Orcas Cove Kayaking &
Bear Viewing Adventure

Combined Trip - 5.5 hours
Adult: $499
Child: $399

End a perfect day paddling with a bear viewing adventure by seaplane. Our combined tour is the easiest way to discover Southeast Alaska in a single journey - what could be more Alaskan than kayaks, seaplanes, and bears!

Our Orcas Cove kayaking and bear viewing tour is highly personalized and educational by nature. It is also action packed - when you're finished paddling, reload your cameras and let our seaplane take you to the home of the bear.

We will pick you up from Orcas Cove and you will experience the beauty of taking off from the water and the thrill of flying over the area you spent the morning exploring by kayak.

Just a twenty-minute scenic flight westward you will be in bear heaven. Your guide, a veteran Alaskan bush pilot, will fly you over a vast stretch of rugged wilderness and land in a remote bay near a quiet watershed that is rich with grasses, sea kelp and spawning salmon. This protein serves as a summer staple for all Alaskan mammals. It is here, in prime black bear habitat, that you will view and photograph the largest land carnivore in North America.

Access to this wilderness area is by special permit by the United States Forest service and owing to its remote nature you won't be bumping into other tourists or anyone else for that matter! Just you, your pilot and the bears.

Approaching bears from the water offers you the opportunity to watch them feeding on salmon uninterrupted by your presence on land - indeed you can often get closer than watching from a traditional viewing platform and here you can observe wildlife in a pristine habitat unaltered by man.

Flight time to the island is about 40 minutes total giving you over an hour of viewing time. Often we can see other wildlife on our flight, Humpback and Killer whales, Bald Eagles, seals, sea otters, and Harlequin Duck. It is always a pleasure to fly out to this wild island where bears walk confidently.

We have put the odds in our viewing favor, but we cannot guarantee perfect success. (Success rate was 97.2% in 2003/ 97.5% in 2004). Trips run from June 1st to October 1st when bear sightings are the most opportune.

On your return to Ketchikan our courtesy vehicle will take you back to your cruise ship. The same clothing for kayaking is appropriate for this trip, bring a light jacket, tennis shoes and plenty of film.