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

Tue 24 Dec

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Starting at $499.00

Make a reservation

Tue 24 Dec

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)

Michele A

Aug 2019

From start to finish - Professional, knowledgeable, and communicative. We were concerned our trip would be cancelled due to fog - but Michelle and team were proactive and moved our planes to a point outside of the fog zone. We are so thankful they did because it was a great day!! Jensen was a great guide and we learned a lot about bears and their habitat. We were lucky to see a few different bears - and one that caught a salmon in his mouth. We also saw some bald eagles. One note if you are on the older side....the walk is not totally flat, somewhat long, and there are some inclines along the way. It was a bit of an effort for my senior mom but she did great, and the group slowed for her as needed which was truly appreciated. A great day with a great company. Highly recommend!

Response from Host

Aug 2019

Dear Michele A, Thank you for the excellent review! Crazy thing about the weather, turns out the worst fog we deal with is often due to hot sunny weather. It forms over all the waterways at night after a hot, sunny day due to the temperature difference between the warm land and the cool ocean inlets. Sometimes we can get ahead of the fog on the west side of town in order to get out of the fog in the harbor. Glad it worked out for your group! Happy to hear your mother was able to make the trip with you and your family. The gravel trail is an easy 5 minute walk for most people, but as always when we get older we all slow down! Hope all your excursions in Alaska were equally great!! All the best to you and your mom, Michelle, Adam and Jensen

Ronit M

Jul 2019

Thank you Michelle and Jensen for a fantastic experience. We appreciate your commitment to safety and quality. We learned so much on this tour about Ketchikan and the wildlife in this part of the state. We had an amazing experience seeing a mama bear with her cubs at the river!

Response from Host

Aug 2019

Dear Ronit M, Thank you for the lovely review! I will pass along your kind words to Jensen also! He is a very knowledgeable Southeast Alaskan guide with a quirky sense of humor! He keeps us laughing! I am happy to hear you enjoyed your trip to the Traitors Cove bear viewing facility. Not all groups are lucky enough to see the mama bears and cubs! Wishing you many more amazing travel experiences! All my best, Michelle

JuandeDios_C

Jul 2019

My whole family enjoyed this activity (from age 6 to 43). Michelle is a truly inspirational person, great pilot and her personnel is amazing. They make you feel special and unique. We stayed in the heat viewing area for close to two hours and saw at least 7 different bears many of them catching salmon over the river. We felt secure at all times and had great guidance as to how to behave near the bears. We felt very respectful for the parks and for nature. The float boat experience was also amazing. Very well worth every dollar!!! We love you Michelle!!!

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