons here in Juneau as bears are forced into our neighborhoods to search for food. Heck, come by and wait for the daily visit from 'my' bear! I have heard of cab drivers/tour guides taking tourists into the trailer parks on garbage day, knowing some will be spotted. But for the conventional tourist experience, go with the salmon spawning. :D

 

You can see bears on land! :) I've been twice to Icy Straits on a bear watch as described above and both times we saw bears. Once we watched them feasting on salmon for quite awhile in the river. I don't know if your cruise goes to Icy Strait.

 

We also took the Denali tundra tour ( I think it was called) it's the all day one that goes all the way into Denali. We saw bears, one standing in the road and a mother and 3 cubs, moose, wolves, sheep, etc. I admit we were very lucky, we saw the big 5 and the Mountain was out in all it's splendor that day.

This was end of August/first of September both times I was there. I don't want to get your hopes up though, it's kind of the luck of the draw. We had people that went out in the afternoon and saw no bears. You can also see bears around Mendenhall glacier in Juneau. I personally think they are better spotted in salmon spawning season, Aug/Sept. Just IMHO. ;)

 

Good Luck! :D

Sue

[Northern Aurora]

The hubby and I live about two hours by car from Denali. Obviously there are no guarantees, and I am sure a number of folks have been deep into the park and haven't seen a bear. But I don't think I have ever been to Denali and NOT seen a grizzly. Good luck!

[sbt518]

This is great information! Thank you all.

 

Since we have not selected a cruise we'll see if there are any that go to Icy Straight Point so we can do a land based bear watching excursion.

Of course we realize seeing bears isn't a guarantee unless we go a zoo but we'll try anyway!

 

And living in NYC we see plenty of small animals (rats) feasting on garbage so maybe seeing bears eating garbage would be a treat! Or maybe not.

[bearbait]

Why is your husband afraid of flying? If your trip isn't until next year maybe your could get him into a psychiatrist and help get him over that fear. It would sure make life better and more interesting. Plus it would open up all kinds of possibilites for bear viewing. I've survived a plane crash outside of Nome and more hard landings then I care to count. I'd still rather fly then drive.

[Budget Queen]

This is great information! Thank you all.

 

Since we have not selected a cruise we'll see if there are any that go to Icy Straight Point so we can do a land based bear watching excursion.

Of course we realize seeing bears isn't a guarantee unless we go a zoo but we'll try anyway!

 

And living in NYC we see plenty of small animals (rats) feasting on garbage so maybe seeing bears eating garbage would be a treat! Or maybe not.

 

IF you want the best chance, then I suggest three nights at Denali Park- go independent, and go in Denali via shuttle bus (not a tour bus) to at least Eielson. They do offer a pay two, get third free- so ideal with time), And also pick a Hoonah itinerary, which RCI and Celebrity go to, and is on the itineraries of other cruiselines occasionally. Problem is, neither of those go to Glacier Bay. So the trip is loaded with compromises. I would consider looking at going in August, great time for Denali and Hoonah.

[margincall]

We are not going until next year but i have noticed a ships excursion out of Ketchikan that is a cruise to see bears so that might work as well

[sbt518]

IF you want the best chance, then I suggest three nights at Denali Park- go independent, and go in Denali via shuttle bus (not a tour bus) to at least Eielson. They do offer a pay two, get third free- so ideal with time), And also pick a Hoonah itinerary, which RCI and Celebrity go to, and is on the itineraries of other cruiselines occasionally. Problem is, neither of those go to Glacier Bay. So the trip is loaded with compromises. I would consider looking at going in August, great time for Denali and Hoonah.

 

We were definitely going to go independently to Denali, or maybe book the train and hotel through Princess Lodge but still plan all our own activities and time.

 

That is disappointing that we can't go to both Hoonah and Glacier Bay. I guess we'll have to decide which is more important for our first trip. Everyone goes back to Alaska after they've been the first time right?

 

Thanks also for the input on when to go! My birthday is in August so maybe I'll celebrate the big 4-0 with some bear watching.

 

One other question, maybe I should start a new thread. But do any of you helpful people know when is the best time to book Alaska for next summer? I have been looking at a few online travel agencies and big box store travel sites to see if they are having sales or offering OBC and haven't seen anything for next summer yet. Is it best to wait until after this summer season is over?

[thinfool]

Listen to Budget Queen.

[Budget Queen]

We are not going until next year but i have noticed a ships excursion out of Ketchikan that is a cruise to see bears so that might work as well

 

This has a very low success rate and not a good choice.

[Budget Queen]

We were definitely going to go independently to Denali, or maybe book the train and hotel through Princess Lodge but still plan all our own activities and time.

 

That is disappointing that we can't go to both Hoonah and Glacier Bay. I guess we'll have to decide which is more important for our first trip. Everyone goes back to Alaska after they've been the first time right?

 

Thanks also for the input on when to go! My birthday is in August so maybe I'll celebrate the big 4-0 with some bear watching.

 

One other question, maybe I should start a new thread. But do any of you helpful people know when is the best time to book Alaska for next summer? I have been looking at a few online travel agencies and big box store travel sites to see if they are having sales or offering OBC and haven't seen anything for next summer yet. Is it best to wait until after this summer season is over?

 

If you choose the train, I then suggest an additional day. The train transit eats up two days. There is nothing "special" about the Princess Lodge, without your own transportation, you are going to be dependent on their lodge shuttles for the park shuttle buses and won't have the full schedule of the park shuttle buses available to you, unless you plan on walking over a mile to the Access Center.

 

I currently do have a one way cruise booked for next year, that had rates and an itinerary I wanted. At the same time, I also booked another cruise for this year.

 

I would suggest, If you get the desire to book something, be sure to book with no or low agency cancel fees or direct with cruiselines, and determine any cancelation fees, if any involved. Otherwise, I would suggest you get your entire itinerary figured out, route, touring, flight options etc, before ANY reservations. Once you have the entire vacation figured out, reworked over and over etc, then get into your bookings. :)

[donaldsc]

I'm starting to think about planning for Alaska next summer and my husband will NOT get into a helicopter or small plane, he HATES to fly. If he did, he'd have to be so doped up that he's probably sleep through the entire thing so there would be no point anyway!

 

But I'd really love to see some bears. He would also like to. Obviously seeing wildlife is never a guarantee but we're wondering if there are places where we can see bears on a land tour or boat tour? We haven't picked an itinerary yet for our cruise or land tour so anything is pretty much an option.

 

We do plan on going to Denali and doing a full day shuttle there so I think bears are a possibility.

 

I'd rather not go flightseeing without him because we do go on vacation to be together, we both work a lot. So if anyone has any suggestions on excursions we'd really appreciate it.

 

It also depends upon how close to the bears you or your DH wants to get. Last year at Anan, we were about 6 feet from Georgie, a 2 year old female grizzly with only a low single rail fence separating us from her. It was awesome.

 

DON

[slider728]

The only place I know of with nearly a 100% chance of seeing bears is up in Orr, MN. I know seeing wild Alaskan bears is a big thrill, but if you want to see bears, I would consider looking into the Vince Schute Wildlife Sanctuary if you ever make it to the Minneapolis area.

 

That being said.....

 

If you hit Juneau during the right time, rent a car or charter a taxi, and are on a cruise that leaves later at night, you can stand a pretty good chance of seeing bear there. When the salmon start running up at the Mendenhall glacier, the bear come down to feed in Steep Creek. There is a beautiful elevated walkway system around the creek that will usually give you excellent viewing opportunities. The downfall to this is that I do not recall seeing a bear there before 7PM (though some people do see them during the day, bear tend to be most active in the evenings). The second issue is that you need to "time" the sockeye run up steep creek. Mother nature is never reliable. If I had to "predict" a time, I would say that between July 15th and Aug 1st would be the best timeframe (maybe a local like Tee Harbor can give you a better idea as I am never in town for the entire sockeye run anymore).

 

If you have the time and money, there are excellent viewing opportunities out of Hyder, Alaska as well. This stop is on my bucket list. You need to plan a drive down there or you will need to hop the ferry to Prince Rupert and drive from there.

[thinfool]

How will you get TO (or home from) Alaska if flying isn't in the mix?

 

You seem to indicate that a one-way cruise is part of your planning.

 

I can think of a couple of possibilities, but most are pricey and take a lot of extra time.

[thinfool]

You might enjoy this...click on it to make it bigger. (taken from our Tundra Wilderness Tour bus) The mother and twins are eating blueberries.

[jpthomas27]

It also depends upon how close to the bears you or your DH wants to get. Last year at Anan, we were about 6 feet from Georgie, a 2 year old female grizzly with only a low single rail fence separating us from her. It was awesome.

DON

My thoughts exactly. There are many possibilites to see bears without flying, but none of them are comparable to the experience that flying in to some of the well know, can't miss locations will provide

 

The only place I know of with nearly a 100% chance of seeing bears is up in Orr, MN. I know seeing wild Alaskan bears is a big thrill, but if you want to see bears, I would consider looking into the Vince Schute Wildlife Sanctuary if you ever make it to the Minneapolis area.

I'm not sure this is accurate. Do your research and your will find that there are many places in Alaska that are almost guaranteed bear viewing at the right time of year. The right time of year is the key factor. Every location has times that you can't help but see bears and every location has it's time that it is completely vacant of a bear population.

 

How will you get TO (or home from) Alaska if flying isn't in the mix?

I was thinking the same. Getting to and from NY without flying would be pain staking! It might just be the small plane flying, it's a considerably different experience than a large airliner.

[sharecruises]

We were lucky to see 4 bears, pointed out by Tom of TNT tours who pulled over each time when he spotted them

 

we first saw one on the way up...from further away...we were happy and excited but more "Beary fun" things were ahead...what a great bear day we had

 

Our first bear

 

 

then a really funny small black bear ...young one...who was very close to road...some people pulled over and were out taking pics which Tom said was foolish...LOL

 

Young bear -our funniest, closest bear...looked like he wanted to hitchhike ..

was watching us, came right by our van, crossed road...then watched us some more....yow

 

 

 

we saw some bikers on the way back and Tom said the Bears call them

"Meals on Wheels"

 

We were super lucky to see 2 huge black bears (tho one was brown, they can vary in color)...2 adults together which is rare ? Maybe it was :love: in the spring time or ???

 

 

 

 

 

My own pics were pretty crappy cause I was excited...but one of my guys is semi pro photog and these are some of his shots

 

The younger bear was so close to us..ran right behind our van..was peeking out at us from some bushes ...it looked as if he was watching us watch him haha...we called him the TEEN

He was running back and forth...and looking at us

It looked like he raised his paw to us at the end??

 

 

 

It may be hard to tell from the pics, but the lone bear was much much smaller..the other 2 were huge

 

 

we were just super lucky....what a great day

[Budget Queen]

We were lucky to see 4 bears, pointed out by Tom of TNT tours who pulled over each time when he spotted them

 

we first saw one on the way up...from further away...we were happy and excited but more "Beary fun" things were ahead...what a great bear day we had

 

Our first bear

 

 

then a really funny small black bear ...young one...who was very close to road...some people pulled over and were out taking pics which Tom said was foolish...LOL

 

Young bear -our funniest, closest bear...looked like he wanted to hitchhike ..

was watching us, came right by our van, crossed road...then watched us some more....yow

 

 

 

we saw some bikers on the way back and Tom said the Bears call them

"Meals on Wheels"

 

We were super lucky to see 2 huge black bears (tho one was brown, they can vary in color)...2 adults together which is rare ? Maybe it was :love: in the spring time or ???

 

 

 

 

 

My own pics were pretty crappy cause I was excited...but one of my guys is semi pro photog and these are some of his shots

 

The younger bear was so close to us..ran right behind our van..was peeking out at us from some bushes ...it looked as if he was watching us watch him haha...we called him the TEEN

He was running back and forth...and looking at us

It looked like he raised his paw to us at the end??

 

 

 

It may be hard to tell from the pics, but the lone bear was much much smaller..the other 2 were huge

 

 

we were just super lucky....what a great day

 

Your success was common due you being there in May. I never fail to see bears when driving the Klondike Highway then. This becomes less and less likely as the snow melts and the bears move away from the busy roads and people and head for the hills.

[slider728]

I'm not sure this is accurate. Do your research and your will find that there are many places in Alaska that are almost guaranteed bear viewing at the right time of year. The right time of year is the key factor. Every location has times that you can't help but see bears and every location has it's time that it is completely vacant of a bear population.

 

By all means, please elaborate and help the OP out. :)

 

Of course there are other places, but I am not familiar with them. This is the reason I used the words "I know of"...I can not speak intelligently on the other places.

 

Perhaps I should have used the words "I am aware of". My apologies about that.

[sbt518]

How will you get TO (or home from) Alaska if flying isn't in the mix?

 

You seem to indicate that a one-way cruise is part of your planning.

 

I can think of a couple of possibilities, but most are pricey and take a lot of extra time.

 

Ha Ha, yes we'll fly to/from Alaska/Vancouver but that will be on a large airplane AND as I stated in my first post my husband will probably be doped up on vallum or xanax. He is a very nervous flier. He will do it but he HATES it.

 

So it isn't a problem for him to sleep through a transcontinental flight in order for us to get to our vacation, he does this all the time. But to pay for flightseeing and then have him drugged up would be a waste and probably dangerous.

 

He could go to therapy like someone suggested and maybe he should for other reasons:D but that really has nothing to do with our vacation planning.

 

I appreciate all this information. Bear viewing isn't our only goal for the trip but it is something we'd like to do if possible. And it seems like we have some good options.

 

It is a bit overwhelming for a first timer to plan this type of cruise because there are SO many options for things to do and so many variables. I'll see a ship itinerary I like but then realize that one of the port stops is not long enough for us to do what we think we'd like to do there so back to square one. I think I need a spreadsheet or something! But planning is part of the fun for us.

[donaldsc]

If you have the time and money, there are excellent viewing opportunities out of Hyder, Alaska as well. This stop is on my bucket list. You need to plan a drive down there or you will need to hop the ferry to Prince Rupert and drive from there.

 

I was in Hyder last year. It is a great little place and we went there simply because it was such a funky place to go to. Whenever people say that you can not drive to any coastal areas in southern AK, I remind them of Hyder. Their usual comment is "where???" as most people have never heard of Hyder.

 

Unfortunately, we got there a little before the salmon run peaked so we did not see too many bears. Fortunately, we had already visited Anan so we got out bears.

 

DON