Bears catching salmon

[chrob]

When is the best time to go to Alaska to see this and where is the best place?

 

Do you have to go on an organised trip?

 

Until we sail on Star Princess

 

[lmcd]

There are three option available in Ketchikan-

1.Anan Creek- july to end of Aug

2.Traitors' Cove- mid Aug to early Sept

3.Neets bay- not sure of dates available

Option 3 is mainly thru the cruiselines.

Option 1 and 2 are available thru independents such as Island Winds.

There are other places but I'll leave those to persons that have been to those places.

 

Larry

 

Fantasy 08/99

Ecstacy 05/00

Westerdam 04/01

Legend of the Seas 08/02

Zaandam 04/03

Carnival Spirit 08/03

[Budget Queen]

Depends what kind of bears??? The above list is for blacks- a lot of people want to see the browns. Fly in will be necessary. There are several trips out of Homer and many out of Anchorage. Inside Passage- Pack Creek out of Juneau. I've done the blacks twice- I am looking at a couple days brown viewing this next trip.

[lmcd]

Clarification-

We saw blacks and coastal browns at Anan creek last Aug. Usually don't get to see both, but we were at the viewing stand for 2 hrs so we had a bigger window of opportunity. They don't get close to one another though.

 

Larry

 

Fantasy 08/99

Ecstacy 05/00

Westerdam 04/01

Legend of the Seas 08/02

Zaandam 04/03

Carnival Spirit 08/03

[chrob]

It was the brown bears we were hoping to see but both would be a bonus.

 

We are looking to do a 2-3 landtour of around the Canadian Rockies and Alaska Interior before boarding a cruise from Whittier/Anchorage to Vancouver.

 

Can the trip to see the bears and salmon be done when the ship is docked at a Port or is it better to do this before the cruise as part of the land tour?

 

Until we sail on Star Princess

 

[lmcd]

The tours from Ketchikan would be done while in port. The Pack Creek I believe would not normally be done as part of the cruise.

 

Depending upon where your Canadian Rockies tour is going, if it should be at Wrangell, Anan Creek observatory can be reached from there. Much cheaper than from Ketchikan. Also there are places on Canadian Rockies tours where Blacks and Browns can be seen. These two types of bears do not socialize, so seeing both requires luck as well as them being able to stay away from one another. When we saw them they were at opposite ends of the Anan Creek area

 

Larry

 

Fantasy 08/99

Ecstacy 05/00

Westerdam 04/01

Legend of the Seas 08/02

Zaandam 04/03

Carnival Spirit 08/03

[BJS]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>When is the best time to go to Alaska to see this <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>It depends on where and when the salmon are running. Check this out for best viewing sites during the time you are going.

 

Saw grizzley within 30 feet of us in Hyder Alaska but that was on an RV tour.

 

Future cruises:

May 04 Amsterdam

Sept. 04 Star Princess x 2

Jan. 05 Diamond Princess

July 05 Star Princess

Aug. 05 Star Pincess

 

Past cruises:

04 Dawn Princess x 2

03 Grand,Sun,Tahitian,

Royal Princess x 2,Island Princess

01 Ryndam x 2

00 Sky Princess

79 Sitmar's Fairwind

[Budget Queen]

You can do Pack Creek from Juneau. Fly and Fish has had permits in the past. The window for browns in Anan is unpredictable, usual sightings are black bears. Hyder- has had a significant decrease in bear sightings - I went in 1996 and all you had to do was park on the side of the road, not the case now.

[BJS]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Hyder- has had a significant decrease in bear sightings - I went in 1996 and all you had to do was park on the side of the road, not the case now. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Was same in 1997 and less so in 2001. They were constructing a boardwalk in 2001 for viewing and we thought it was the constuction that year. It is probably the boardwalk that is keeping them away. So sad since it was such a natural spot and you were so close.

 

Future cruises:

May 04 Amsterdam

Sept. 04 Star Princess x 2

Jan. 05 Diamond Princess

July 05 Star Princess

Aug. 05 Star Pincess

 

Past cruises:

04 Dawn Princess x 2

03 Grand,Sun,Tahitian,

Royal Princess x 2,Island Princess

01 Ryndam x 2

00 Sky Princess

79 Sitmar's Fairwind

[Alaska Star]

FYI - I recently drove up the Cassiar Hwy which goes to the backside of Hyder from BC and saw around a dozen black bears along the side of the road. We also saw ptarmagin, moose, red fox and caribu.