Wildlife tips for Alaska?

I was thinking about flying in and out of anchorage & renting a car for a week of independent wildlife photography in late August or early September.

Any ideas or tips for what to do that's not too pricey? I heard that driving to Homer or Seward you can see moose, eagle, maybe some bears.

I had originally thought of Denali but I'm not a fan of photos from a bus, or being dropped off a mile from wildlife. I know you can take a plane to see bears feeding on salmon but it seemed a little pricey. I'm leaning towards August because I hear September can be pretty rainy.

Anyways, I'm open to all suggestions as to what to do and when to go - thanks!

We went last Sept, can vouch for the rain, we made a run from Seward up and around Soldotna and down to Homer then back to Anchorage, rented a motor home which I believe was cheaper than a car and motel, lots of wide spots on the road where you can safely park and spend the night for free.
I'm thinking it was maybe 300 miles round trip, but it takes a while cause of all the stopping you will do. not allot of wildlife but lots of scenery. we hope to go back next year.

thanks alot Gary.

>> not allot of wildlife but lots of scenery
The trip is for wildlife, not scenery so is that not the right area? (or the right state???)

If you really want wildlife then I would go to Denali. The bus is a bit of a pain for sure, but the animals look great then, and that is the place to be unless you prefer whale, sea otters, sea lions and eagles - then come down hear to Seward.

Here is the best way to approach Denali: http://www.wildnatureimages.com/FAQ%202.htm

Feel free to contact me at AKFishinRN(at)yahoo(dot)com and I can give you my number. I have lived on the Kenai Peninsula for 7 yrs and also know Denali intimately.

Bob

Lots of photographers have raised these kinds of questions over on the Alaska Regional NP Forum. You'll find a lot of suggestions there. Denali is good in the fall. The 11.5 hour boat trip out of Seward into Kenai Fjords NP is good.

Be aware that late August and early September are getting well into autumn up here. The weather can throw some curves at you. Be prepared.

I just returned from 3 weeks in Alaska. We did see moose and eagles while driving along the Seward Highway, the Richardson Hwy, and on the roads around Soldotna, but this was just luck. It wasn't like they were all over the place. A good place to look near Anchorage is Potter's Marsh. We spent about 90 minutes there our first day and only saw birds(one bald eagle). We returned on our last day and saw 2 bald eagles, a moose that just hung out for about 5 minutes and a brown bear--this was all in 30 minutes! So a lot of that is just luck. Seward is also a good place for bald eagles. If you really want to see wildlife, I would recommend Denali. You will most likely have to take photos out of the bus window. We had 2 bear cubs wrestle right in front of our bus one day, and a wolf with an Arctic squirrel in its mouth run right alongside of the bus the next day, so I was able to get some pretty good shots. I also got to hang out with a caribou for a while while hiking. We did the pricey thing of flying somewhere remote for a few days to see bears--that really is your best chance of getting closeups of animals without being stuck on a bus.

I'll back Jim's suggestion of the wildlife cruise out of Seward, if you're interested in wildlife. We're headed to Alaska in a couple of weeks, and have reservations on a Kenai Fjords wildlife cruise.

The main reason I'm headed up there with my family is an experience I had on one of their wildlife cruises about 3 years ago. Had a blast, with thousands of seabirds, sea lions, otters, Humpback Whales, and Orcas. The few kids on that cruise were just going nuts seeing whales at close range, and I vowed then and there to bring my family back some day.

Highly recommnended if you get the chance, especially if you're a bird person.