5 of Alaska’s ultimate wildlife adventures

07.12.2023 - 13:13 / nationalgeographic.com

Primeval forest, snow-capped peaks, icy blue straits and epic wildlife — in Alaska, nature is rightly seen as the dominant force. Juneau, which is located in America’s northwestern corner, is more of a friendly town than bustling state capital, and the perfect gateway to experiencing it all. The traditional homeland of the native Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian communities, Juneau attracted prospectors in the 1880s with the promise of gold. Today, the city and the surrounding region has a far more precious natural resource — a thriving, biodiverse ecosystem of various birds, fish and large mammals. With so many creatures to see and various tour operators to choose from, here are five experiences not to miss.

If one animal encapsulates Alaska’s iconic wildlife, it’s the brown bear. The highest density of them in North America can be found on Admiralty Island, just 15 miles southwest of Juneau. Fringed by rushing waterways and blanketed in old-growth rainforest, the island’s 956,000 acres are home to an estimated 1,600 brown bears, from fluffy cubs to broad-shouldered sows.

Bear Creek Outfitters and Above and Beyond Alaska offer a variety of fly-in summer day trips from Juneau, which include safe, ethical hiking excursions across the island. Equipped with all the essential gear, including good-quality binoculars, hikers navigating the dense tree cover and alpine tundra can observe bears in their natural habitat, fishing for spawning salmon in the Pack Creek estuary or under the cascading falls of Waterfall Creek on Chichagof Island. The latter is a relatively unknown, remote location that provides unmatched brown bear viewing during the peak of the salmon run, which occurs from late July to the beginning of September. It won’t take long to understand exactly why the Indigenous Tlingit people call this land Kootznoowoo, meaning ‘Fortress of the Bears’.

While there's plenty of glossy tidal waters and verdant forest to enjoy in Juneau, one of the area’s most unique draws is its icy mountain landscapes — frozen in blue-and-alabaster perfection even during summer. The Mendenhall Glacier, the most famous of Juneau’s ice floes and the city’s most popular attraction, is located just 13 miles from Downtown Juneau and yet, its half-mile-wide, 1,800ft-deep expanse looks like it’s been lifted from the dark side of the moon.

Temsco Helicopters run tours to the glacier, but they also offer a dog-sledding adventure. Starting at their heli-base, travellers are outfitted in glacier boots and given a safety briefing before being whisked away on a scenic helicopter ride above soaring mountain peaks, the Tongass National Forest and the mighty Mendenhall Glacier. Afterwards, hop on a sled pulled by enthusiastic huskies who, led