Jul 7, 2025
Super Bear Viewing Tour - Our Lake Clark Bear Viewing Tour today was awesome. Not only did we see a lot of bears, but we also experienced a great landscape. Also flying including 2 landings on the beach the tour was a special experience. Our pilot and guide Daniel was very competent, helpful, humorous and likeable. We felt very safe and comfortable at all times. Everything was perfectly organized. We can fully recommend the tour with Alaska Air Service.
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Jun 30, 2025
Simply the best! Book this adventure. 100/10 - I cannot say enough great things about our experience with Alaska Air Service. My friend, who lives in Anchorage, said that if we were to take a plane tour, it should be with a local company that employs Alaska-trained pilots and doesn't bring in summer pilots from the lower 48. This family-owned company has been operating in Alaska for years and exclusively uses Alaska-trained pilots. They are very committed to safety- our initial excursion got rescheduled due to unsafe flying conditions. The communication regarding our delay and subsequent cancellation/rescheduling was very clear.
I'll be 100% honest - I was really nervous about putting my family in a small plane like this and going to look for bears, which could potentially kill us. However, I felt nothing but safe on this trip. Our pilot, Daniel, was AMAZING! He answered all my "anxious mom" questions about flying and safety. He was such a skilled pilot and very knowledgeable. My son and I get motion sick, so that was another concern of ours. During our week in Alaska, we fly on this plane, went on a boat, went on a train, and went for a long ride in a van. Every form of transportation we experienced, except the plane, made us sick. The flight was smooth, and the takeoffs/landings were perfect.
We got to see plenty of bears. The vegetarian lunch was awesome. This was a bucket list experience for us, seeing bears in the wild, and it was awesome. I highly recommend this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 28, 2025
Best of our 2 Weeks in Alaska!!!! - This was the favorite thing we did during our two week trip in Alaska. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. Our pilot Justin did an incredible job making us feel comfortable, answering questions, and pointing out the sights and wildlife.
The flight between Anchorage and Lake Clark National Park is stunning!!! Seeing the mountains, patterns of streams and rivers, and wild life. We saw sea lions, moose, bears, and beluga whales.
Lake Clark National Park is stunning as well. After landing on the beach we were in a beautiful bay surrounded by mountains. We saw many bald eagles, a fox, and about 15 brown bears. In Lake Clark you can come across wildlife as you take the short hikes around any corner.
We enjoyed both Chinitna Bay and Silver Salmon Creek. The lunch break with the scenery was amazing!
Things to keep in mind:
- We got lucky with the weather! The weather varies greatly so it’s best to have some flexibility. We had a Denali flight tour booked with a different company earlier in the trip which was cancelled due to weather. It’s best to know this can happen and have your expectations right ahead of time.
- Wild life is wild. Every trip is going to be unique on which wild life you see, how many, and how close. We were super happy to see all the bears at all sorts of distances. The only thing we didn’t get to see was a bear on the beach clamming. This may have been due to the tide. Also, the National Park have areas where you can go and not go I order to benefit both the visitors and the wildlife.
- If you are curious about things, ask your pilot. Justin did great telling us about the things we were seeing, but being able to dig a little deeper by asking questions we learned more about somethings our family was curious about.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 13, 2025
Amazing views and peaceful scenery - it was AWESOME! Just be very very bear aware ESPECIALLY on the Trail, If it wasn’t for our awesome pilot (Justin) we wouldn’t be here writing this review the bears got super up close!
Also I have to give a shout out to Justin he was super friendly calm and aware of our surroundings. thank you Justin and Alaska air service for a Great experience! 👏🏻
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jun 8, 2025
First-rate in every way - This could not have been better. Dan was a terrific guide and skilled pilot. We felt like family from the get-go. As a foursome with two men over six feet, we managed to fit in the plane comfortably, though quarters are tight. We were graced with perfect weather,
smooth flights, and extraordinary views. we saw bears at two locations, easily a dozen of them or more, with a family of three walking comfortably close to us as they dug
up clams and then took a nap on the rocks. Lunch was fresh and tasty (sandwiches, macaroni salad; chips, etc), and the outdoor toilets at the two rest stops are clean and private. Everything is thought through and well executed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
May 28, 2025
10/10 would do again! - Fabulous trip. We got lucky with the weather and we saw multiple bears. The flight in was stunning and very comfortable. Our pilot Justin was incredibly knowledgeable. It was a small group, only 4 people plus our guide, so it was an extremely relaxed and authentic excursion, not commercial or touristy in any way. It felt like being shown around by a family friend. The owner, Bill, gave us a ride home afterwards. Such a thoughtful touch!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
