Alaska Eco Tours

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Welcome to Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge, Alaska Vacation and Alaska Eco Tour site.  We are a destination lodge, meaning that you can experience just about anything Alaska has to offer from one location.  We understand that your time in Alaska is brief and valuable, so why spend too much of it traveling from one place to the next? Check out what we have to offer. We recommend a five to seven day stay, and if you don’t see a tour that you’re interested in, give us a call.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
All Day Kachemak Bay Boat Tour This six hour tour begins with the Bird and Wildlife Viewing portion.  We start with a short boat ride from the Ridgewood to Gull Island - a bird sanctuary home to nine nesting species of birds.  Many other species may be found here during migration, both before and after nesting.  We can provide you with a bird list if you would like to review what birds frequent this area during the summer.  We will also be watching for marine mammals that are common here including sea otters, river otters, mink, seals, whales, and porpoises, as well as searching the beaches for black bear that come down out of the forest to forage on crustaceans and mollusks. 

The next portion of the tour will include an art and culture exploration of the Halibut Cove Galleries. There are seventeen artists here who have made active careers in their passion for art.  You will find a variety of art forms including octopus ink paintings, water color paintings, oil paintings, sculptures, pottery, jewelry and others.  This is also an active community of fisherman and oyster farmers and we can observe their efforts as they carve out an interesting living from the bay.  The final portion of the tour is a visit to an oyster nursery and oyster farm where you can observe the different life stages of an oyster from its infancy to market size ready for the table.  Alaska oysters thrive in the cold, nutrient rich waters of the different coves and bays. Alaska oysters don’t reproduce in our cold waters, and as a result put all of their energy into growing nice uniform shells and plump meats.  Alaska oysters are raised by a technique called suspended culture.  The oysters are placed in nets that are hung from floating long lines in the upper part of the water column, where they can feed continually undisturbed by environmental conditions above the surface.  Kachemak Bay waters are a designated critical habitat area by the State Of Alaska.  As a result of this designation and the effort of many others, our waters are clean and will remain that way. 

*optional, $285.00 per person minimum of two people
Heli-Hiking:  Fly up hike down.  After a short helicopter tour you land with your guide in the alpine at approximately three thousand feet, fresh and ready to experience surroundings seldom viewed, at least not without a great deal of effort. Plants and vegetation at this elevation are much different than at sea level as well as the birds and mammals that spend their summers here.  The ecology is very different, very interesting and the views of the mountains, valleys and glaciers are perfectly breath taking.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
Glacier Hike:  This is a moderate hike beginning at a beach trail head winding its way through a boreal forest combination of spruce and cottonwood trees and other north woods vegetation.  This hike culminates at a glacier lake formed by Grewingk Glacier as it continues to calve various slabs of ice some as large as a house.  These ice bergs are observed in a unique way in March and April by ice-Skating around and through them on the frozen lake.  The days are long, the temperatures are mild, and the sounds are hushed during the summer months.

*optional $678.00 Per Person
Brown Bear Photography Tour  This is a popular tour that books up early, so make your reservations well in advance to get the dates you want.  We have a page on our website dedicated to bear photography so please refer to this page for a more detailed explanation of this very special tour.

*optional $93.16 Per Person
Guided Kayaking:  There are half day and whole day trips available; in either case this is the chance to definitely view the scenery and the wildlife in special way.  Your guide will take you from cove to cove, interpreting the sights and answering your questions.  All you need is your camera and your enthusiasm - everything else is provided.  All experience levels are welcome, and this tour is great family fun.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
Alpine Ridge Hike:  For the hikers, this hike has the feature of getting above tree line in the least amount of time using the least amount of energy, saving your physical resources for wandering around in the alpine tundra enjoying the wildlife and flora that can only be found above tree line.  You will come to appreciate the hardiness of that which thrives here and calls this home.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
Leisure Lake Hike:  This is a good hike for mixed groups.  There is something for everyone, even for the fisherman in the family.  There are several smaller lakes where loons raise their young, as well as other nesting birds which may be found in and around the many bog meadows.  Once at Leisure Lake, pull up a piece of turf, wet a line and try your luck at catching a rainbow trout, or take your shoes off and enjoy the scenery and the sounds of being in back country Alaska.

* optional ask about prices for various packages available
Charter Halibut and Salmon Fishing:  The Port of Homer is considered to be the halibut fishing capitol of Alaska, and quite possibility the world.  Halibut Cove is located across Kachemak Bay from Homer and is the location of “Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge”.  Our guests leave from both Halibut Cove and the Homer Harbor on their half day or all day charters. During August and September, Silver Salmon are caught on these fishing trips in addition to the Halibut, making for lots of action and wonderful fare for the table next winter.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
King Salmon Fishing:  From mid May through mid June we fish for King Salmon right here, practically within sight of the lodge.  The fish are caught on spinning rods using various baits and spinning lures and your guide will decide what’s working best that day, leaving you to just enjoy the fishing.  This is a unique fishery, in that the fish are quite often visible as they slowly swim past the boat, making an opportunity for those interested to photograph them in their natural environment.  This is a salt water fishery; the fish are bright and fresh, making for good quality eating.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
Moose Valley Hike: This is one of our personal favorites.  We spend family time here nearly every year.  The setting is a valley surrounded by towering mountains, a clear water stream running through a forest of giant century’s old cottonwood trees, and willow and grass meadows.  Set perfectly in all this beauty is a mid-last-century cabin, built out of logs and chinked with moss in the old tradition of the pioneer days, a craft which the old timers took with them giving way to modern materials and techniques.  Take a glimpse through a window into Alaska history back to a time rich in simplicity, hard work and contentment.

*optional $265.32 Per Person
Scenic Flight Seeing:  Anywhere you go in Alaska you are going to see beautiful scenery.  You would be hard pressed to pick out one place that truly stands out, but one would have to consider the southern Kenai Peninsula a finalist.  Where else can you fine snow capped mountains, glaciers, salt water bays, coves, and estuaries all surrounded by thousands of square miles of productive ocean waters? Until you have seen it from the air your view is incomplete.

*Included in the cost of your stay :
King Salmon Trolling:  Trolling for King Salmon is an ongoing summer event as the bait fish multiply, as well as the feeder salmon that depend on the bait for food.  The bait also attracts whales which we see from time to time.  Numerous birds are attracted to the bait, diving repeatedly in an effort to catch the little candle fish or herring.  The bird activity alerts us to where the salmon may be.  If the salmon are feeding, now is the time to catch them.  The anticipation when trolling makes for lots of excitement and fun.