Ketchikan Black Bear Express

Your experience will start with a scenic coastal drive to the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary.

When you arrive at the sanctuary, naturalist guides will join you, bringing the rich forest to life as you walk along an improved trail. You’ll be surrounded by magnificent stands of spruce, hemlock and cedar trees. And soon you’ll be watching for wild bears in search of spawning salmon and ample berries. These are safe, protected raised boardwalks, exclusively for bear tours only. You can expect to have an intimate viewing experience and to reduce environmental impacts, only a limited number of groups have access to this private bear viewing area.

Your guide will lead you along another boardwalk system perched over the grassy wetlands alongside Herring Creek. You’ll have the chance to observe a rich run of spawning salmon and the bears and seals that come to fish for them, along with bald eagles and other birds that wait for scraps in the tidal estuary nearby.