Alaska Bear Viewing & Alaska Brown Bear Photography
Float Plane Bear Viewing Adventure
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Depart with your pilot and guide via floatplane, the mode of Alaskan Bush travel, across Cook Inlet to the Alaska Peninsula. Enjoy a scenic flight into the true Alaskan bush, flying past expansive glaciers that clothe towering mountains and steaming volcanoes. Spend an unforgettable day hiking 3–5 miles in remote Katmai National Park and Preserve, exploring expansive sedge meadows or salmon-filled streams in Katmai's enormous ecosystem. Your naturalist guide will lead you and the other members of your small group on a day hike, where you will become acquainted with Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears and the amazing country that is their home.
June to mid or late July finds us along the coastal sedge flats, watching as the bears are beach combing and browsing on succulent spring grasses, roots, clams, and other food they can find, as everything in a bear's life revolves around food sources. It is mating season, and you may see large males pursuing the females. June is the time spring cubs are being introduced into the population of bears and young sub-adults, all celebrating the return of summer. In mid / late July to mid August many of the streams and rivers along the Alaska Range fill with salmon returning to the streams they were spawned in, their bight red color shining and flashing as they fight their way up stream. Waiting for the salmon are the bears, sporting hefty appetites after a long winter's sleep. Each has their favorite fishing spot and unique fishing style. Salmon is their chief source of food, nutrition, and fat reserves for denning later in the year. Mid August through September finds the bears fat and sleek, moving between the salmon streams and the abundant ripe berries on the hillsides, appetites sated and preparing to den. |
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FAQ's
Will I see black bears at the Lodge?
It is not uncommon to see black bears along the beaches in Halibut Cove during a Boat Tour, or while hiking in the Kachemak Bay State Park. We even occasionally have them stop by and peek in the windows!
Will I see brown bears at the Lodge?
No. We do not have brown bears in Halibut Cove. While there have been reports of brown bears in the Kachemak Bay State Park, a sighting is extremely rare.
For guests that would like to see brown bears, we would be happy to arrange a Bear Viewing Trip for you.
For guests that would like to see brown bears, we would be happy to arrange a Bear Viewing Trip for you.
What is the best time to see brown bears in Alaska?
This entirely depends on what you want to see. In the early summer, bears just coming out from hibernation are gathering along the coastal sedge flats and in the meadows to beach comb and graze on succulent spring grasses. It is mating season, so you may see large males pursuing the females. June is the time new spring cubs are being introduced into the general population of bears, and young sub-adults are playfully celebrating the return of summer. There is a lot of bear interaction and socialization.
In mid summer, fishing is what is on the bears minds. They become very focused on the sole task of catching and eating as much fish as possible. Many of the streams and rivers along the Alaska Range fill with salmon returning to the very streams they were spawned in, and the bears are waiting with hefty appetites after a long winters sleep. Each has their favorite fishing spot and unique fishing style.
By late summer, the bears are at their very prettiest, fat and sleek for a long winter of hibernation. The tundra is turning from green to varied shades of autumn.
In mid summer, fishing is what is on the bears minds. They become very focused on the sole task of catching and eating as much fish as possible. Many of the streams and rivers along the Alaska Range fill with salmon returning to the very streams they were spawned in, and the bears are waiting with hefty appetites after a long winters sleep. Each has their favorite fishing spot and unique fishing style.
By late summer, the bears are at their very prettiest, fat and sleek for a long winter of hibernation. The tundra is turning from green to varied shades of autumn.
What is Fat Bear Week?
Every year in October, the Katmai National Park & Preserve hosts Fat Bear Week, where rangers create a tournament style bracket pitting individual bears agains each other, based on the weight they gained to prepare for hibernation. The public then votes to see who will advance each round. Voting takes place over several days on FatBearWeek.org, and people may vote using any criteria they see fit. In the end, one bear will be crowned the champion. Throughout the season, you can also tune in to the Bear Cams, which offer unprecedented access to the lives of the bears of Brooks River.
Our History
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In 1978, along with our mentors and partners, we made the first organized effort to offer wildlife photographers the opportunity to photograph Alaska brown bears in their natural environment. We established a camp 8 miles north of McNeil River, a spot famous for its brown bears on the Alaska Peninsula. The only access to McNeil River is by a small boat during high tide, and our trips were coordinated with the State Department of Fish & Game so that we could access McNeil Falls. From our base camp at Chenik Lagoon, we made daily trips to view the bears. The McNeil River Sanctuary is currently managed and run by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game on a lottery based system. The applications for the lottery are available after the New Year on their website. If you're drawn, they will notify you and you can make the plans for your trip accordingly.
Now, because of our heartfelt love for the bears, we want to continue offering a Brown Bear Viewing experience to our guests. Because of the high interest in bears as a result of the NcNeil River program, and because it is such a popular activity that visitors to our state enjoy, we use these two air-service businesses with many years experience of flying and guiding guests to the Alaska Peninsula for a day of Brown Bear Viewing. Depending on the species of salmon, and when during the summer they spawn, both of the companies we use have a wide range of creeks and rivers to choose from between the northern boundaries of Katmai National Monument and north to the Lake Clark National Preserve. We are one of the premier Alaska Bear Viewing Lodges in the state of Alaska, and because our Brown Bear Viewing adventures are so popular, these reservations need to be made in advance of the upcoming season. For your Alaska bear adventure, we will book your trip with the best pilots and guides in Alaska. The pilots we work with are excellent - they have exemplary safety records and are incredibly knowledge about Alaskan Brown Bears. |
Typically a female will have a litter of one to three cubs, although litters of four occur occasionally. They are born tiny and hairless, sometimes weighing less than half a pound. They spend the winter sleeping and nursing, warm in their dens with their mother.
By the time spring arrives, the cubs will have grown and weigh anywhere between four and eight pounds. Mother and cubs emerge from their dens in search of food. Male grizzlies have no part in raising cubs. In fact, male grizzlies may pose a threat to cubs, and mother bears are very protective of her young. Cubs will stay with their mother for about two years learning survival skills. (Credit: NPS)
The bears enter a medical state known as hyperphagia in which they eat non-stop and can gain up to four pounds in a single day. Some bears can eat dozens of sockeye salmon each day, with each salmon packing about 4,000 calories. (Credit: DOI)
Grizzly bears have five claws on each paw, and their paws range between 5-6 inches wide and 7-11 inches long. Claws are 2” to 4” in length.
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Except for females with offspring and breeding animals, bears are typically solitary creatures and avoid the company of other bears. Exceptions to this occur where food sources are concentrated such as streams where bears can catch salmon swimming upstream to spawn. At McNeil River Falls, the largest concentration of brown bears occurs annually. Biologists have observed more than 60 bears at one time, attracted by spawning salmon. (Credit: “The Bear Fact” published by the Alaska Natural History Association in cooperation with the NPS)
In Halibut Cove, Adjacent to the Kachemak Bay State Park.
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Mailing Address:
PO Box 659 Homer, AK 99603 Physical Address: 46514 Sidelinger Trail Halibut Cove, AK 99603 [email protected] |
NOTE: We are located in the Alaskan wilderness , and sometimes phone service can be unreliable. If you leave a message and don't hear back from us within 24 hours, please try again, or send an email.
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