4 Must-See Sights on Your Next Alaskan Fishing Vacation

When you plan a vacation to go fishing in Alaska, certainly you want to find a place that offers top-notch fishing excursions. But there is so much more to see than just the water in Alaska, so the next time you head to the last frontier in the U.S., make sure you put these four other sightseeing wonders on your list.

1: Bear Country

We’re not recommending that you get up close and personal with bears, but they are amazing creatures to see from a distance. The Tongass National Forest, situated around Alaska’s Inside Passage, is home to the highest concentration of black bears and one of the highest concentrations of brown bears (often known as grizzly bears) in the entire world.

The U.S. Forest Service has bear-viewing facilities in several areas around Tongass National Forest where you can safely watch these creatures fish the streams and ocean bays for salmon. Going along with an experienced guide is a good idea to avoid getting into dangerous situations while trying to catch a glimpse of bears in Alaska.

2: Humpback Whale Watching

Humpback whales are some of the largest mammals on the earth (not the biggest, though, the blue whale has them beat for size and weight). They grow anywhere from 48 to 62 or more feet long, which is about the size of a typical school bus. They also weigh 40 tons (80,000 pounds).

These whales are best known for their giant pectoral fins, which are as much as 16 feet long, and their incredible acrobatics when they breach the surface of the water. These whales also famously sing, with songs that travel several miles through the ocean and last for hours.

Humpback whales travel about 6,000 miles round-trip every year. They spend the summers in Alaska eating krill, plankton, and small fish from the nutrient-rich waters, then when the weather turns cold in the fall they head to Hawaii. This is their breeding ground, where they give birth to calves before returning to Alaska around April or May.

Whale watching is one of the best ways to see these magnificent creatures and experience their playful breaches, spyhopping, and other displays like slapping the water with their pectoral and tail fins. They tend to travel in groups, so you might get lucky and see a few of them frolicking in the water.

3: Glaciers

No trip to Alaska’s Inside Passage is complete without seeing the glaciers. If you browse websites of the biggest glacier attractions in Alaska you will see plenty of references to the Mendenhall Glacier, which is one of Alaska’s biggest attractions, partly because it’s close to the city of Juneau. However, if you venture out a little bit you can find some less busy places to take in the majesty of nature.

At the end of a long, winding, narrow fjord called Tracy Arm you will find two glaciers: North Sawyer and South Sawyer. They are only accessible by boat, and it’s best to take an experienced guide. The glaciers host all kinds of wildlife, from mountain goats and seals to arctic birds and bears. On clear days you can get closer to the glacier and maybe even get lucky enough to see a chunk calve (break off) and go splashing into the ocean below.

4: Northern Lights and Alaskan Sunsets

While there is plenty to see on land and on the water in Alaska, don’t forget to look up at the sky from time to time, where you can catch a glimpse of some of the world’s most incredible sunsets.

In the middle of summer the sunset will occur pretty late at night—around 10 pm in the southeastern area of the Inside Passage—and it will stay light for another hour or so during “civil twilight” hours. But you can still catch some fiery orange and red sunsets over the water to the west, either from the balcony of your Pybus Point Lodge cabin or from a kayak out in the bay.

Later in the season (August and September) you can look to the skies after dark to see the Northern Lights. This phenomenon, officially named aurora borealis, lights up the night sky with incredible yellow-green, blue, red, and purple patterns. It’s a result of electrically charged particles colliding with gases as they move through the Earth’s magnetosphere. If you’re worried about missing it, ask for a wake-up call from the Pybus Point Lodge front desk.

Book an Alaskan Fishing Trip (and so much more)

Book a trip to come see the best that Alaska has to offer. At Pybus Point Lodge you get the best fishing guides, immaculate fishing vessels, and top-notch gear to get out on the water, but you also get a lot more. Our all-inclusive resort has watercraft like kayaks and skiffs, glacier tours, whale watching, bear tours, wildlife photography tours, and more. Book today to see it all.