Best place to see bears in mid-June 2012

[piratesmate]

We will be doing our own independent pre-cruise land tour from 6/7/12-6/15/12 (probably no car, except for a few days in Fairbanks), then we go on Princess (Whittier to Vancouver, with stops in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway).

I'd love to see bears, but I wonder if we are too early. I hate to spend all of that money on an excursion, only to find out we are a few weeks too early.

We will be in Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks, Seward, and Girdwood pre-cruise. We could take a short flight if needed to Homer, or another take off point for bears. Or we could do a ship excursion (i.e. Juneau to Pack River, I think).

Which area has the best chance of seeing bears in mid-June? Should we try to arrange it for our land portion before we get on the cruise ship, or do we have a better chance from one of the cruise ports?

Thanks.

[frugaltravel]

Your best bet is to take two days of shuttle buses in Denali NP. That would by far be your best bet, especially with two days of buses. Most people have a "been there, done that" attitude about Denali - arrive Day 1, shuttle bus Day 2, move onto the next "been there, done that" location Day 3. Quite unfortunate since Denali is the crown jewel of national parks IMHO.

 

You are a bit early for Pack Creek. Peak season starts in early July and even then, mid July and later is better.

[Budget Queen]

Denali Park is the bargain wildlife jackpot for possible bear sightings. But, I agree, plan on going in twice. I went into Denali last year, and one trip, had no bear sightings, a first for me. :) Take the shuttle bus to Eielson, major bear area between there and Toklat.

 

It doesn't sound like you have your plans/itinerary in place yet?

 

As only a suggestion, I would not be without a car, and then having Girdwood/Seward in the mix. Using train travel eats up a LOT of time, you may want to better use elsewhere.

[AKman2495]

The best place to see bears up close is the Alaska Wildlife conservation center. I know they are inside a fence, but there are there and you can definitely see them-and they can see you.

 

Other than that, you might try any stream that has Salmon in it. Of course, that is not necessarily safe, but there is a real good chance you will see some bears. ;)

[mapleleaves]

I agree about 2 days in Denali. And I also agree that a car is the best option for getting around.

If you are looking for a close-up viewing experience there are trips out of Soldotna which isn't quite as far as Homer, and Rusts out of Anchorage also has fly in trips.

There are links in this Alaska F&G site to get details on peak viewing periods at each location:

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=viewing.bearviewingsites