Whether you are a longtime Alaskan or visiting our Great Land for the very first time, our Alaskan Bear Watching Experience will become the highlight of your Alaskan memories. And with today's digital cameras and camcorders you can return home and share that experience over and over again with all your friends and family members.
Bears are probably the highest item on a visitor's list of things to see in Alaska and with a statewide Brown Bear population of over 30,000 critters the opportunities to see them are not far from wherever you are. Our viewing locations are populated with large numbers of bears, both brownies and blacks, although because these two species are competitors and enemies they tend to stay apart and avoid potential threatening encounters.
Talon Air Service's bear viewing areas are located on the west side of Cook Inlet just a 30 to 40 minute flight from our float plane base in Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula. These short duration flights equate to more viewing time for your adventure than those visitors having to fly for an hour from Anchorage each way.
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL only begins to describe what lies ahead for you. Our turbo-powered ten passenger DeHavilland Otter on floats or our nine passenger turbo-powered Cessna Caravan on floats will whisk you away from our Soldotna floatplane base and 30 minutes later your adventure begins. You'll get a Full Day Experience (approx. 6 hrs.) from departure to return. And of course this means you'll be needing to bring several extra rolls of film, camera batteries and video tapes because the action can be nonstop during your entire visit. These Alaskan brown bears (and some blacks) are there to fish for sockeye salmon and teach their cubs how to eventually do their own fishing when they are older. You'll end up as close as 30 feet from these magnificent animals in the complete safety of your guide's boat while they go about their business of fishing and relaxing. Talk about a photo opportunity where you don't need a telephoto lens!
We typically see both black and brown bears in the area, but not at the same time as they are major rivals when it comes to competing with each other for food. And the main course is tens of thousands of sockeye salmon which pass through the area on their way to the spawning grounds. These bears provide great entertainment in this beautiful wild setting as they prowl the shoreline scouting for schools of fish and then when you least expect it dive head long into the lake as they attempt to grab a salmon. They frequently wade in the water with their heads below the surface as they actually look underwater for the fish they are trying to corral and capture for a meal. 
Also seen on this flight are beaver, Bald eagles, loons, fish, plus an opportunity to spot a whale, seals, moose and other wildlife during the flight over.
CRESCENT LAKE - Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
Our other premier bear viewing fly-in experience is located in the wild and scenic Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. A rugged yet beautiful area comprised of sleeping active volcanoes, ice fields and glaciers, an abundance of wildlife, with lakes and streams teeming with trout and salmon. It is the huge runs of sockeye and silver salmon migrating upstream to Crescent Lake which attracts a very high concentration of brown bears to this area. And this is where your adventure begins after a short 40 minute flight from our sea plane base in Soldotna. You'll fly past Mount Redoubt whose spectacular eruption period in March and April of 2009 entertained Alaskans as well as world wide viewers via the Internet web cams placed near the mountain. The bears you will see cover the full spectrum with sows with cubs, young adult bears and a number of big bruins whose presence commands immediate respect from all other bears. These bears are drawn to the lake shore where thousands of salmon are spawning in the shallows which makes it easy for them to capture a meal. And as spawned out salmon die and drift back into the river outlet more bears will travel the riverbank in search of an easy meal.
Your guide will shuttle you around the lake shore in the safety of our boat in search of brownies and it doesn't take long to find the first bear. Cruising quietly near shore you can watch these magnificent animals go about their daily routine of catching and eating salmon or resting after a good meal all the while appearing to completely ignore your presence nearby. The viewing opportunities can be non-stop with many of our guests seeing ten to twenty bears during their visit to Crescent Lake. Your guide will search both the river area and the lake shore of this six mile long lake teeming with fish in order to provide the most unforgettable experience possible. You'll remember that each time you look at your photo album or watch the videos you have taken. 
