Wildlife and Glaciers with a walk in the Rainforest
Overview
Available languages
4 hours 30 minutes
Mobile ticket
If getting an up-close look at Alaska’s iconic animals in a natural sanctuary setting is high on your list, this tour is an absolute must. Built around a one-hour visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, it offers one of the best ways to see Alaska’s wildlife safely and comfortably in a half-day adventure.
Enjoy a spectacular drive from Anchorage along the legendary Turnagain Arm, where mountain and ocean views set the tone. At the Conservation Center, explore spacious habitats home to brown bears, wolves, moose, musk ox, caribou, and the massive Woodland Bison.
The journey continues into beautiful Portage Valley, featuring braided rivers, lush forest, and towering peaks. Look up to spot hanging glaciers clinging to the mountainsides, a true highlight and photo favorite.
Wildlife, glaciers, and classic Alaska scenery—all in one tour. Shop, compare, and choose the experience that delivers the most value and memories
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Weather in Alaska can change rapidly, so please dress accordingly
Not recommended for Infants or Passengers who cannot walk for 40 minutes on their own.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What To Expect
Chugach State Park
Beluga Point: Popular photo stop with panoramic views of Turnagain Arm, with possible opportunities to see Dall sheep and Beluga whales. Timing is everything hopefully you will see both!
Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
View Alaska's most famous animals up close in a natural setting. During this visit, you'll get great pictures of real live bears, moose, musk-ox, caribou, bison, and more! The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) is a sanctuary dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, research, education and quality animal care. AWCC has provided care for hundreds of displaced animals because visitors like you have made critical contributions in the form of admission fees, donations, memberships, and gift shop purchases.
What‘s Included
Wildlife Conservation Center Entry Fee
Professional guide
Pick up at 509 W 3rd Ave. Directly across from the downtown Hilton Hotel
Gratuities
Lunch
Snacks
Options
Wildlife Tour
Wildlife Tour
Reviews
727 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Beautiful tour of Turnagain Arm!
Y1746KRblakeh,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I had a great experience seeing Alaskan wildlife and beautiful views of the landscape.
10/10 tour wit rezy
Andrea C,Apr 22, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00dude idek where to even start, lowkey came rlly early because I wanted to walk around downtown for a bit which was cool and sat down in a cute little cafe shop and got a banana bread from a cool girl named Chloe(also who let me use her charger for my dying phone THANK UU). Met my tour guide (Rezy), I’m socially an awkward person but they made me feel rlly comfortable and made me laugh as well(felt like talking to a friend rather than a stranger I js met). Some of the travel areas were closed or not a lot of animals were out (due to weather?idk)but tbh I had a rlly good time js talking abt jokes and what makes Alaska different. And Rezy rlly educated me on glaciers and other stuff I had no clue abt 🤣. 2nd day on my trip out in Alaska and made my week js going on this tour guide:) 10/10 would do it again. If u love sightseeing and having a good conversation with someone, highly recommend 👍
Great way to spend the...
Emil S,Apr 18, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00Great way to spend the afternoon in Anchorage if you wanna get out of the city. Melissa was absolutely fantastic!
Took a scenic drive to end at the wildlife center. Stopped regularly for bathroom breaks but also to take in the views
emilykF6331PP,Apr 5, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Such an amazing experience. Melissa the tour guide was super kind. 100% recommend!!
Awesome tour! Will use them again.
X6063SAcoreyg,Mar 16, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing experience! Melissa was professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable. She went above and beyond to ensure we had a great trip.
Day well spent
janpG5972HO,Mar 13, 2026
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00March is still cold and wintery, so we didn't get to see the warmer weather stuff but this was a day well spent. The Seward Highway was beautiful with mountains on each side. We saw dall sheep along the cliffs, bald eagles and once at the refuge center, much more of Alaska's wildlife. Melissa was a great guide, sharing her Eskimo roots and routines. Very fun way to experience Alaska in March.
Wonderful Experience
Grant R,Mar 7, 2026
- Review from Viator
5.00The guide was very knowledgeable and drove safely. It was a nice experience and I got to see a lot of different animals.
The scenery and wildlife...
Terri L,Feb 15, 2026
- Review from Viator
4.00The scenery and wildlife viewing was wonderful, and Melissa was a terrific guide! However, the title is a bit misleading. There were no glaciers or rainforest.
Don’t do this tour in the Winter
Karen C,Jan 17, 2026
- Review from Viator
3.00Winter is not the time for this tour. I discovered after the fact that visitors who took the tour in other seasons saw much more than we did. The view at turnagain was beautiful, then it was downhill from there on. It was very windy and cold at the wildlife conservation area. To our tour guide’s credit, she tried desperately to find a bear for us. The bison were too far away to view well and the other animals were mostly hunkered down although the wolves and coyotes were active. We didn’t tour the rain forest, skipped it entirely. Our tour guide’s said that it was too dangerous because moose retreat to the forest when it’s cold. We drove to Portage Road to view glaciers. We only saw one very tiny piece of a glacier. I understand climate change has shown the reduction of glaciers in the area, but why didn’t we try to view the other glaciers listed? I would not take this tour again nor recommend it because of this experience.
Horrible
Sabitha P,Dec 22, 2025
- Review from Viator
1.00I never leave a bad review, but our experience today warrants one. Our trip to the Wildlife Conservation Center with walk in the rainforest was miserable. The van was incredibly uncomfortable. It was freezing in the van - all the windows frosted over on the inside where the passengers sat frozen. It never warmed up in the van. In the back of the van, where we sat, it felt as though the was a hole somewhere near the floor that let the freezing cold from outside inside. Our feet were frozen even with foot warmers. We sat with our coats and mittens on and were still cold. It was the most miserable 3 hours we've spent ever. We could not even see anything because the windows were completely frosted over. The guide/driver casually said you just need to wipe the windows when we first said we could not see. It is impossible to see out frosted windows. We were forced to scrape the windows with credit cards and they promptly froze over again. I strongly recommend that the van gets serviced and I suggest removing at least one row of seats. I am 5' tall and my knees barely fit without hitting the seat in front of me. It was very cramped. You would think that given how cramped we were, the van would warm up just from body heat, but we did not. There had to be air from outside coming in to keep us so cold in such tight quarters. We did get to see the animals at the Wildlife center, however we never even heard about the rainforest. There was no mention of it at all. No mention of glaciers either. We stopped by the side of the road to take a couple of pictures twice and we got to walk on Portage Lake. That was it. The rest of the time we sat shivering in the bus. In addition, the guide sat up front and chatted/flirted with one passenger the entire time (even asked for her phone number at the end of the tour). We got minimal information.
From US$149.00
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