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Chilkoot Wilderness and Wildlife Viewing - Skagway Departure

Chilkoot Wilderness and Wildlife Viewing - Skagway Departure

Overview

Leave the crowds of Skagway behind and visit Chilkoot Lake State Park in Haines.

Your tour begins with a high-speed catamaran ride along the steep-walled fjords which connect Skagway to Haines. Over a dozen unnamed waterfalls drop hundreds of feet from both sides of the boat. Upon arrival in Haines, you will meet your knowledgeable guide for a drive to Chilkoot Lake State Park.

This park has it all: a turquoise lake surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, a salmon-filled river flowing into the sea, and important Tlingit cultural sights. Bald eagles, harbor seals, and brown bears are often seen here.

City: Skagway

Wed 02 Jul

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $270.00

Make a reservation

Wed 02 Jul

Starting at $270.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Transportation and Fare on Haines/Skagway Fast Ferry

Lunch consists of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, fruit, freshly baked cookie and water. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available with 48 hours advance notice.

Driver/guide

Port pickup

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Specialized infant seats are available
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children must be accompanied by an adult
A minimum of 2 people is required for tour to run
At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the name of their cruise ship and Hotel guests must provide the name of the hotel or B&B.
Not accessible to motorized wheelchairs.
Your tour includes a portable lunch. It consists of a turkey sandwich on organic whole wheat bread, fruit, freshly baked cookie, and bottled water. Vegetarian and gluten free options are available with 48 hours advance notice.

What To Expect

Haines

Visit a true naturalist’s paradise - Haines, Alaska. Haines boasts some of the most pristine wild country in Southeast Alaska. Your expert naturalist guide will share their knowledge of this area’s unique wildlife, plants, and ecosystems.

Chilkoot River

In May, June and July, the wildflowers are at their peak and eagles are busy caring for their young on the nest. Beginning in late July, the river fills with migrating salmon, while brown bears come down to the river’s edge to feed. As the number of salmon in the river increases, the likelihood of seeing bears down along the river increases, with a good probability of bear sightings from early August through late September.

Chilkoot Lake State Recreation Area

As you drive through the park, your guide knows the best places to stop for scenery and the possibility of wildlife spotting. Your guide is equipped with a powerful spotting scope to bring the wildlife in close, and your guide will help interpret the behavior of the various wildlife and explain how the animals fit into the Chilkoot’s complex ecosystem. Make sure you bring your camera to take advantage of the numerous photo opportunities.

Fort William H. Seward National Historic Landmark

Fort William H Seward overlooks the Port Chilkoot Cruise Ship Dock. Built by the US Army in 1904, the fort has a storied past and is now privately owned and maintained.

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Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (51)

Gary_C

Sep 2024

Ferry ride to Haines was nice. Saw several eagles and salmon swimming in a stream. Disappointed we didn’t see any bears.

Response from Host

Oct 2024

Thanks of this honest review. I wish I could guarantee a bear on every trip, but, unfortunatley, I can't. But I am glad that you called it a "nice nature trip" and that you enjoyed the eagles and the salmon. We hope you return for another tour with us. While we can't guarantee bears, Rainbow Glacier Adventures can guarantee a high-quality, small-group tour with a great guide.

Mary_C

Aug 2024

Thus was a fairly expensive tour and not at all what expected. We got more of a tour of Haines, and then drive up and down the main road by the water. It did not feel as if the driver/guide had much interest in finding wildlife. A disappointment

Response from Host

Sep 2024

Response to review I am sorry to read this review and several other one-star reviews that I assume are from the same day and the same tour. Our company normally gets five-star reviews, and so this caught my attention. I talked with our guide about this particular tour and he remembered this trip well. He said that a large percentage of the group was traveling together and had been to Haines before. On their previous trip, they had seen a bear along the Chilkoot River. So the expectation level was high that they would have a similar experience. But this was not a private trip and there were others who had never been to Haines before. Rainbow Glacier Adventures guides make every effort to find wildlife. Unfortunately, there were no bears found that day during that particular tour time. Our company had several vehicles out at the same time, and no one reported that they saw any bear. Your guide told me he made several passes up and down the Chilkoot River looking for bears. At this point in the tour, our guide had to make a decision- should he spend the entire tour driving up and down the Chilkoot River or should he go to other interesting areas to share the variety and diversity of the Chilkat Valley? On private tours, the guests have lots of leverage to decide how the tour time is spent. But with a mixed group, such as this one, the guide must make a decision based on a variety of factors. They must take into account the expectations and desires of all tour members. If this had been a private tour and the group wanted to stay along the Chilkoot River the entire time, he could and he would have done so. Private tours are more expensive than group tours. Since you mentioned that you thought this tour was expensive, I can’t imagine that you considered booking a private tour. Many other bear viewing tours in Alaska require a flight and many have limits on the number of people that can visit per day. Those tours are quite a bit more expensive than our tours. Please note that we do not sell this tour as a bear viewing tour. It is a wilderness and wildlife tour and there are many beautiful and subtle aspects to nature that our guides enthusiastically share with those who are open. On this particular trip, the guide went out of his way to find the wildlife he could. In addition to the Chilkoot Wildlife corridor, he included a stop where pink salmon are spawning (an area that attracts bears ) and also showed you several bald eagles. I invite you to read the scores of five star reviews that this tour with Rainbow Glacier Adventures has received through the years. For most guests, the tour is great with or without bears. This is because our guides are true professionals and can make the area come alive through their interpretive skills.

Kathy_H

Aug 2024

More local history than seeing wildlife. Definitely not worth the money we paid fir two people. Driver knowledgeable but not impressed with tour. An Eagle and 5 salmon dying in a stream not very interesting

Response from Host

Aug 2024

I'm so sorry to read this review. I understand your desire for value when you spend your money on an excursion. And that is why we go out of our way at Rainbow Glacier Adventures to provide value with our emphasis on small groups, quality guides, and excellent customer service. So, to me, as owner and founder of this company, "terrible" seems like a strong word to use for one of our Rainbow Glacier Adventures tours. You say the driver was knowledgeable and that you saw an eagle and dying salmon. You did not mention that on our tours, when we view bald eagles, we use a professional-grade spotting scope to show you details that you would not have seen otherwise. And that our guide provides perspective on the behavior of the bald eagles, why the Chilkat Valley is unique in terms of eagle survival. Or that our guide explained the life cycle of the salmon and how the dying salmon you saw is connected with the survival of the bald eagles, and that the dying salmon is a factor that determines the size of the trees in our forest! You did not mention that this was a group tour, not a private tour. Your knowledgeable guide did his best to provide natural history and local history information that others in the group likely found interesting. I wonder what more we could have done to have made the trip more interesting for you? Did you engage with the guide and ask questions? There is always a “hit or miss” aspect to these tours when it comes to wildlife viewing. If we had the power, we would have produced a brown bear pulling salmon out of the Chilkoot River for you to enjoy. But that is what makes wildlife viewing so thrilling- there is no guarantee. Unfortunately, on that particular tour there were no bears to be seen. Many guests on the same tour the last few weeks have been thrilled to see bears along the Chilkoot river and they gave us five-star reviews.