Location: Northern tip of Wrangell Island on Zimovia Strait, south of Petersburg. Population: 2758. Visitor Information: Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau: PO Box 1350, Wrangell, AK 99929; Phone: (800) 367-9745; Email: wrangell@wrangell.com; Website: www.wrangellalaska.org
Enjoy the true taste of frontier Alaska in Wrangell, located in the heart of the Tongass National Forest. Wrangell is the third oldest community in Alaska and the only community to be ruled by four nations: the indigenous Tlingit, Russia, Britain and the United States. The island is rich in native heritage, evidenced by the rock carvings located at Petroglyph Beach, as well as the totems at various cultural sites located within easy walking distance from town.
Jet Boat Wrangell Style: The Only Way to See Bears and Glaciers
In Wrangell, jet boats are a way of life. These roomy and comfortable shallow-draft boats are the preferred method of transportation to all the visitor hotspots. A number of local tour providers offer trips with safe, certified and knowledgeable guides. Take your pick from Shakes Glacier and Lake, LeConte Glacier, the mighty Stikine River, a visit to “Little Norway” Petersburg, cultural, photography and sightseeing tours, exploring the Tongass rainforest, bear, whale and other wildlife viewing, custom fishing trips and more.
Jet-powered boats use the same propulsion system as personal watercraft, mating an inboard engine to a jet pump. The pump draws water from an intake in the bottom of the boat and shoots a high-velocity stream from a nozzle at the back to propel it forward. These sleek boats can operate in only three feet of water, easily travel over 50 mph when speed is required, and accommodate up to a couple dozen people with spacious seating, enclosed cabin, and viewing deck for an enjoyable easy on-easy off experience.
There are many advantages to jet boat travel. Shallow draft jet boats allow visitors to maneuver through calved icebergs easily and reach out to touch the millennia-old ice. When the tide is out, the Stikine River can be too shallow for conventional boats to navigate. Access to the ever-popular Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory is by floatplane or an hour-long boat ride only. So to fully enjoy all Wrangell has to offer, be sure to book a favorite tour by jet boat!
Tight Line River Tours
Trust Tight Line River Tours to provide thrilling waterways adventures in the Wrangell area by guided jet boat. Enjoy incredible freshwater fishing for salmon and trout with flies or lightweight tackle, most skillfully handcrafted by owner/operator James Benedict who will also give fishing technique instruction. A comfortable ride on a 6 or 15-passenger jet boat can also take you deep into pristine Alaska wilderness for sealife and land-based wildlife viewing opportunities. The goal at Tight Line River Tours is your exhilarating freedom with fishing pole or camera lens on the Stikine River and the magnificent LeConte Glacier.
Contact Tight Line River Tours at 907-388-8137 or info@tightlinerivertours.com or check them out online at tightlinerivertours.com.
Breakaway Adventures
With tours designed to fit every dream and ability, Breakaway Adventures has proudly provided the very best in personalized trips to their guests for over 30 years. Enjoy a hassle free tour to the Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory, see LeConte Glacier up close, or relax on a guided fishing trip with all equipment provided. Paddle, hike and bike tours are offered for different experience levels. Winding through glacial valleys and delta flats, the Stikine River Tour will put the “Wow” in your Alaska vacation. Collect a piece of iceberg to cool down your drink or your body after dipping in the Forest Service hot springs.
Visit BreakawayAdventures.com for expert suggestions to fulfill your specific Alaska dream or call 888-385-2488.
Alaska Charters & Adventures
Get up close and personal with true Alaskan wilderness on single or multi-day jet boat excursions with Alaska Charters & Adventures. Established in 1989, the locally owned company specializes in personalized, small group tours. Observe everything from gigantic icebergs tumbling into the sea to bears catching wild salmon at Anan. Hike through untouched forest or be amazed watching whales feed in the calm, bountiful waters. Enjoy the perfect fishing expedition for salmon, halibut, rockfish and a wide variety of freshwater species, then relax and unwind in one of their cozy secluded cabins or many different backcountry camping locations.
Alaska Charters and Adventures can be reached at 888-993-2750 and alaskaupclose.com.
Alaska Peak and Seas
Alaska Peak & Seas has been in business for over 30 years, specializing in offering guided jet boat tours to view the black and brown bears at Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory, experience the astonishing tidewater LeConte Glacier and Stikine River Wilderness, and enjoy watching whales and other wildlife of the sea, air and land. Any tour can be extended to full day outings on request when space is available. Alaska Peak & Seas is also happy to accommodate travelers from Petersburg or on private yachts at remote locations in the outlying area, who would like to join in on a tour or book the boat privately.
Please give Alaska Peak & Seas a call at 907-470-3200 or visit their website at WeDoAlaska.com.
Alaska Vistas
Alaska Vistas offers comfortable jet boat tours to visit the Anan bears and eagles, mighty Stikine River and Shakes Glacier, and the unforgettable LeConte Glacier with an optional lunch stop in Petersburg. Small group size and specialist guides allow for wonderful personal attention on their whale and other marine mammal watching tours. Enjoy the thrill of a multi-day raft trip on the Stikine River, or guided hiking in Tongass National Forest. They can create custom itineraries, provide paddling tours and equipment rentals, and offer private excursions for yachts. Many tours are based on 3, 4 and 5 day itineraries so you can make the most out of an extended stay in Wrangell.
Contact Alaska Vistas at 907-874-3006, info@alaskavistas.com or visit online at alaskavistas.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Instagram and Trip Advisor.
Anan Wildlife Observatory Twenty years ago Anan Wildlife Observatory was only known to the locals of Wrangell, Alaska. Before the observatory, before the photo blind, outhouse and 300 stairs, there were only salmon and the bears. Tourists wandering into Wrangell had to be convinced to take an hour boat ride, land on a rocky beach and hike into a dark, overgrown forest with only the guide they had just met a few hours before. But for those brave individuals who listened to Eric Yancy from Breakaway Adventures in Wrangell, they were rewarded with an experience right out of a Michener novel.
“People would come into town with a wish list of wanting to see some bears and I would tell them, “Have I got the place for you!”
Today, Anan Wildlife Observatory is a world class bear viewing destination. Located 30 miles southeast of the town of Wrangell and nestled in the Tongass National Forest, the observatory offers visitors a chance to be within feet of these giants of the forest. Anan Creek was an ancient fishing ground for the Stikine Tlingit clans who would catch and preserve the large salmon run for their winter food reserves. Today this creek still has the largest pink salmon run in Southeast Alaska. Both black and brown bears are attracted to the creek with mainly mothers, their cubs and juvenile bears taking advantage of the abundance of fish.
Dee Galla, Outdoor Recreation Planner for Anan with the Wrangell Ranger District, said that during the July-August salmon run there are approximately 40-60 black bears and 8-12 brown bears that use the area during the season, however, Anan Creek seems most suited to the black bears.
“I haven’t conducted an official study on this,” said Galla, “but the black bears seem to have a fishing strategy. They like the small crevices and deep waters of the creek and tend not to plunge into the water and sit down like brown bears.”
Getting to the wildlife observatory requires a boat or float plane and a permit. Permits are regulated by the U.S. Forest Service, with only 60 permits given out per day from July 5th-August 25th. Most permits are allocated to experienced tour operators such as Breakaway Adventures and Alaska Waters, both located in Wrangell, Alaska. The Anan Management Plan limits the amount of visitors during the salmon run out of respect for the bears, as this is their main food source used to bulk up before winter hibernation. There are a very small number of permits set aside for individual people and those can be purchased through www.recreation.gov beginning February 1st at 8am or through a weekly lottery from the Wrangell District Office.
“It’s very difficult to roll into Wrangell these days and expect to go to Anan,” said Yancy from Breakaway Adventures. “With the limited number of permits, we start booking the previous November and within a few months we already have dates that are sold out.”
Beside the issuing of permits, there are advantages to visiting Anan with an experienced guide. Tour operators like Breakaway Adventure and Alaska Waters both employ local guides who are familiar with the area and are able to give their customers a rich and in-depth experience. Tours include guides, the permits and a hour boat ride from Wrangell to the Tongass National Forest. Upon landing, groups are met by a U.S. Forest Service representative who instructs everyone on the rules, trail conditions, safety and bear activity. The talk includes valuable instructions such as, “stay on the trail, don’t give up the trail to a bear, and in order not to have bears associating humans with food, there is absolutely no food allowed on the trail.”
Guided tour operators will then escort the group on the 1/2 mile trail to the observatory. Tour operators are armed, and while there has never been an incident between bears and humans, bears can be unpredictable, especially the teenage ones. The trail consists of wooden planks smaller than a sidewalk, as well as natural terrain. There are over 300 stairs from the Anan trailhead to the observatory deck. The photo blind, which is located at the bear observatory, is also accessed through a stairway that is the equivalent to three stories tall. Once at the observatory, visitors will be enthralled at seeing bears in their native and natural habitat fishing, eating and lounging only feet away, offering priceless, once-in-a lifetime photo opportunities.
New Construction at Anan Bear and Wildlife Observatory
This nearly one million dollar phase of demolition and new construction fell to Petersburg contractor Jesse West’s company Rainforest Contracting. The work crew of up to 7 people has removed the old viewing deck and walkway and poured concrete columns that will be anchored to the rock for the structures. Steel beams and joists will be followed by the new deck, which is being built in Petersburg prior to transport by barge and helicopter. The old structures were added on to one another in different phases as Anan became more visited, with a shelter built in the 1960s. Now everything will be sturdier, safer, more uniform and a little larger.
The conceptual drawing shows the complete project. The phase currently under construction replaces the entire upper observation structure but does not include changes to the photo blind by the stream or the stairway leading to it. While a start date has not been set yet, the second phase of construction will replace the existing three-story stairway to the photo blind with a spiral staircase, and the existing photo blind with a slightly larger structure.
“Wrangell really needs to be a destination place,” said Eric Yancy from Breakaway Adventures. “We have golf courses, bike trails, hiking and glacier tours. Plus we rent canoes, kayaks and skiffs. Anything to do with water, we got you covered.”
BEARFEST If travel plans can be arranged to visit Wrangell during the last full week in July, you will definitely want to check out Bearfest, which bills itself as “an event dedicated to bears.” There are activities to please every member of the family during this five-day celebration that was founded in 2010 as a tribute to the natural environment and its bears. Bearfest hosts top scientists who conduct symposiums on topics ranging from black and brown bear research and management, to polar bears and climate change. Renowned photographers entertain all with their exciting bear stories and images.
Stikine Inn Chef Interview on Salmon A Fishy Tale-Bear Fest - Interview with Jake Harris, General Manager and Executive Chef at the Stikine Inn, Wrangell, Alaska. Favorite food to cook? Salmon of course! Salmon is king in southeast Alaska. Is there a type of salmon that you prefer? Kings are the granddaddy of salmon and can weigh in excess of 30 pounds. Most people don’t know that there are actually two different types of kings: white or ivory kings and pink kings. Only 25% of kings are white so it’s a fish that isn’t commonly served in restaurants. The whites seem to have a higher oil content from their steady diet of herring. Whites also lack the ability to metabolize naturally occurring pigments from their food, which is why the flesh is white instead of bright pink or red. However, one of my favorite salmon is the sockeye. They range between 5-12 pounds, are affordable and hold up well to all types of cooking. How do the locals of Alaska cook their salmon? Even in Alaska most locals smoke or can and I’m always trying to educate people that there are more ways to cook salmon besides just canning. Do you think people are intimidated about cooking fish? I once read that most people cook fish until its done and then cook it some more. Lots of people overcook their fish. I tell them to test the thickest part of the salmon. The consistency should be not like rubber and not like a sponge. One of the most important things you can do is let the salmon rest after cooking. Put it in a warming oven or cover it with foil and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. This will give time for the flavors to be dispersed throughout the fish. Also never put salmon flesh side down in the pan. It should always be cooked skin side down. Do you have a favorite sauce for salmon? One the easiest and tastiest sauces is a bourbon glaze. Anytime I put a dish with bourbon on the menu it sells! Combine into a paste 1/4 cup of bourbon (not rye whisky), 1/2 cup of brown sugar, olive oil and smoked sea salt. Rub this on the salmon and broil it at 450 or low. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the salmon but usually for 8-12 oz of salmon, it’s 10-15 minutes, but if it’s just the tail, it could be only around 5 minutes. Another favorite is to poach the salmon in a wine sauce. Combine white wine (I like Pinot Grigio) with some lemon, dill, thyme, sage and sea salt. Put the salmon on tin foil and fold the sides up to contain the liquid. Pour the liquid on top of the fish and seal the tin foil around the salmon, but not tightly. You want the foil to have air around the fish so it creates a pocket. Steam it in the oven at 400 degrees. What wine goes best with salmon? If the sauce is sweet then I recommend Pinot, otherwise Moscato goes well with non-sweet sauces. What else would you like people to know about Wrangell? Come to Wrangell, stay at the Stikine Inn and enjoy everything we have to offer. Wrangell has a lot for visitors to see and do but we are also a friendly and homey city that will make you want to come back.
Know Before You Go - Bear Viewing Levels There are lots of different comfort levels to viewing bears in the wilderness. There are those who can pitch a tent in the middle of bear country and sleep soundly and then there are others who are fine with seeing a bear in the distance while sitting safely in their car. Walking, camping and hiking in Alaska often requires a level of experience. Trails can be slippery and difficult to navigate and the weather, not to mention the wildlife, can both be unpredictable. If you are with a group that has multi-generations then the comfort/experience level of each member should be taken into consideration.
Level 1 - The Sunday Morning Stroll
Level 2 - Cruising Along
Level 3 - Taking Flight
Level 4 - One with the bears
Level 5 - You are the bear |
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