Straight from the Alaskan wilderness to our family of friends and guests, here is a another Southwild “first” — the opportunity to view Brown Bears safely from just a few meters away.

You no doubt know that at up to 740 kilos (1,630 pounds) Brown Bears are the world’s most massive terrestrial predators, so the chance to view them up close is lifechanging. We believe that we are only lodge in the world that offers perfect viewing from very short range.

The answer is “YES!”. In 40 million bear-person-hours in Chinitna Bay over the past 25 years, there has never been a single bear accident. Our highly-trained guides carry not only powerful bear spray but also terrifyingly-bright marine signal flares. These flares are foolproof protection against the exceedingly rare rogue bear. Bearwatching guides have used these flares successfully for decades in Alaska and Canada. The very, very few times that a Brown Bear has become aggressive in the north woods, a single marine flare has scared it away.

How can we safely watch the world’s largest terrestrial predators from such short distances? This amazing opportunity is thanks to the ingenious planning by the previous owner, visionary conservationist Richard Hojohn, who intentionally built the cabins right next to (but not on) natural bear trails that run through the forest.

We can accept groups of up to 8 guests. As the large cabin and the medium-sized cabin each have only one hot-shower bathroom, those two cabins are best treated simply as two double-occupancy guest rooms. The big cabin is grossly oversized for just two persons, we will treat it as one huge guest room ideal for 1 to 5 persons. It is ideal for a family of 4-5.

The season is 1 June to 15 September, but we already are fully booked through 19 July, so please contact us immediately to secure bookings for the rest of July through mid-September. Come enjoy the world’s finest Brown Bear viewing and help us plan the future conservation of the bears at this incredible location.