Bear Viewing on an Alaska Cruise

Bear sightings on an Alaska cruise depend almost entirely on salmon. When fish are in the streams, bears concentrate at predictable places and viewing works. Outside that window, bears are spread across enormous areas of forest and no amount of money improves the odds much.

Bears are the animal people most want to see and the one that most often disappoints, because sighting probability is driven by a single variable that has nothing to do with how much you spend.

The salmon rule

For most of the year, bears in Southeast Alaska are dispersed across vast areas of temperate rainforest, feeding on sedges, berries and intertidal life. Finding one requires luck.

When salmon return to spawn, bears concentrate at streams where fish are trapped in shallow water. Suddenly there are predictable places where bears reliably appear, and viewing becomes practical.

The run timing varies by species and stream but broadly:

Practical conclusion: late July and August. In May or early June, bear excursions are poor value regardless of price.

Where to go, by port

Ketchikan

Herring Cove, about eight miles from town, is the most accessible bear viewing on the cruise circuit. Black bears fish the creek during the run, and the site is reached by road in around twenty minutes, so it can be combined with other stops.

Neets Bay, reached by floatplane, offers better odds and a more remote setting at $400 to $580 per person. Weather dependent.

See our Ketchikan guide.

Icy Strait Point

Chichagof Island has one of the highest brown bear densities anywhere on earth, estimated at roughly one bear per square mile. Guided bear searches run into the forest and along salmon streams by vehicle.

The paradox is that high density does not mean easy viewing: the forest is dense and bears are hard to see in it. Odds are moderate rather than high, but the bears here are brown bears, which are considerably larger than the black bears at Herring Cove. See Icy Strait Point.

Juneau

Black bears appear around the Mendenhall area during salmon runs, particularly at Steep Creek near the visitor centre. This is not an excursion but a possibility during a normal glacier visit in late summer, and it is free.

Sitka

Fortress of the Bear is a rescue facility for orphaned brown and black bear cubs housed in converted pulp mill clarifier tanks. It is not wilderness and does not pretend to be. It is, however, the only certain close range bear viewing on the circuit and it is genuinely worthwhile for anyone who wants to see the animal properly. See Sitka.

Costs

Questions to ask before booking

1. Are fish currently in the creek? This is the only question that matters. A reputable operator will answer honestly.
2. What is the viewing platform like? Some sites have raised platforms; some are ground level with guides.
3. What is the group size? Smaller groups move more quietly.
4. Is transport included? Herring Cove is eight miles out.
5. What happens if no bears are seen? Policies vary.

Telling them apart

Brown bears, which include grizzlies, are larger, with a pronounced shoulder hump and a dished facial profile. Black bears are smaller, with a straighter profile and no hump.

Colour is unreliable. Black bears in Southeast Alaska are frequently brown, and the occasional cinnamon or blue phase animal confuses everyone.

In Southeast Alaska the distribution is unusually neat: brown bears dominate on Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof islands, while black bears occupy the mainland and Revillagigedo Island around Ketchikan.

Safety

Follow guide instructions immediately and without discussion. Bears at salmon streams are focused on fish and generally tolerant of people at a distance, and that tolerance depends entirely on people behaving predictably. Do not approach, do not get between a bear and the water, and never between a sow and cubs.

More on Alaska wildlife generally in our wildlife guide.