Traitors Cove Bear Viewing in Ketchikan booking from $499.00

Traitors Cove Bear Viewing

Overview

Island Wings Air Service is owned and operated by Alaska veteran pilot Michelle Masden, who started flying in 1977 and began her business in Ketchikan in 1993. Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Share our love of flying through our vast Alaskan wilderness. Experience the freedom of flight over the wild grandeur of the mountains, the islands and the endless sea. In business since 1993, Island Wings takes the time and makes the effort to help you realize your Alaskan dreams. Our focus is the quality of your experience. From the handling of your reservation, to the equipment we operate, to the places we visit; we don't compromise and neither should you. The total time for this tour is 4.25 hours including: the flight, three hours onsite at Traitors Cove Bear Viewing Observatory, and fifteen minutes for the pick-up and drop-off.

City: Ketchikan

Sun 28 Jul

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Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

Sun 28 Jul

Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

We operate well maintained six-passenger DeHavilland Beaver floatplanes

Guaranteed window seats for all passengers

Voice activated, noise cancelling headset for each passenger

Interactive narration with your Pilot

Pick-up and drop-off by Island WIngs van from the Ketchikan Visitors Bureau on Cruise Ship Berth 2

US Forest Service Special Use Permit for Bear Viewing within Tongss National Forest

All inclusive tour

Additional Info

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Please wear layered clothing and comfortable walking shoes.
All passengers MUST provide us a contact phone number when booking or call us at (907) 225-2444 to confirm a tour time.
Passengers travelling via cruise ship MUST provide their cruise ship name to us so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

What To Expect

Tongass National Forest

Between July20th and September 30th you can visit the bear viewing observatory at Traitors Cove. Fly by floatplane along the beautiful waterways of the lush Tongass National Forest across Revillagegedo island to a US Forest Service maintained trail and the Margarete Creek Bear Viewing platform. Bears can be seen plunging into the rushing water to retrieve their meals of wiggling salmon. This is a perfect opportunity to photograph Alaska's real fisherman in action! In addition to bears feeding, you will also see bald eagles picking over the scraps left by the bears and of course, the real stars of the show, the salmon as they battle their way upstream to spawn. Your journey will be accompanied by the Island Wings bear guide who will provide information about the flora and fauna along the way. Combine a short hike, beautiful scenery and a magnificent wildlife experience in one trip. This is a four hour tour that includes a floatplane flight, a one mile drive by van on a US Forest Service road and a short hike along a boardwalk trail to the viewing platform. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring plenty of camera batteries! The US Forest Service restricts access to Margarete Observatory by permit. As a result, only small numbers of people have the opportunity to visit this beautiful site, so book early! The four hour Traitors Cove bear viewing tour includes: a thirty minute flight each way and three hours at Traitors Cove. All tours include complimentary ground transportation to and from our dock which adds fifteen minutes to the beginning and the end of your tour. For this four hour tour you will need to budget four and a half hours total time. Season: July 20th through September 30th.

Cancellation Policy

All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (29)

giely

Sep 2022

The best part of the tour was the hydroplane flight at low altitude that allowed for breathtaking views of the sea, islands and forests. Walking in the forest was absolutely amazing. The bear-viewing was less than average. We (9 people) were taken to "the viewing platform". What a joke! The platform overlooks the river, to which a couple of black bears descended briefly to catch fish far away on the other side. But the platform is surrounded by a high wall of green tarp, which has 8 rectangular openings for viewing. The tour guide explained that this was mandated by some authority, I don't recall which. I am sure that there are other places in Alaska where one can see bears better and probably at a lower price.

dwpickup

Sep 2022

The highlight of our 6 week tour of Alaska and Canada. Michelle, the owner, flew us to Traitors Cove for black bear viewing in her float plane. Its so hard to decide the best part of the best part of the trip, the experience and flying over the islands with fanstastic commentary from Michelle or the black bear viewing on the island, watching the bears catch the salmon and mother and baby crossing our paths a few meters away. Fabulous fabulous day..thank you so much for a memory that will last a lifetime! And the only operator who will genuinely go out of their way to accommodate disabled passengers.

Charlizzle91

Sep 2022

Absolutely amazing experience with very professional staff. Thank you for making our honeymoon so memorable. We had spent 2 weeks in Canada travelling around the costal mountain area and the Rockies and didn't see any bears. So we were wondering if they might have been mythical! Annika (I hope I have spelled your name correctly) was brilliant. Really knowledgeable and approachable. The flight out was really smooth and the pilots were really reassuring. I had a problem when we got to Canada, in which I had my credit card details stolen and had to block the card. It was the same card that Island wings had on file as they don't take payment until the day of flight. I managed to contact them and they changed it with no hassle. Thank you again. Amber and Charlie.

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