Chilkoot Wilderness and Wildlife Viewing - Skagway Departure in Skagway booking from $270.00

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

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Starting at $270.00

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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)

Gerrie_G

Aug 2024

Great experience ! Would recommend to everybody. Very diverse and lots of wildlife. Definitely worth the money !

Response from Host

Oct 2024

Thanks for this five star review. I really appreciate that you say this tour is worth the money. I know that travelers have a limited amount of both time and money, and it is important to me that our guests feel like the time and money they spent with us was a good value. There are so many choices in all the various cruise ports, and I want Rainbow Glacier Adventures to stand out as one of the best.

Alexa_S

Aug 2024

Very disappointing very expensive excursion. After an uneventful 46 minute ferry ride from Skagway to Haines, we spent 4 hours on an over crowded mini bus looking at well…not much. This was not the wilderness tour we were expecting. We saw a few eagles and 3 salmon in a culvert. The rest of the time was spent staring out at well…not much. Then we had to ride the ferry back the same way we came. I do not recommend this tour.

Response from Host

Aug 2024

I am so sorry to read this review. I know that many guests' expectations and overall satisfaction with this tour is related to whether or not they see brown bears furing the tour. When bears are seen, it is easy to give a five star review. When bears are not seen, we sometimes get one star reviews like this one. But that is not really fair. We are dealing with wildlife, and wildlife does not appear just because we want to see them. They move at their own pace and by their own rules. We make a great effort to find bears for our guests. One of the advantages to going with Rainbow Glacier Adventures is that we only run small-group tours. So we have multiple vehicles in many locations looking for wildlife. If anything is seen by one of our guides, they can communicate with each other via our private radio frequency. This increases our chances of finding bears and other wildlife. But sometimes the wildlife does not appear. So we always spend time explaining how the natural systems here work together. Your guide on that tour has a degree in Environmental Science, and so was able to go into detail sharing with you the story of what you were seeing. Even without a bear in sight, the tour route has stunning scenery and a fascinating story line that includes glaciers, wild rivers, Native culture, salmon, and intriguing tales of current events and colorful local characters. So when you say the tour was spent staring at “not much,” it makes me wonder if you were listening to our guide. Did you interact with our guide and ask questions about the area? Our small-group tours allow for our guides to personalize the tour based on the interests of our guests. You also complain that you rode the ferry and “rode the ferry back the same way we came.” You purchased a round-trip ticket. By definition, a round-trip ticket goes and returns the same way!” What were you expecting? I do not understand why you said our vehicle was overcrowded. You were in a 14-passenger airporter-style bus on that tour. Each person had a comfortable seat. We do not overcrowd our vehicles. As a matter of fact, we pride ourselves on running small group tours in comfortable vehicles. You also said the tour was expensive. It is true that the same driving tour costs much less if your ship is docked in Haines, rather than Skagway. But relatively few cruise ships dock in Haines. That is Haines’s attraction- Haines is not crowded. Haines and Skagway are only 15 miles apart, but to drive from Skagway to Haines is a 350-mile drive one way! Driving is impractical for a day tour. So the least expensive alternative is to board a boat. The boat runs seasonally and has to make enough income to pay for fuel, staff, repairs, maintenance, etc during the short tour season. So that adds at least $100 in cost, 1.5 hours in travel time plus an additional hour for meet and greet service and transfers in Skagway. So you have to make the decision, is it worth it to travel to Haines from Skagway if your ship is docked in Skagway? That is a personal decision and is best made through research and reading the reviews of other travelers.

James_R

Aug 2024

The pickup at the cruise port was easy and our driver was fun and informative. The ferry ride to Haines was gorgeous, we saw eagles and harbor seals along the way. We arrived in Haines and met our guide Garrett. He got our group on our bus and got us underway. We were able to see a salmon stream and more eagles. The first stops along the trip were great if you're into landscape photography. Not a lot of wildlife at first, but that changed quickly. We stopped at a beautiful river where bears are sometimes spotted hunting salmon, but nothing here but a few eagle sightings, but still amazing scenery. Our next stop along the river above quite a few fisherman where Garrett explained the types of salmon they fished for and the methods used to catch them. We got out and he showed us a "weit" where salmon are funneled through and counted one by one by Charlie, the guy that sits on the "fish bridge." We got some great photos of the river, when 5 minutes into our stop, a brown bear ventured out to the river 50 yards ahead of us headed towards Charlie. Charlie was alerted and safely encouraged the bear back to the road where he came from. Except now 2 RVs and a pilot on of cyclists made the bear turn our direction. Garrett jumped into action and protected the group so the bear could get to the river safely. It was very exciting to say the least. We promptly boarded the bus and made our way to our next stop where more eagles and harbor seals were sighted at the mouth of a jaw dropping lake. Garrett offered up lots of knowledge about the local plants and wildlife, of which he is clearly very passionate about. He safely got us back to Haines along with a quick trip through town, and a history lesson about the people who founded Haines. Lunch was great, the bus was comfy, And we can't speak highly enough about our guide Garrett. We HIGHLY recommend this trip when visiting the area. I almost forgot to mention we saw a moose mom and her calf on the road back to Haines!

Response from Host

Oct 2024

Thanks for this positive and very thorough review of your tour with Garrett. I especially like where you emphasized the safety aspect of our excursion. Everyone wants to see bear along the Chilkoot River, but not all are prepared for a close encounter with a bear. We emphasize safety in our training at Rainbow Glacier Adventures, and discuss various scenarios and appropriate responses when encountering bears. It is very important to us that all members of our group are safe.

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Chilkoot Wilderness and Wildlife Viewing - Skagway Departure

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