Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory, Wrangell, Alaska

[bl2sms]

Am booked for a July Alaska cruise with a port of call in Wrangell.  It appears that it would be easy to arrange a day excursion to the Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory from there.  Has anyone been to the observatory and is it worth the price?  Ship will be there all day so plenty of time to see it appears.  Any recommendations appreciated.

[donaldsc]

We will be doing it for our 3d time this year.  The previous time, we did it with our 10 year old grandaughter.  It was the highlight of her trip to AK.  Our previous trips and also this one will be with Breakaway Adventures.  I know that Eric does have some spots available but I would book immediately if not sooner as they have already handed out the tour dates to the various companies that wanted it.  I heard that some of  outfitters who regularly do Anan got no spots this year.

 

The first time that we toured with him, we did 3 trips - Anan, LeConte Glacier and and Stikine River.  They were all great and we spent a lot of money with him on tours that trip.  They were all worth it.  My ranking on the 3 trips we did with him that year would be Anan #1, LeConte Glacier #2 and Stikine #3 just in case you can't get a spot on an Anan trip.

 

I would give Eric a call - https://www.breakawayadventures.com/about-us.html - and tell him that Don recommended him.  Don't work via e-mail.  He does return phone calls especially if you tell him that he was recommended by a previous and loyal customers.

 

DON

Edited November 16, 2018 by donaldsc

[bl2sms]

Thanks Don for your recommendation.  Have talked to Eric, but looks like it's a no go.  He says he has to book through cruise line (and our cruise doesn't offer it) plus he only has 6 slots.  I'm bummed about missing it!  Appreciate you taking the time to respond though!

[mapleleaves]

The Anan web site provides a list of authorized guides.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/tongass/recreation/natureviewing/recarea/?recid=79154&actid=62

 

Anan is a very popular destination for ships that dock in Ketchikan.  You can look at past trip reports to see which vendors people have used, or use the SEARCH tool on "anan" to find information.

 

Have a good trip!

 

 

 

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, bl2sms said:

Thanks Don for your recommendation.  Have talked to Eric, but looks like it's a no go.  He says he has to book through cruise line (and our cruise doesn't offer it) plus he only has 6 slots.  I'm bummed about missing it!  Appreciate you taking the time to respond though!

 

If you can't get Anan, I would recommend LeConte Glacier as a good 2nd choice.  We really enjoyed that excursion.

 

DON

[bl2sms]

We lucked out with Anan after all.  I checked around and called a different vendor and was able to book the excursion!  Allegedly, the observatory will be added later as a "premium" option for our cruise, but I went ahead and booked directly.  I'm excited!