After being transferred from you pickup location to the floatplane dock, approximately 30 minutes away, you will check in for your flight. This is followed by a 25-minute scenic floatplane flight to Windfall Island. Upon arrival, we will spend approximately 90 minutes for a kayaking orientation, and then paddling in 2-person sea kayaks about a mile to the edge of the Pack Creek Brown Bear Sanctuary located on Admiralty Island, home to the highest concentrations of brown bears in the world. This world-class wildlife sanctuary provides protected habitat for brown bears while affording visitors an opportunity to view and photograph wildlife closeup.
We will spend approximately 3 hours looking for bears. A short beach walk brings us to the mouth of Pack Creek, where we hope to see Alaskan brown bear fishing for salmon or feeding in the beach meadows. We may also take a short hike through the old growth coastal rainforest to an observation tower on upper Pack Creek.
There are two primary bear-viewing areas along Pack Creek. The most accessible is a sandy spit of land right at the mouth of the creek and a short beach hike from where floatplanes land and boats tie up. A bit more challenging is a beautiful one-mile trail that leads through an old-growth rain forest to a viewing tower. The tower has room for eight people and is an excellent place to watch bears as they pass directly below you
We will then kayak for approximately 30 minutes back to Windfall Island where our float plane will pick us up and transport us back to Juneau. This is truly one of the gemstones of Southeast Alaska!.
The best chance to view brown bear is July and August during salmon spawning season. May and June are also good months because itﾒs brown bear mating season. The number of bears a group sees varies greatly through the summer, but most visitors see at least one bear if not more. However, bear sightings are not guaranteed. This is wild Alaska!
On days during peak season that we cannot visit Pack Creek, we will make every attempt to get permits to Windfall Island/Harbor area to view brown bears.
Windfall is even more rugged and raw than Pack Creek as there are no designated structures to view the wildlife. However, there are even more bears frequenting the various streams running across the estuary and into the saltwater. Our guides have several ﾓsecret locationsﾔ to pull kayaks ashore for scenic breaks and interpretive information.
PLEASE NOTE: Permits to enter Pack Creek and Windfall Island are very limited. Once this tour is confirmed, there is no refund for the permit fee, currently $50.00 pp. We suggest booking as early as possible to avoid disappointment. This tour sells out! Rain Jacket, Pants, & Rubber boots, as well as a hearty Snack & Bottled Water will be provided during the trip. Minimum age to participate is 12 years old.
