2007-03-24 17:47:19 · 7 answers · asked by kaiah03 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Other - United States
For inland grizzlies the most assured, cheap place to go would be Denali National Park and you could go any time in the summer. Make reservations for the park bus or one of the private options (only way to get well into the park) and you'll see caribou, grizzly, and Dall sheep on the way in and out (it's an all-day trip). The busses stop whenever there is wildlife to view. You may or may not also see moose, golden eagles, and wolves.
For grizzlies feeding on salmon (like all those photos you've seen), the best places are NcNeil River State Park (but that is on a lottery system) and Brook's Camp in Katmai National Park. I did a 5-day trip to BC/KNP booking my family on Alaska Airlines to King Salmon and then a float plane to BC. Or you could do a day trip flying out of Homer (on the road system from Anchorage). The sockeye ("red") salmon run peaks in August so there will be the most bear activity then.
For whales: any cruise ship or state ferry through SE AK will see whales at some point. For a day cruise oriented towards wildlife viewing, consider Valdez, Homer or (best) Seward. Any summer month is fine for whale watching. You'll also see puffins and sea otters in any of those places. Also porpoises in Seward.
Shortest option for great viewing: Fly to Anchorage, rent a car to drive to Seward (128 miles) and do a day-long cruise out of Seward. Spend another day at the Sealife Center (a very good aquarium) and Exit Glacier. Then drive to Homer (another 180 miles) and catch a (reserved!) day trip for bear viewing at Brook's Camp. August is best, but you'll see many bears any time in July-August-September. Stay in Homer longer if you like art, gorgeous scenery, catching Halibut or Salmon.
Beyond that, I'd next add Denali National Park for the ground squirrel/root-eating inland grizzlies and all the critters (and 20,320' mountain) you can see there.
August is high season so it is more crowded and the most traffic. A combination of Denali and Seward would give you bears and whales for cheap and let you do so anytime from late May on.
We encourage family to visit us in May and September because it is calmer, less busy, still plenty of light and the occasional freezing night really knocks down the mosquitos. You won't catch a big salmon nor see many bears doing that, but you can do every thing else and might see the aurora (for which it never gets dark enough in June/July).
2007-03-25 06:38:49 · answer #1 · answered by David in Kenai 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
More brown bears are feeding from the months of May-July, but I took my Brown Bear pics the first week of September.
Check them out:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid12082000
I flew from Homer, Ak to Katmai Nat'l Park after reserving a trip with Hallo Bay. They took our small group within 20 feet of them.
Saw some whales while visiting in August, you can catch them most anytime during the summer months.
2007-03-24 18:53:58 · answer #2 · answered by Incognito 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My wife and I went on an Alaskan cruise last June and saw all the whales, eagles and bears you could possibly want to see. We got some great pictures of sperm whales doing what they call bubble netting and the best one is the wallpaper on our computer.
2007-03-24 17:54:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
June, July and August, apparently
2007-03-24 18:03:19 · answer #4 · answered by rose_merrick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mid summer-June or July or August.
2007-03-24 19:26:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Summer.
Especially if its a question of bears. They tend to hinernate otherwise.
2007-03-24 22:24:00 · answer #6 · answered by Klondike John 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would have thought late spring .When ever you decide to go have wonderful time .
2007-03-24 18:36:55 · answer #7 · answered by rudd_linda 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋