While organised bear viewing is in its infancy elsewhere in North America, more than 2 decades of careful development in Alaska has produced spectacular results, with bears have becoming accustomed to small groups of human observers such that they no longer see them as a threat, and continue with their natural behaviour as if they weren't even there. Here it is possible to sit quietly while giant Coastal Brown Bears catch salmon or graze on estuarine sedge grasses only yards away, and nowhere else in the world can you safely come face to face with more and bigger bears than you can in Alaska.
Alaska encompasses an incredible diversity of habitat from temperate rainforest and taiga forest, to alpine and arctic tundra, and this diversity is reflected in its terrestrial wildlifewhich includes the largest Brown Bears on the continent (if not the planet), as well as its inland/alpine cousin the Grizzly Bear, the resourceful Black Bear, Wolves, Wolverines, Red & Arctic Foxes, Lynx, Moose, Caribou, and Mountain Goats.Surrounded on 3 sides by the Pacific Ocean and Bering, Chukchi & Beaufort Seas, Alaska's coastal waters are also incredibly rich and are home to Sea Otters, Seals, Sea Lions, Walrus, Minke Whales, and Orcas. They also play host to visiting giants including Fin, Bowhead & Humpback Whales – which can sometimes be seen bubble netting on our specialist small boat safaris.
This is one of our most exciting 10 day bear viewing tours in Alaska, as it combines the world famous Brooks Falls for those most iconic of 'bears catching salmon' photos, with... Read More
Amazing opportunity to see Grizzly Bears, and Humpbacks bubble netting off the coast of south east Alaska. Wildlife Trails has partnered up with small, expert local companies to offer... Read More
Brooks Lodge and the iconic Brooks Falls, where giant brown bears are photographed plucking salmon out of the air, is one of the most iconic bear viewing locations in Alaska and indeed the world.... Read More
The real jewel in Alaska's wildlife crown is Katmai National Park, which lies across Shelikof Strait from Kodiak at the base of the Alaska Peninsula. Katmai is home to the largest protected... Read More
After connecting with a flight from Anchorage to Kodiak you will stay two nights in this frontier town and take a half-day floatplane bear viewing tour at Frazer Lake on Kodiak Island - known as... Read More
We went to Alaska, which Wildlife Trails sorted out for us. I chose Wildlife Trails because Allan was more knowledgeable than others I emailed, and more helpful. We went to Anchorage, Seward,...er, Nikiski, Kodiak and Katmai. At Nikiski we stayed at Daniels Lake Lodge B&B in a log cabin by the lake. It was an amazing place and was the wildest and most remote of our journey. We saw a black bear and 3 coyote on the road. Had a great day out with Alaska West Air near there. We had bears right beside our boat at Big River Lakes near Wolverine Creek, saw bald eagles and plenty of salmon in the river. They gave us a scenic flight on the way back flying right over double glacier and its ice field - so close we almost landed on it. Really breath-taking. We booked up Juneau Mendenhall Glacier Ice Adventure Tour ourselves through Alaska Shore Excursions - local tour operator was Liquid Alaska Tours. This was excellent. We did canoeing, went in an ice cave under the glacier and used crampons to climb on top of it. A fantastic day out. Would recommend these. Also had a great day out at Brooks Falls watching the bears catching the salmon that were jumping up the waterfall. Well worth the trip. Wouldn't recommend Jayleen's Alaska whale watching trip. We didn't see anything but a lighthouse for most of the morning. Cost us a fortune for 6 hours when we saw more on the 2 hour cruise with Alaska Tales for a fraction of the cost. These are a new company. We didn't have many on the boat so didn't have to fight the crowds to see the whales and they took us straight to them so didn't waste any of our time. To see black bears close up we went to AnAn Bear observatory. A mother and cub came very close to where we were standing on a platform. At the other places we saw brown bears. A great trip all in all.
As I stated above Wildlife Trails are very knowledgeable and helpful. They always replied quickly to any emails I sent asking them a lot of questions (some I should have been able to work out myself). When we had problems they were always contactable to help us sort them out. The ferry they booked for us went on strike but Wildlife Trails had sorted us out a flight in its place before we even knew there was a problem, so the holiday ran very smoothly. I would recommend Wildlife Trails to anyone and I have already booked another trip with them next year.
By Dawn and Steve
Saturday August 18, 2018
Walking with Bears
A 7 night stay at Katmai Wilderness Lodge which was amazing both for accommodation, food, very friendly and helpful staff and of course seeing bears in their natural habitat. A 4 night stay in...eau which included a visit to Pack Creek where we had good sighting of bears and 2 Whale Watching tours where we saw Humpbacks and seals and Stellar Sealions.
Wildlife Trails a small family concern run by Allan and Kirsty Blanchard. Very efficient and helpful. Listened to what we wanted and put together a good itinerary.
By Janet and Audrey
Saturday August 18, 2018
Thoroughly bearable
Great itinerary Jeaunau, a good start to be introduced to the quirkiness of Alaska We self-added Barrow and glad we did as it was culturally exotic as well as seeing the ice of the Artic Ocean The...iak area had ups and downs due to weather; Alaska needs a weather disclaimer! Highlights were Frazer Lake and Katmai Wildnerness Lodge (when the weather was good) Homer was a great last stop as loved the hippie vibe and the trip to brooks from there was fantastic The overall theme was bears and each bear experience grew on the previous Brooks was the icing on the cake. A last morning in Anchorage sealed the oddidity of this amazing sate. (really feels like a seperate country)
Excellent for planning and knowing the best spots as had done the trip himself. He had booked out the katmai wilderness lodge for his clients which was great as we fall a small party for 4 days. The wether disruption caused a lot of stress and Kodiak should katmai Wilderness shpul;d be marked with a high risk stamp We particularly hadn't realised with Katmai Wilderness the limited transpot links and lack of flexibilty to try and pre-empt detriorating weather
By Jonathan and David
Thursday August 10, 2017
An action packed wildlife tour of Alaska
We travelled in dependently using a car, flights and the Alaska Marine Highway. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. Car hire and all accommodation were excellent. The itinerary worked...l considering it was so packed - but we did have some independent down time. Some outstanding bear viewing at Brooks Falls, Pack Creek and AnAn. Loved it. Can't wait to go back
Allan and Wildlife Trails offer a really personal service. Never ending patience as we nailed down all the details with numerous emails and calls He knew the area and offered good advice. The price was also competitive and allowed us to do so much.
By Elaine
Friday August 21, 2015
Wonderful time in Alaska and Canada
Had a great time on our Wildlife Trails-organised trip to Alaska and W Canada. It was our first trip to that part of the world and our itinerary was great. Saw whales breaching and bears fishing...well as fabulous scenery and some great little towns.
Wildlife Trails put together a customised itinerary to meet our objectives. It was excellent. They deliver a very helpful and personalised service, which we really appreciated.
By Chris and Tricia
Monday July 28, 2014
Expectations fulfilled with extras
Our brief to the tour operator was " as much wildlife as possible " and this was certainly fulfilled. an individually tour to suit us, using planes, trains, coaches, hire cars, bikes,...at planes to add to the exciting experience, and all giving access to humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, sea otters, bald eagles, moose, caribou, porcupines, brown bears catching salmon, along with local guides with superb knowledge of the area and wildlife.
A small family concern with excellent knowledge of Alaska and what it had to offer. we asked for various alterations to the itinerary along the way, and these were all met good attention to detail.
By Ian
Wednesday October 16, 2013
Alaskan Bear Photography
The primary objective was to photograph the bears fishing for salmon. Katmai lodge was a dream. The location, guides and facilities were excellent. Perry the manager/guide instilled confidence and... always looking to get the best positions and experiences. We were all able to capture some stunning images of the bears, as well as otters, seals, puffins .... We also visited Denali (fantastic scenery) and spent some time in and aroound Anchorage all of which really worked well. Overall a great experience.
This is the second trip we have done with Wildlife Trails. Alan and co have listened to our requirements and created an itinerary that fits. Our group are all keen photographers and he has always had good advice and our best interests in mind. Efficient, helpful and friendly, and infinitely patient as we 'tweaked' the itinerary. We would certainly use them again.
By Ralph
Tuesday September 10, 2013
Touring Alaska the ultimate Bear experience
This is the best holiday we have ever been on. We love bears and all wildlife. We can honestly say the 24 days were just adrenalin filled. Every moment was an experience never to be forgotten....ting up close and personal with bears fishing, swimming, snorkelling, playing, mothers with their cubs and so much more. Humpback whales coming up close to our boat, so close you could smell their blow! Riding the bow with dall porpoise. Sea otters with their babies, and calving glaciers cashing in the sea! Amazing! I also need to mention the guides at Katmai Wilderness Lodge who were just amazing. Perry was an outstanding guide keeping us safe but making sure we had the ultimate experience!
Wildlife Trails were really helpful. Listened very carefully to what I wanted, helping me put together the best package for our ultimate trip of a life time
By Lesley
Monday August 26, 2013
A wildlife photographer's dream
For the serious wildlife photographer Alaska is a paradise with stunning scenery, bears, whales and amazing birdlife . It is impossible to do it justice in a few weeks. I decided to spend 3 weeks...centrating on the puffins on St Paul Island, the whales in Auke Bay and the bears in Katmai National Park. Some of these places are very remote and Wildlife Trails sorted out the logistics of my trip and made helpful recommendations. They were able to put a bespoke trip together for me at substantially less than packages I had found on the web. I was lucky enough to see a huge amount of wildlife including grizzlies fighting over a dead moose, Orcas making a kill, humpbacks breaching, countless cute Arctic fox cubs, tufted and horned puffins and sea otters.
Wildlife trails were able to put together a complicated itinerary which required a lot of planning over several months. They worked very hard to find and book suitable international flights for me so I would not have to transit in the USA. entry to the States in Anchorage was very quick (15 minutes) and courteous. They worked very hard in looking at suitable places for me to do a week's whale watching. They booked a package for me to visit St Paul Island which was a great place to see puffins and foxes. They cam up with a very good recommendation for a place for me to stay in Katmai National Park, the Katmai wilderness lodge, which was first class in every respect.