Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center & Turnagain Arm Tour
Description
Experience Alaska’s wild side on this unforgettable winter journey along the scenic Turnagain Arm, where towering mountains, frozen waterfalls, and snow-covered shores create a breathtaking backdrop. A highlight of the tour is a visit to the 140-acre Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, a place so impressive it leaves even longtime Alaskans in awe. The center provides refuge for orphaned, injured, and ill animals that can no longer survive in the wild, while also inspiring guests through education and conservation. Walk along spacious habitats and observe iconic Alaskan wildlife—such as moose, bison, musk oxen, and bears—living in natural surroundings. Winter’s crisp air and soft light create exceptional viewing and photography opportunities, making this tour perfect for nature lovers and photographers eager to capture Alaska at its most dramatic. Along the way, your guide shares local stories, wildlife facts, and hidden viewpoints that bring Alaska’s winter landscape to life.
Tour Options
Itinerary
At the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center visitors are free to explore over 140 acres of natural habitat home to bears, moose, reindeer, lynx and other native wildlife.
The point is a definite must stop location as the views are spectacular! Beluga Point, a rocky outpost jutting into the waters of Turnagain Arm, is just south of Anchorage along the Seward Highway. It’s named for the white whales that are often spotted from this location as they make their way up and down the inlet. Beluga's are often seen between July and August.
Alaska's Turnagain Arm on the Seward Highway is among those voted as one of the country's most unforgettable, must see areas of Alaska. MANY HAVE SAID THAT IF YOU MISS VISITING SIGHTS ALONG THE TURNAGAIN ARM- - YOU HAVE MISSED ALASKA!
Portage Valley is a 14 mile isthmus that connects the Kenai Peninsula to mainland Alaska. Portage Glacier once extended the entire length of the valley. The glacial remnants seen today are Explorer, Middle, Byron, Burns, and Shakespeare glaciers. While still massive in size, these glaciers stand as smaller reminders of the immense ice sheets that once covered this landscape.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- 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
Reviews(105)
Gary was our guide and he really knows his stuff! The wildlife conservation center was interesting and I’m glad I got to see bears and moose. Plus Gary gave us some restaurant recs and we went to one last night. It was very good. We had walked by it several times and wouldn’t have tried it if Gary hadn’t said it was good
The tour is full of scenic landscape, mountains, rivers and lakes. We made several stops, two of my favorites were the Wildlife Conservation center and Explorer Glacier and Lake. The animals at the conservation center were viewable in a natural habitat like setting.
It was great to have guaranteed animal sightings. And additionally a safe way for a whole family to view animals.
Had a great experience at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation center tour with Rezy. Rezy was very knowledgeable and accommodating and a wonderful guide for the afternoon! Rezy also pointed out some interesting and beautiful areas that were a bonus for our tour!
Had a great tour with Melissa. She provided a lot of interesting commentary about Alaska history, nature, and culture. We especially enjoyed learning about her Alaskan heritage and subsistence foraging, fishing, and hunting. The scenery en route to the wildlife conservation center was breathtaking, and the weather was perfect to catch many of the animals out in the sun at the conservation center. Loved, loved, loved watching the bears play in the snow. It was a huge treat to get a close up view of the bears, the moose, musk ox, and the Canadian lynx. Visitors should be aware that there are some things you can’t see in winter (mainly, the beluga whales), but the trade-off is getting to see mountains covered in snow.
It was in March and part of my trip experience going to the Iditarod. The pluses were the tour guide gave us a few unscheduled stops (Wild Berry Farm 👍) and had time to drop us off at our hotel. That was very much appreciated. We saw a Dall sheep on the mountain and he stopped and turned around so we could get out of the van for photos. Loved that! You definitely need to be agile and a good walker to see the Wildlife Conservation area in freezing icy, snowy weather. Luckily at 76 years old I could do it. I think the best time to see all the animals (bears, etc which we didn’t) would be in warmer weather. We saw wolves, musk ox, reindeer and moose.
Terrible communication but the tour itself was fine. There was no information provided by the tour company prior to the tour. I tried to contact them on viator and on the phone to understand the finishing time, but received no response at all. This was frustrating and I had to reach out to Viator to check if the tour provider was still active on the site. The tour itself was great. Our guide, Melissa, was amazing and shared a wealth of information with us about the state, the way of life of the local people, about wildlife. The wildlife conservation centre was really cool, and the views to and from there were absolutely stunning.
We’re so sorry you had this problem and truly apologize for the frustration you experienced with communication prior to your tour. We do provide all the necessary information in our tour description as well as in the confirmation sent after purchase. With the high volume of messages we receive each day (often over a hundred), messages sent through Viator can occasionally get lost or filtered into spam. While that’s never our intention, we completely understand how frustrating that must have been. For the quickest response, it’s always best to contact us directly via our email or by calling us, as we monitor those channels closely throughout the day. You can also call Viator and have them contact us directly on your behalf, which is another very effective way to reach us quickly. That said, we’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed the tour itself! Melissa will be thrilled to know her knowledge and passion made such a positive impact. We’re also glad you loved the wildlife conservation centre and the stunning views along the way. Thank you for your honest feedback — it truly helps us improve.
A beautiful day and drive to explore the beauty outside of Anchorage. Finally got to see some of the Alaskan Wildlife up close. Melissa was a great and knowledgeable guide. Very much enjoyed her sharing her local knowledge
We had really good experience. Melizsa is amazing!!! She is really friendly and kind. Definitely coming back in summer season and highly recommended!!!
Gary was an amazing guide and truly loved Alaska. He talked about many things along the way and would love to have him as a guide again. It was one of the best tours we have had here in Alaska.
