anan creek bear observatory

This is my first Tripadvisor review of a day trip to Anan Creek Bear Observatory near Wrangell in Alaska. This is an amazing day trip - DO IT. The main purpose of our visit was for photography - to digitally capture the bears catching salmon in the creek. We live in Australia and I combed the web for information about Alaskan Bears and the best places to photograph them. Luckily I found the Alaskan Waters web site www.alaskawaters.com and emailed them with numerous questions. Jim Leslie promptly replied to my email and offered lots of advice. You need a permit to visit AnAn Observatory and Alaskan Waters (and others) receive an allocation of permits. We visited towards the end of July and saw both Brown and Black Bears with cubs in very close proximity to each other... and to us. Jim's boat is very comfortable for the day trip with a toilet onboard. The 1/2 mile walk into the observatory includes 150 steps along a narrow well defined path and is escorted by a ranger - you are in Bear territory - I also recommend that you should be relatively mobile to walk into the observatory (some of our group had difficulty walking and delayed the group and viewing time)! I lost count of the number of individual bears we actually saw but it was a good mix of Brown and Black, there is also a large population of Bald Eagles so it is a wildlife photographers dream. Getting to Wrangell: I had asked Jim about the Alaskan Marine Ferries timetables so he referred me to an excellent local Alaskan Wrangell travel agent Marjy Wood, Alaska Cruises & Vacations (Tyee Travel) http://www.akcruises.com. This was another stroke of luck as to have a local Alaskan travel agent helping with the logistics of the Marine Ferries and other Alaskan destinations was critical. Marjy was fantastic and I will write a separate review for her agency. Watching Brown and Black Bears in their natural habitat at such close range is simply amazing - we just loved this day trip.

One of the most amazing adventures I've been on to date. Coming from the city I don't have the opportunity to view bears and bald eagles in there natural habitat much so this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. I was in awe and couldn't be happier with the people who worked there and my experience. Got a a lot of great pictures to look bad on in the years to come.

Our visit to the Anan Creek Bear Observatory was wonderful. When we arrived by boat, there were over a dozen eagles just resting in the trees. The hike to the observatory was lovely. And then there were the bears! It was amazing to see them eat the salmon and climb the rocks (and they were so close). We had such a wonderful experience. We would highly recommend this fantastic adventure!

If you take a tour, make sure you pack an activity bag for your kids (sans snacks) since after they've seen a dozen bears (all we saw were blacks) they will become bored before the tour departs. You aren't allowed to go back and forth without a guide due to on-trail bear encounters, so it's a lot of waiting once the initial cool-factor wears off. Our pick? Go to the 'tubs instead! Or, get a smaller custom tour/private tour so that you can leave when you're done.

My husband and I were two of only 20 passengers on the Oceannia Regatta Alaska cruise who were privileged to experience this adventure. By all means, DO THIS, but only if you are comfortable walking on slippery, narrow boardwalks and de barking from a jet boat onto rocks, as there is no dock. We were split into two groups of ten, each escorted by an excellent guide with a rifle. The observatory is rudimentary, but it does fulfill its purpose, which is to give you an awesome view of the bears catching and feasting on spawning salmon. The sight of hundreds of salmon swimming upstream and the setting in the wilderness is stunning. This was the highlight of our Northwest and Alaska cruise adventure, without a doubt.

After a fun float plane trip from Ketchikan we spent several hours at the bear viewing area. We saw several bears while walking on the boardwalk to the viewing area, and 8-10 bears while at the viewing area. The creek was full of salmon so the bears did not even look at us. This is a Great trip to take if you want to enjoy viewing bears at close range.

We had a fantastic boat ride into the Observatory with Alaska Vistas. The observatory itself was a beautiful, tranquil experience. The walk in is through wooded trees and streams, much of it is on a boardwalk. Since we went with a tour company, we had a guide with "bear protection" but found our voices worked well to persuade a young brown bear off the trail. We went at the beginning of the season and were treated with a glance of mother brown bear and her four cubs, several black bears and the place to ourselves, no more than 20 people there. You can sign up for 30 minute intervals to the viewing blind down by the water for a much closer view but found bears eating and running next to platform on top. Eagles are another attraction here, I love listening to them. If you can go, I would highly recommend it. I'll be back for sure.

We loved our boat ride to AnAn (meaning: "The Place to Sit" according to our guide) with Sylvia, who provided a running historical commentary and stopped in various places to show us an ancient village site, a nesting place for eagles, basking seals. Then our guide to AnAn, Robert, took us through the forest, a 25 minute walk, telling us bear stories and pointing out interesting flora and fauna. We reached the platform set above AnAn Creek and immediately saw black bears fishing for the spawning salmon. Spent about 3 hours there, totally engrossed. Felt completely safe with Robert in the forest and Sylvia on the water. A great experience.

Best black bear experience in Alaska for the buck! We have visited Anan twice with Sylvia at Alaska Vistas, and would recommend them to everyone for the best experience at Anan.Don't miss it!

If I had to recommend one thing to do in SE Alaska, this would be it. We used an organised tour from Alaska Waters (see separate review) which gave us 4 hours from the boat landing at the staging to departure from the staging. More time than that wouldn't have improved the experience.Following a briefing by a ranger at the staging, it's a 10-15 minute walk on wooden staging to the observatory. On the way, you pass a lagoon where you should be able to spot a number of bald eagles. Organised parties go along the path with a guide front and back looking out for bears. There are a number of places at which bear paths cross the pathway, and we were followed by an unescorted party which met a mother and cub close to the observatory (so we could all see what was happening). They froze and rather than backing slowly away and giving the bears room to cross, they stood their ground; it was a bit tense for a few minutes until the bears chose another route. Lesson - either take an escorted tour or learn in advance what to do when confronted by a bear or two.The observatory has viewing positions at several levels overlooking the river; a ranger is present at all times. There is also a hide down below, close to the stream, and reached by a camouflaged walkway. You can sign up for a session in the hide on a sheet in the observatory - there are slots of 30 minutes, and only 5 people can be in the hide at any time. I suggest that you book your slot as soon as you arrive. The 30 minutes passes extraordinarily quickly when you're there.You get a broader view of what's going on from the top but the close-up (and at times that meant only a few feet) views are special.As others have said, the bears come and go. They all seem to have different techniques for fishing and you can also see a lot of social interaction with clear evidence of which bear is dominant and which is some way down the pecking order.An unforgettable experience and one which I would love to repeat should the opportunity arise.

Had a great time. Very professional operation, saw a lot of bears. The experience was exactly as expected.

Wow, what can I say about the US Forest Service people for making this available to people. Great job!

Loved the trip with Brenda with the Alaska Charters and Adventures. She is very knowledgeable and will answer your questions and share information throughout the trip. She plans your trip according to your needs and desires. Some may be cheaper, but you will have more viewing time and will travel on the best tour to see the bears with Brenda with Alaska Charters. Don't miss this once in a lifetime adventure! You will NEVER regret it!

I have gone to An An four times this year, in total I have been there 6 times and never loose the need to go again.During the time of the Salmon run the Black and Grizzly bears come to feed on the multitude of Salmon that spawn and you can see all this right in front of you. The bears surround the area where your standing and the Eagles fly to retrieve the Salmon left from the Bears repeatedly catching the Salmon right in the river below. Below is a blind that gives a better view for photography and doing video's and the bears are only a few feet away all around.The walk to the station is not a hard hike and if your in good condition easy.For those who are handicap it's not the place for you since you need to get off a boat, ,since you come by water, but once off, the trail isn't far to the platform.Most places you don't have the opportunity to see Bears and Eagles this close so I would recommend if to anyone who wants the experience of up close and personal. No bathroom facilities only an out house, one when you arrive and the other at the station which is manned by the Ranger and your given word when you can come and go since the bears inhabit the area all around.For anyone that is tired of National Parks where you have to stay at least 100 yds.. away from the bears this is recommended, you are allowed to see them at close range and get great photo and video. Your not allowed to bring anything to eat or soda's or fruit juice only water on the island since the bears smell it and then get the idea of people food, but the Rangers that greet you will give you all the information when you arrive on island. I would like to see this education of bears working in our National Parks in the lower states Parks, most people don't have a clue what or what not to do when they come across a bear in the wild, The guides that bring you will inform you of how to act and not run or panic if a bear is met on the trail, It's a great opportunity for people to see just how to react around all wildlife and for kids to appreciate them to preserve our wilderness.

This was our primary excursion in Wrangell. It was pretty much as expected and we had a great time talking the guide that accompanied us.