Admiralty Island Bear Viewing

The remote wilderness area of Admiralty Island lies just 15 miles off the coast of Juneau. Locally known as "Fortress of the Bear", this large island is home to over 1,600 grizzly bears, one of the highest concentrations in the world with approximately one bear per square mile!

Departing from Juneau Airport, your thrilling seaplane flight will begin with a superb bird's eye view of Juneau, Mendenhall Glacier and the Gastineau Channel before landing deep within the Admiralty Island National Monument. En route it is often possible to spot whales, bald eagles and bears.

After a brief induction, it's a short hike along the shore to Pack Creek or any number of nearby popular bear spots. Your pilot and guide, Butch Laughlin, has been conducting bear tours since 1991 and knows this unique landscape very well. Although wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed, with such experience, your chances are greatly increased.

Depending on the season, it is possible to see bears feeding on sedge grass in spring or salmon from mid-July to September. Admiralty bears seem to prefer chum salmon to leaner pink salmon and when the salmon are plentiful, the bears become more selective with what parts of the fish they eat. Despite being solitary animals, the bears will tolerate each other during the salmon runs while there is enough food to go around, meaning it is possible to see several bears in any one area.

Visitor numbers are tightly controlled and every effort is made to not impact the bears. The return flight to Juneau is via a different route providing another look at this spectacular landscape including mountains, alpine lakes and the temperate old growth rainforest.