Herring Cove, Alaska, United States

4.0 (12 reviews) Spent < 1 hour Ranking #30 in Ketchikan Points of Interest & Landmarks

Herring Cove Was A Hit With Us!

Someone in town told us to go to Herring Cove right at low tide to possibly see bear activity. We were on our own in town, and had our own car so we tried going twice. The second time we sat quietly with another couple for about 30 minutes and we saw a Mama bear and two Cubs. The Mama bear caught a salmon and quickly ran back into the tall grass with the Cubs. Wildlife does not always cooperate, but we respect their space and loved seeing a glimpse of their life.

Address

8033-7979 S Tongass Hwy, Ketchikan, AK 99901-9757

Current local date and time now

Friday, May 10, 2024, 6:03

User Ratings

4.0 based on (12 reviews)

Excellent
59%
Good
8%
Satisfactory
17%
Poor
8%
Terrible
8%

Reviews

  • 5SanDiegoParent 5:00 PM Sep 16, 2018
    Waterfall visible from highway
    Apparently Herring Cove can be a great place to view wildlife. But I think you have to do it very cautiously and safely from a narrow shoulder along the highway. We did not see anything but enjoyed the drive. My group of six rented a van from First City Car Rentals when our cruise ship visited town. First City met us at the ship with a tablet to finalize details, gave us the key right there, and told us to park the car in the same area and leave the key inside when we were done for the day. He recommended Herring Cove to see black bears. We went to Settler's cove (beautiful) and the totem pole park (if I had it to do over again I would have spent more time at the free totem pole park in Sitka. It was a lovely walk and my kids loved seeing the salmon in the creek under the bridge). I had found one traveler's review about Herring Cove hidden somewhere in TripAdvisor recommending a waterfall that you could see from the highway. They were correct, if you drive out of town past Herring Cove you will see a Mile Marker 10 sign and soon after on your left you will see the waterfall. We found a good shoulder nearby to park and walked to it. Very picture worthy, we all loved it.
  • 5Gayl M 5:00 PM Sep 4, 2019
    A bear, ravens and salmon!
    This was our last port of call from our cruise and we had yet to see a bear (or much else in the way of wildlife) Broseph was our bus guide from the cruise ship to Herring Cove. He shared a lot of information about living in Alaska and Ketchikan. We were dropped off at the main meeting area and met our guide Red. He explained what we could or might see with no promises - wildlife doesn't always cooperate. We walked, on elevated board walks through this privately owned preserve. Red detailed all the flora around us but was in constant (ear piece) contact with other guides listening for a bear sighting. After seeing the salmon, a gray seal and watching the antics of the ravens, Red said it was time to go (we were already well past our departure time). Suddenly, he pointed out a female black bear and she didn't disappoint. She walked right under us on the boardwalk and into a shallow pond to fish and swim. There must have been 50 people watching and you could have heard a pin drop everyone was so respectful and enamored with our private show. We were a bunch of happy campers returning to the ship even though we didn't stop at the scheduled wood carvers shop. This is a great family outing but it's not a given that you will see bears or eagles. Ask for Red as your guide.

See also