Ketchikan: Neets Bay Bear Observatory & Tongass Forest Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/12

Duration4h 45m

GroupUp to 36

Mobile ticketAccepted

Black bears feeding in a salmon stream, thirty minutes from your boat

You ride a coach from the Ketchikan port to Clover Pass Lodge, then board an enclosed boat for a one-hour cruise through Tongass National Forest to Neets Bay. A guided walk brings you to the bear observatory, where you watch black bears feed in the salmon stream for thirty minutes. The boat and coach return you to port with a snack included. The whole experience takes your port hours into the wilderness and back.

4h 45m

Step-by-step itinerary

Bear viewing by land and sea

Coach tour to Clover Pass Lodge
Board boat and meet crew
Boat tour through Tongass National Forest
Walk to Neets Bay Bear Observatory
Observe bears at salmon stream
Boat tour back to Clover Pass Lodge
Coach return to downtown Ketchikan

The Experience

The coach picks you up at the Ketchikan port and heads inland toward Clover Pass Lodge, the oldest operating fishing lodge in Alaska. It's a narrated drive through the landscape, and you're already moving toward something most cruise passengers never get to do—the Neets Bay Bear Observatory sits behind a permit system that keeps visitor numbers down. Your operator holds the exclusive permit, which means the bears here aren't accustomed to crowds.

At Clover Pass you board an enclosed boat with the captain and crew, and then you're out on the water for an hour through the Tongass National Forest. The boat moves through the wilderness slowly enough that you can actually see what's around you—not rushed, not a blur. When you reach the mouth of the salmon spawning stream, you leave the boat and walk into the forest with a guide. The stream is where the bears come to feed, and the observatory is positioned so you can watch them work without being in their way. You'll spend thirty minutes there, quiet, watching. The operator sees bears ninety-nine percent of the time, though wildlife is never guaranteed—that's the honest part.

The return is the same route in reverse: boat back to Clover Pass, then the coach back down to downtown Ketchikan. The whole day runs from pickup to drop-off, and the snack is included along the way. It's not a long excursion, but it's built around one specific thing—standing in front of wild bears in their habitat—and everything else is designed to get you there and back without eating up your port time.

What’s included

Your day includes coach pickup from the Ketchikan port, a narrated drive to Clover Pass Lodge, an enclosed boat tour through Tongass National Forest, a guided walk to the Neets Bay Bear Observatory, thirty minutes of bear viewing at the stream, the return boat ride, coach return to port, and a snack.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelPets welcomeNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Adventure Ketchikan Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see wild bears without arranging your own permit or transport from the cruise port—the exclusive permit access and fixed schedule mean you get a rare wildlife experience that fits inside your port hours.