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MAJOR ATTRACTIONS:
Wildlife Viewing
The opportunity to see wildlife is a major attraction for many visitors to the North Country. The MILEPOST® highway logs point out spots along the highways where travelers may see dall sheep, moose, caribou, and other mammals and birds.
For those travelers who don't want to leave their wildlife viewing to chance, The MILEPOST® points out opportunities for planned wildlife viewing. These wildlife viewing opportunities include visiting bear observatories or taking a bear viewing tour; chartering a boat or taking a scheduled wildife cruise; overnighting at wilderness camps and lodges that specialize in wildlife viewing; visiting birding hotspots, like bird festivals and refuges; and touring wildlife parks.
Also check with tour desks at motels/hotels and your bed-and-breakfast or campground host about wildlife viewing tour operators available locally.
Booking agents packaging custom Alaska vacations can include wildlife touring on your trip. Alaska Heritage Tours (www.alaskaheritagetours.com) in Anchorage and Alaska Tours & Travel (www.alaskatravel.com); All Alaskan Adventures & Accommodations (www.allalaskanadventures.com) in Seward; and Homer Alaska Referral & Booking Agency in Homer (www.homeralaskareferral.com).
Bear viewing
Viewing Ursus arctos, the brown bear or grizzly, ranks high on visitors' wish lists of activities during a trip to Alaska. Both government agencies and private businesses in Alaska offer bear viewing opportunities for the public.
Most private bear viewing businesses offer day trips to see the bears, although overnight and multi-day trips with lodging or camping are available. The hot spots for bear viewing tours in Southcentral and Southwestern Alaska are West Cook Inlet, Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula, where coastal brown bears congregate in large numbers to fish at stream mouths or graze sedge fields.
Access is mainly by small plane, on floats or wheels, out of Homer, Kodiak, Kenai-Soldotna, King Salmon, Anchorage and Seward. Air services offer aerial bear viewing, guided land-based bear viewing tours and round-trip transportation to bear viewing camps and lodges. Tour operators often offer sport fishing, bird watching and other activities along with bear viewing. A few tour operators offer coastal brown bear viewing by boat.
Among the camps and lodges which emphasize bear viewing as one of their major attractions are: Hallo Bay Bear Camp (www.hallobay.com), a private camp in Katmai National Park offering complete 1- to 7-day trip packages and accommodations; Silver Salmon Creek Lodge (www.silversalmoncreek.com), a private lodge in Lake Clark National Park offering 1-day tours or multi-night stays in their lodge; Homestead Lodge, access via Smokey Bay Air (www.smokeybayair.com), offers 1-day tours or multi-night stays in their lodge; Afognak Wilderness Lodge (www.afognaklodge.com) on Afognak Island; and Kodiak Treks (www.kodiaktreks.com), offering land-based bear viewing and hikes from a wilderness lodge in Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.
Air service to these and other bear viewing destinations is offered by Andrew Airways (www.andrewairways.com), Harvey Flying Service (www.harveyflyingservice.com), and Sea Hawk Air, (www.seahawkair.com) out of Kodiak; Bald Mountain Air Service (www.baldmountainair.com), Emerald Air Service (www.emeraldairservice.com), Inlet Charters (www.halibutcharters.com), Kachemak Bay Flying Service (www.alaskaseaplanes.com) and Smokey Bay Air (www.SmokeyBayAir.com) out of Homer; Natron Air (www.natronair.com) in Soldotna; Bear Lake Air and Guide Service (www.bearlakeair.com); and Rust's Flying Service (www.flyrusts.com) and Alaska Air Taxi (www.alaskaairtaxi.com) in Anchorage.
Alaska's public parklands also have bear viewing. In Southcentral Alaska, the 2,812-square-mile Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, accessible by air charter or boat, is home to about 3,000 bears (http://kodiak.fws.gov). On the Alaska Peninsula, numerous bears congregate at Brooks Falls, near Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park, for the sockeye salmon run (www.nps.gov/katm/index.htm). Accommodations are available at Brooks Lodge through the park concessionaire (go to www.katmailand.com).
The McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, is a favorite site of photographers intent on filming brown bears. Visits to McNeil are by permit only, selected in an annual lottery. Information on permits is available from Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game at www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/mcneil/index.cfm. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game also oversees Wolverine Creek on the west side of Cook Inlet, a popular destination for bear viewing and fishing by chartered skiff.
In Southeast Alaska, the U.S. Forest Service manages 3 bear viewing sites: Anan Wilderness Observatory, located southeast of Wrangell; Stan Price Wildlife Sanctuary at Pack Creek, located on Admiralty Island; and Fish Creek Wildlife Observatory near Hyder. For general information on these bear viewing destinations and links to related sites, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/recreation/wildlife_viewing/wildlifeview.shtml
Anan observatory is accessible by boat from Wrangell. Summer visitors can watch bears catch salmon headed for upstream spawning grounds. Breakaway Adventures (www.breakawayadventures.com) and Alaska Waters Inc. (www.alaskawaters.com) offer trips to Anan from Wrangell. For more Anan guides and outfitters and details on visitor permits, go to http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/wrangell/ananobservatoryreserve.shtml
Both the Forest Service and Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game provide information about Pack Creek, where brown bears feed on salmon from June to early September. Pack Creek is a 30-minute flight by floatplane from Juneau and visits are by permit only. Alaska Discovery (www.akdiscovery.com) offers 1- and 3-day bear viewing tours to Pack Creek. For more information on Pack Creek, go to www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/admiralty/packweb/packhome.html or www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewing.packcreek
Air service to Southeast bear viewing destinations is offered by Southeast Aviation (www.SoutheastAviation.com) out of Ketchikan and by Air Excursions (www.airexcursions.com) in Gustavus.
Also in Southeast Alaska, although accessed via British Columbia's Cassiar Highway, is the Fish Creek Wildlife Observatory, located near Hyder. A U.S. Forest Service day-use recreation area is located at Fish Creek. Both brown and black bears may be photographed here as they fish for salmon from mid-July to early September. For more information visit www.fs.fed.us/r10/ro/naturewatch/southeast/fish_creek/fishcreek.htm
Birding
Alaska has 471 species of birds, so visitors have a good chance of seeing several varieties without even trying. (A bird checklist for Alaska is available at www.wildlife.alaska.gov/viewing/wings/wings_hm.cfm.)
There's good bird watching in summer in Fairbanks at Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge (www.creamersfield.org). Begin your visit to Creamer's Field at the Alaska Bird Observatory located at Wedgewood Resort off College Road. The center includes a nature store and trailhead to Creamer's Field. Guided bird walks and bird-banding demonstrations from May to September (www.alaskabird.org).
Another popular bird watching spot is Potter Point State Game Refuge just south of Anchorage off the Seward Highway. Sometimes called "Potter's Marsh," the refuge supports many species of ducks and other water birds.
One way to check some birds off your list is to attend one of the state's bird festivals. The Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival in Cordova and the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer both take place in May and offer an opportunity to see great numbers of migrating shorebirds. The Alaska Bald Eagle Festival takes place in Haines in November and celebrates the winter gathering of more than 3,500 bald eagles on the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve outside Haines.
Tour operators may offer birding as the main focus or in addition to wildlife or glacier viewing. Alaska Nature Tours (www.alaskanaturetours.net) offers naturalist-led birding and wildlife viewing trips in the Haines area, including the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve.
Wildlife cruises in Southeast Alaska and in Southcentral Alaska can't help but include birds along with sea mammals on their sightseeing tours of Alaska's glaciating coastline. The same goes for bear viewing tour operators, whose main focus may be on bears but peripherally takes in an impressive variety of birds. Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, for example, along with offering bear viewing and fishing, takes guests on boat tours up the coast of West Cook Inlet, where small islands house large colonies of kittiwakes, puffins, cormorants and murres.
Wildlife Cruises
Both charter cruises and scheduled day cruises are available to view wildlife along Alaska's magnificent coastline. Passengers on day cruises have the opportunity to see some of Alaska's most famous glaciers and also its wildlife. Commonly seen on these cruises are sea otters, Steller sea lions, dolphins, harbor seals, Dall porpoises, whales (minke, gray, fin, humpback), puffins, eagles, black-legged kittiwakes, common murres, cormorants, parakeet and rhinoceros auklets.
In Southeast Alaska, day cruises concentrate on whale watching and sightseeing such gems as Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Bay. Tracy Arm, located 50 miles southeast of Juneau, is a long, narrow fjord that extends into the heavily glaciated Coast Mountain Range. The Adventure Bound (www.adventureboundalaska.com) offers daily trips to Tracy Arm to see wildlife, waterfalls and glaciers. Orca Enterprises (www.alaskawhalewatching.com) in Juneau offers professional whale watching and wildlife adventure tours. Alaska Fjordlines (www.alaskafjordlines.com) offers a roundtrip wildlife cruise between Juneau and Skagway or Haines.
Whale watching, glacier tours and custom sightseeing are offered by Kaleidoscope Cruises (www.alaska.net/~bbsea) out of Petersburg. Viking Travel (www.alaskaferry.com) in Petersburg also arranges whale-watching and custom sightseeing trips.
Glacier Bay National Park (www.nps.gov/glba) offers wildlife and spectacular glacier scenery. Glacier Bay is on the itinerary of most Inside Passage cruise ships, and it is also a popular destination for day cruises out of Juneau. Charter boat tours of Glacier Bay, Icy Strait and Point Adolphous are available in Gustavus, the small community just outside the park boundary. Wildlife cruises may be arranged through local accommodations; contact Annie Mae Lodge (www.anniemae.com). A scheduled day tour boat of Glacier Bay is operated by Glacier Bay Lodge & Tours, the park's concessionaire (www.visitglacierbay.com).
In Southcentral Alaska, charter and scheduled wildlife cruises depart from Whittier, Seward, Ninilchik, Anchor Point and Homer for sightseeing Prince William Sound, Resurrection Bay, Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay.
Full-day, half-day and dinner cruises of Kenai Fjords National Park depart daily from Seward, located 127 miles south from Anchorage. These scheduled cruises explore the park's glaciated coastline and the substantial populations of marine mammals and birds that make their home there. Full-day crusies also visit Chiswell Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Charter boats are also available out of Seward for wildlife viewing. Scheduled cruise tours and charter service out of Seward for wildlife viewing include: Kenai Fjords Tours (www.kenaifjords.com); Major Marine Tours (www.majormarine.com); Alaska Saltwater Lodge & Charters (www.alaskasaltwaterlodge.com); Alaska Northern Outfitters (www.alaskanorthernoutfitters.com); Wild Abandon Charters (www.wildabandoncharters.com); and Mariah Tours.
Daily scheduled cruise tours and custom sightseeing cruises of Prince William Sound's glaciers and wildlife depart from Whittier and Valdez. Prince William Sound tour operators include: Phillips' Cruises & Tours (www.26glaciers.com); Stan Stephens Glacier & Wildlife Cruises (www.stanstephenscruises.com); Major Marine Tours (www.majormarine.com); Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours (www.princewilliamsound.com); Lu-Lu Belle Glacier Wildlife Cruises (www.lulubelletours.com); Honey Charters (www.honeycharters.com), Bread 'N Butter Charters (www.breadnbuttercharters.com), Marine wildlife cruises out of Homer to destinations around Kachemak Bay, like Gull Island, and out to the Barren Islands, are available from Inlet Charters (www.halibutcharters.com) and Central Charters. The Seldovia boardwalk hotel offers a narrated 2-hour natural history and wildlife cruise tour between Homer and Seldovia (www.alaskaone.com/boardwalkhotel).
Wildlife Parks and Wildlife Tours
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (www.alaskawildlife.org) at Milepost 79 Seward Highway, 48 miles south of Anchorage, is a great place to see Northern wildlife up-close and personal. A drive-through animal park, the center is dedicated to the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured animals. Rescued bears, lynx, caribou, moose, musk-oxen, bison, elk, Sitka black-tailed deer, eagles and owls are among the residents at the park.
Two destinations specializing in musk ox viewing are the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer (www.muskoxfarm.org) and the UAF Large Animal Research Station (www.uaf.edu/lars) in Fairbanks.
The Yukon Wildlife Preserve, located about a half-hour's drive from Whitehorse, is a 700-acre animal park. Mountain goats, caribou, moose, elk, wood bison, musk oxen, mule deer and mountain sheep may be viewed in their natural habitat. The largest wild animal park in Alaska has to be 6-million-acre Denali National Park, located 237 highway miles north of Anchorage. Because wildlife is not captive at the park, spotting a grizzly, dall sheep, caribou or moose is not guaranteed, but visitors on one of the wildlife tours through the park have a pretty good chance. The park concessionaire (www.denalinationalpark.com) offers a bus tour out the Park Road and Kantishna Wilderness Trails (www.seedenali.com) offers a one-day trip out the Park Road to the historic Kantishna mining district; both trips include wildlife viewing. Or visitors can take the free shuttle buses operated by the Park Service; go to www.nps.gov/dena for more information on the free shuttle buses.
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