Lodging or Camping

Lodging or Camping

Where do grizzly (brown) bears sleep? Anywhere they want to. You should be so lucky!

(c) 2003 K. Fredrikkson

If you plan to spend just a single day bear viewing, you might be best off over-nighting in or near town. Although there are plenty of fine motels in downtown areas, just a few miles away you can enjoy a woodland setting, perhaps on a lake where you can canoe while watching loons chase fish or moose browse on pondweed.

Those options are also open if you plan on spending 2 or more days viewing, especially if want to visit a different site each day. However, for a multi-day excursion to any one site -- which is the only way to really get to know an area and its bears -- you will probably want to overnight on-site. There are a handful of land-based lodges near popular viewing sites, as well as a few boats that serve as floating lodges -- for example the marine vessels Waters and Kittiwake, run by Katmai Coastal Bear Tours . At least one company uses mobile trailers as a lodge for watching polar bears at Cape Churchill, beside Hudson’s Bay.

Camping is allowed at or near some viewing areas. However, because bears are so abundant in these areas, BVA discourages camping by anyone who has not mastered the specialized techniques and equipment described in the Alaska Magnum Bear Safety Manual . This is one of those situations where an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.

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Businesses Catering to Bear Viewers (c) 2006 WildWatch