Aug 10, 2024
Memorable family trip - I had been a little nervous for this trip to Lake Clark, between the small plane and being so close to bears, but it was wonderful! Our pilot, Katie, taught flying lessons in the off season which for some reason gave me a lot of confidence in her. The flight in and out was very scenic and comfortable.
Seeing the bears up close was very cool; they were very calm around us. We saw maybe 8-10 over the course of the day in two different locations. At one point, we were 15 yards from a momma bear and two babies.
Our pilot was quite knowledgeable about them and their behavior. When one bear kept looking in our direction, she had us move (I realize writing that, it sounds obvious to move, but in the moment I felt good about how she read his cues).
We enjoyed the lunch- Katie even brought camping chairs for us!
With kids (and even me frankly) the one day trip to the area was sufficient. Doing an overnight would have been overkill for us.
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Jul 12, 2024
Hanging out with bears a few feet away in their natural habitat - Once in a lifetime experience flying out to cook inlet - from Soldotna - and literally hanging out with bears in their natural habitat while they swam and ate fish - with many familieis of bears around us - just a few feet away from the boat
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Jul 8, 2024
Perfect Trip to Lake Clark National Park! - We took a day trip to Lake Clark National Park with Alaska Air Service and it was fantastic! The flights over & back were scenic and comfortable. The small plane trips are exciting. We saw lots of bears at Lake Clark. They were on the beach and in the meadows. So many great pictures!
Our pilot and guide was knowledgeable and friendly. He told us so much about the area. Lunch was provided with our trip and the sandwiches were very good.
We would go with Alaska Air Service again.
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Jul 5, 2024
In bear country - An extraordinary trip to Lake Clark National Park. In addition to glaciers and fascinating landscapes, we could observe a variety of bears up close.
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Jun 25, 2024
Awesome Bear Viewing Tour! - From the easy booking with Bill to the actual flight and tour with Justin this experience was fantastic! Justin was extremely knowledgeable and personable showing us incredible scenery and giving us details about what seeing as we flew down the beautiful Cook Inlet. We were seeing numerous bears as soon as we got to Lake Clark NP with a group of six at one area of the beach and a sow with small cubs in another area. We were able to get extremely close to the bears while never feeling the least bit of unease for us or feeling like we were encroaching on the bear's personal space. Justin knows exactly what he is doing and the bears were obviously comfortable with our presence. It was an amazing feeling of coexistence! We had a delicious and filling lunch included with the two stops we made in Lake Clark. If you're looking for a bear experience or a way to experience Lake Clark NP we would highly recommend Alaska Air Service!
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Jun 15, 2024
Great experience - What a great experience. Our pilot, Lucas, had safety first on his mind. He was knowledgeable about where we were flying, and was very charismatic. Our flight around Mt. Iliana was spectacular, but the highlight was watching the bears while we had a tasty picnic lunch supplied by Alaska Air Service. We would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting Alaska.
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Jun 6, 2024
Must do while in anchorage - Best excursion to see in Alaska. Pilot was informative and safe while on tour. Could see the bears digging clams as we landed on the beach. Over a dozen throughout the day observed. Such a great experience that I will not forget
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May 25, 2024
Once in a lifetime trip- a must if you can afford it. - We were originally 5, but ended up being 4 but had a plane to ourselves. Going early in the season means it isn’t always possible to see Bear. Lucas our pilot gave us the most amazing flight out, pointing out Beluga Whales; Moose, Bears; Eagles on the way. He talked us though what we were seeing and about the area we were crossing.
We saw a bear on landing and he was quick to get us on the ground and we were able to walk along as it wandered back to the hillside. Amazing. He also spotted an Otter, more eagles but really, we were just wowed by the area we were privileged to be able to explore. The scenery was truly amazing. We changed locations for a lovely packed lunch provided by the company.
An amazing day.
The company were great before hand, replying to email queries and on the day with my husband being ill. Very professional and helpful.
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Jul 10, 2023
DO THIS TOUR! Wonderstruck. - COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER! And this is coming from someone that dives with tiger sharks regularly... This was the last adventure of our two week honeymoon in Alaska. We definitely saved the best for last!
They communicated great, especially when we had to delay our flight about an hour for the weather to clear. Bill was so nice as we walked in and made a special congrats for it being our honeymoon.
Jordan was our pilot. He really helped make the trip. The flight was smooth, he talked and got to know us during the flight, and was very accommodating. The plane sat my husband, me, Jordan, and two other guests.
Our first landing in the park went above and beyond our expectations. We saw 20+ bears in the first 30 minutes! One had triplets. Some came within 100ft of us.
The next stop blew our minds! We walked out onto the mud flats where the bears were feeding and were withing 15-20ft! The bears paid no mind to us. We respected their space and they just went about their day as usual. Jordan did carry a bear safety flare incase of an emergency, but assured us it has never been necessary. On a short hike came the most exciting part, a mom (named crimp ear) and her two cubs strolled right past us! About 10ft away! No zoom was needed to get a breath taking video and stunning pictures.
We were in the park for about 4 hours I believe (you lose track of time really easy). They provided with a great picnic lunch. Nothing beats sitting on the beach eating a sandwich and watching bears!
Alaska is expensive... BUT, this excursion, I can honestly say was, the ***best bang for our buck*** that we did in those two weeks.
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Jul 29, 2024
Inaccurate Website and The Trip Can Be A Bust. - This was our most expensive and Primary tour. The website is inaccurate. It states "You and your guide will spend literally hours roaming beaches, meadows, and streambanks finding and watching these incredible animals."
This is not true; you will only stay in a viewing area that could be 400-1600 + meters from the bears. When I contacted the Owner Bill, he contradicted what the pilot told us about the bears staying 400-1600m away at High tide.
If the company had told us prior to the flight that the bears would be far away due to the high tide and we cannot walk in the meadows or streambanks as advertised to get close to the bears, we would have not flown out with Alaska Air Services and gone to Brooks Falls with a 1-day Photographer tour.
The owner Bill answered my e-mail with this. "Chris: Thanks for writing with your feedback. Some of your feedback is helpful, other comments respectfully, miss the mark." Then he put crazy things like "Finally, trekking out onto the mudflats harasses the bears. We dont do it. That strategy will destroy this resource. Surrounding a bear with 18 people is an awful outcome. You might get your picture but you stress the animals."
All of this is just not true or what we expected or what Bill advertises on his website and shows photos. I we would have walked the 200 meters to the stream and the viewing and photos would have been good. If we would have walked up the beach 2000 meters, the viewing would have been 50 meters.
In Summary, a waste of money. This could have been great if they did what the website stated. Only book with a Photographer guide, not an airplane company.
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