Welcome To Alaska Bear Viewing Tours
Welcome to Alaska Bear Viewing Tours, an Alaskan owned and operated family business providing Amazing adventure tours into the undisturbed majesty of Alaska’s wild places. Travel with us by boat to see majestic brown bears, undisturbed, in their natural environment, surrounded by the most stunning beauty you will ever see.
A Once In A Lifetime Alaska Bear Viewing Adventure
Our fully guided bear viewing tours take you by boat into the pristine wilderness of Lake Clark National Park. We will take you into Chinitna Bay, one of Alaska’s most wild and beautiful places, where you will see Alaska brown bears up close and undisturbed doing what bears do in their natural habitat. Our tours are perfect for nature lovers, photographers, adrenaline junkies or anyone seeking a unique and unforgettable Alaskan memory.
What’s Included:
• Travel By Boat To Chinitna Bay Bear Watching Area
• Warm Comfortable Cabin & Restroom
• Opportunity To See Whales, Sea Otters, Sea Birds
• Amazing Photo & Video Opportunities
• See Active Volcanos In The Ring of Fire
• Go To Shore And See Bears In Their Natural Habitat
• Easy Walking Trails
• Fully Guided By Professional Bear Guides
Experience Unforgettable Bear Watching in Alaska!
Why Go Bear Viewing With Us?
Alaska Bear Viewing Tours is a family owned Alaskan business with over 25 years operating Alaska bear viewing and fishing charters. Professional guide and owner Mike Patterson is a 4th generation Alaskan who knows where to take you to for the best alaskan brown bear viewing.
Together, Mike and his wife Daniella offer personalized small group bear trips with no more than 6 guests at a time. What this means for you is a more relaxed trip, more time with your guide to ask questions, gain insight into the bears, and a more custom adventure tailored to your groups needs.
“Take a walk with us on the wild side accompanied by our experienced bear guide as they lead you along easy walking trails into the most stunning and beautiful places on earth. Watch brown bears feeding on marsh grasses and salmon, playing, mating, and doing all the other antics bears are known for“. Owners, Mike and Daniella
Professional, Experienced Guides For Bear Watching Adventure
• Fully Guided: Our bear guide accompanies you from the moment you load on the boat until you arrive safely back to your vehicle. Guests love spending the day with Captain Mike gleaning from his vast knowledge of Alaska and enjoying stories of his many Alaskan adventures. We are confident you will enjoy a day of scenic bear viewing adventure with us.
• Safety: We have extensive expertise in bear observation and ensuring your safety during up-close encounters with these magnificent creatures. Chintna Bay and Cook Inlet experience significant tidal variations, requiring local knowledge and skill to navigate the waters and unpredictable weather conditions that Alaska is known for. Each day brings new challenges, but our years of experience have equipped us to handle any situation that may arise.
• Experience: Captain Mike Patterson is a 4th generation Alaskan who has been fishing, adventuring, and hunting in and around Cook Inlet all of his life. He has operated boats on these waters since he was very young and is an avid outdoorsman with decades of experience around bears. Captain Mike’s vast experience on the water and in the woods makes him the perfect choice for your Alaska bear viewing guide.
“We see an average of 12-40 bears on our Tours”.
See Rates and Availability
Fully Guided Bear Viewing in Alaska
When you join us on a tour to watch bears, you can rest easy that you will be going with experienced guides who know the waters, winds, coastlines, and bears we will take you to see.
We specialize in small group, personalized, fully guided bear watching tours with one guide and no more than 6 guests. This means a more relaxed and personable experience where you will have more time to ask questions, stop and take photos, and soak in the sights and sounds on your bear adventure.
Travel By Boat To Watch Bears at Alaska’s Chinitna Bay
When you travel by boat on our Alaska bear viewing tours from Homer or Anchor Point, you will experience unparalleled opportunities to behold the beauty and wildlife Alaska is famous for.
You’ll ride in safety and comfort in our fast fully enclosed 32′ offshore boat to access some of the most stunning places Alaska can offer. Our Alaska bear viewing adventures begin when we launch the boat and embark on a 2 hour boat ride across beautiful Cook Inlet on the way to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
This scenic boat ride across the inlet alone is worth the price of admission for the potential to see marine sea life such as Orca, Mink, Gray and Humpback whales, sea otters, seasonal marine birds including horned and tufted puffins and more. Then, once we arrive at our Alaskan Bear Viewing destination, we take you onshore where we often see and average of 10-40 brown bears on each of our Alaska bear viewing tours.
If all that is not enough, when weather permits, you’ll be blown away by the towering snow capped mountains of the Alaska range that surrounds you, including several active volcanoes known as the “ring of fire” that are visible in the vast landscape. it is truly a sight you will remember for a lifetime.
View Alaska Bears In One Of The Most Beautiful Places On Earth!
People ask, “where is the best bear viewing in Alaska?” Chinitna Bay we tell them that Chinitna Bay is definitely one of them. This amazing place is surrounded by panoramic views of a chain of volcanoes called the “Ring of Fire”. Mt. Douglas, Mt. Augustine, Mt. Illiamna and Mt. Redoubt tower all around you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bear Viewing:
Where is the best bear viewing in Alaska?
Bears live throughout Alaska and can be seen nearly anywhere but places where bears are protected like Chinitna Bay, located in Lake Clark National Park, offer the best bear viewing opportunities.
What month is best to see bears in Alaska?
Alaska bears come out of hibernation in mid April and can be seen until they go back in the dens in October. The best months to see brown bears are June, July, and August when salmon are available and they are feeding on them along salmon streams.
How much does it cost to go bear viewing in Alaska?
Costs for bear viewing tours in Alaska can vary greatly on the specific location you choose to visit, the length of time you want to stay, and the means of transportation it takes to get there. Boat based bear viewing tours are among the most affordable options.
How common is it to see a bear in Alaska?
While bears can be seen just about anywhere in Alaska, it is rare to see one by accident. They avoid people and stay scarce unless you visit a place where bears are protected and not afraid of people. National Park locations like Chinitna Bay provide the best chance to see bears and visitors there often see 10-40 bears per visit.
What Makes Lake Clark National Park Special?
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is located on the west side of Cook Inlet approximately 65 air miles northwest of Homer, and about 120 air miles southwest of Anchorage but it’s only 38 miles from where we launch our boat in Anchor Point, AK. This proximity is one of the main reasons we prefer to take you bear viewing by boat, not to mention the much greater photo and video opportunities you get when we see plentiful wildlife up close which you cannot do by airplane.
Where Can I Learn More About Bears in Alaska
When you join us for a bear viewing adventure you will learn a ton about the bears of Alaska. Our trips begin in May when the bears in this area start emerging from their dens. Most bears emerge in mid April to early May depending on whether we have early or late spring.
When bears come out of the dens they are hungry after a long winter without food so right away they search for something to eat. Bears are omnivores and will feed on anything available including winter kills, beached marine life, clams they dig from the sand, and sedge grasses. These are the predominate food sources for the bears in until the Salmon begin to arrive in mid-July. Then, from mid-July until early September the bears will be congregated mostly around the Salmon spawning streams devouring plentiful supplies of salmon. Often we focus on these areas on our Alaska bear viewing trips. This abundant source of protein which is easy to get for the bears is a main reason Alaska bears get so large.
Many people do not know that there are different subspecies of bears in Alaska and we often get many questions about them on our tours. You can find more information about brown bears on this page Alaska Brown Bear Facts.
How Many Brown Bears Live In The Area We Will Visit?
Biologist have counted as many as 217 brown bears in a 50 square mile area along the exact same coast line that our Alaska bear viewing tour takes us and is considered one of the best bear viewing locations. These bears are considered Alaska Peninsula Brown bears which can get as large as Kodiak brown bears. Females are typically 450 to 800 pounds and males range from 600 to 1,500 pounds. On our Chinitna bay bear tours we typically see 20 plus brown bear a day on our Alaska bear tours. We will see other animals other than brown bears; we have the opportunity to see wolves, moose, fox,coyotes and dozens of different species of shore birds.
Alaska Bear Viewing Tours Homer, Alaska