Ketchikan-Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary

[carol459]

Has anyone been to the Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary(near Ketchikan)? We will be there in Mid-Sept.

on the Radience.

[carol459]

No-one has ever been on this shore tour??????

It is called Alaska Wildlife Sanctuary in the RCCL shore trip list.

Rick

[carol459]

No-one has gone on this tour????

[Budget Queen]

You may be too early for bear reports this season?? I recall, one post who didn't see any?? Do a bearbait search, who is the most familiar with this. I believe his reports have stated the zip lines have factored into the lower sightings.

 

Definately, in my opinion, if you want to see bears, the fly ins are the answer. I was just in Neets last week- early this season but saw two bears, and Traitor's Cove are more consistant bear viewing areas.

[carol459]

BudgetQueen,

Thanks for responding. It appears as if Bearbait is off doing Alaska stuff 'til October.

Rick

[jayevee44]

Rick,

 

We took this tour in July on our Princess cruise. It rained the entire day. Plastic ponchos were provided.

 

I don’t see that you asked about bears, but since BQ brought it up, we didn’t see any. However, there was a warning sign and our guide said that we could encounter them. He gave us advice on what to do if approached by one.

 

If you have any questions, fire away.

 

Jim

[carol459]

Rick,

 

We took this tour in July on our Princess cruise. It rained the entire day. Plastic ponchos were provided.

 

I don’t see that you asked about bears, but since BQ brought it up, we didn’t see any. However, there was a warning sign and our guide said that we could encounter them. He gave us advice on what to do if approached by one.

 

If you have any questions, fire away.

 

Jim

 

Jim,

Thanks for responding.

 

We were looking to visit forest/wildlife away from the town. How far did the

tour take you? Any wildlife at all?

 

Rick

[jayevee44]

Rick,

 

As I said before, it was raining and the windows on the bus kept fogging up, so we really couldn’t see much on the way to and from the sanctuary. My guess is that the entrance was about five miles south of town and definitely out in the middle of the rainforest. It took about 20 or 30 minutes to get there, but we were delayed a bit due to road construction. You’d never see work going on in the rain here in Southern California.

 

We shared the bus with the zip lining tour. That tour begins and ends near the beginning and ending of our tour. Along much of our trail, you could look up a watch people flying by on the cable. That was about the extent of the wildlife we saw, except for tons of bald eagles in trees and salmon near the fish hatchery. We didn’t see any bears, but according to our guide, some tours have seen them. Other wild life mentioned in the tour description was not to be seen on this particular trip.

 

The first part of the tour is in dense rainforest, then you come out into an open area which you cross on a wooden boardwalk. Here you will see the fish hatchery. A little further, you’ll come to a pen with a small herd of reindeer, all females as they don’t have a breeding permit. You can pet and feed the animals if you so choose. They provide you tree branches for food at no cost. Then there is a small building where a native is working on a totem pole, followed by an old lumber mill with a video of how logs are turned into lumber. The lumber mill was closed several years ago, so the video is of some other lumber mill. Next is a small aviary with a bald eagle and an owl. Both birds were rescued with permanent wing injuries, so they can’t fly and will spend the rest of their days there. Finally, there is a gift shop which provides free hot drinks and finger food.

 

This wasn’t the most exciting tour I've ever taken, but we hadn’t booked any tours for this port and made a last minute decision to take this tour. Even with the rain, it was interesting and I’m glad we did it.

 

As an aside, they provided everyone with a green rain poncho. On our cruise, it rained in every port, with Ketchikan our first port. We saw those green ponchos in every port, so there must have been a lot of people on our cruise and possibly on the other ships in port with us who took this tour.

 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

Jim

[carol459]

Jim,

Thanks for the info. It is very helpful. We are renting a car with another couple and will visit this site along with others.

Rick

[jayevee44]

Rick,

 

We booked this tour through the ship which provided bus transportation. Be aware that the tour ends at quite a distance from where it begins, so if you drive there, I don't know how you will get back to your car. I guess you could walk back. Maybe they will drive you back from the gift shop. Anyway, on our tour, the bus was waiting for us at the end.

 

I'm glad you found my information helpful. Have a great cruise.

 

Jim

[Bucky3]

Jim - Thanks for your information. That would have been my question - is this doable independently with a rental car? Sounds like maybe not!

[jayevee44]

Rick and Bucky3,

 

I couldn’t find them on the internet, but I did locate them through http://www.anywho.com. I entered the info and got a very long link, so I shortened it using the ***** website and got the following link: http://*****.com/2yce27 There are links to a map and driving directions.

 

I called them and asked about doing this tour independently. They cater mostly to cruise tours, so they usually don’t have openings for independents, but sometimes they do. She suggested that you call from the dock. If they have space available, you’ll need to drive to the gift shop, pay for the tour and they will transport you to the beginning. Be sure to get more precise directions.

 

Jim

[carol459]

Jim,

I found the following site during a routine google search a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.alaskarainforest.com/home.html

 

I guess I will email them to see if they are open to the public. Our intent was to avoid the bus/ship tour crowds. Might have to play it by ear.

 

Rick

[jayevee44]

Jim,

I found the following site during a routine google search a couple of weeks ago:

http://www.alaskarainforest.com/home.html

 

I guess I need to sharpen up on my Google skills. Somehow, I missed it.

 

Jim