Traitor’s Cove Bear Viewing in the Tongass

A Private Tongass Safari for Black Bear Viewing

This tour is sold out for 2024

Nearby to Ketchikan lies the pristine wilderness landscapes of Tongass National Forest. These pristine lush rainforests are fed by numerous creeks and streams, providing a tasty menu of fish for Alaska’s vast population of black bears. You’ll take a private 20-minute flight by seaplane into the Tongass after which you’ll join your pilot and guide on a scenic hike along a Forest Service trail to go bear viewing. After ascending to a private bear viewing platform, you can photograph and watch these amazing creatures hunt for their next meal as they search the creek for spawning salmon.

Your cruise excursion adventure begins here...

Day 1

Your Traitor’s Cove Bear Viewing experience will begin with a short 20-minute flight over the lush wilderness of the Tongass National Forest. Your pilot will narrate along the way, pointing out key sites in the area.

After you touch down in Traitor’s Cove, you will be met on the floatplane dock by your personal Alaska bear guide. Travel approximately one mile down a United States Forest Service road to a trailhead where you will be safely escorted down the trail to the Margaret Creek Bear Viewing platform. Along the trail, your guide will point out the flora, fauna, berries, and trees, as well as any wildlife you may encounter. Keep your eyes peeled all around – bald eagles and even bears are known to perch high above in the trees.

The platform offers a prime vantage point to see Alaska’s real fisherman – the bears. Watch the true champions of nature – five species of salmon battling in the last part of their life, to arrive upstream to spawn. They are fighting not just with the swift current but also the bears. See the black bears that are fattening up for winter plunge into the rushing water, jaws wide to eat the wild salmon. Besides bears feeding, you may also see Bald Eagles and ravens feeding on salmon scraps left over by the bears.

Amenities, nearby adventures and more...

  • Meet and greet at the cruise terminal
  • Roundtrip flight over the Inside Passage
  • Service of an experienced naturalist guide

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We had an amazing time in Alaska! Thank you for your planning and willingness to work with us to create an itinerary that met our wants and needs. We were thrilled to have Savannah with us for the entirety of our trip. What a professional and caring young woman she is. She... Read more  

Katherine Trexler