In Ketchikan, your best bet to see bears is the Rainforest Discovery tour out at Herring Cove. You get a nice hike throught forest with a very knowledgeable tour guide, see an old sawmill, a Native Carver, and reindeer, have a salmon spread snack and walk along the private boardwalk into prime bear territory in our Herring Cove. As discussed many times on this forum, there are bears at Herring Cove about 8 miles outside of town, as it is a prime feeding area (berries and fish, etc.) but they are BEARS, not zoo animals, and it's hard to say when you will see them. Early morning and dusk, around 10pm at night, are locals favorite times to head out there for a sighting. Locals drive on the public road and park at the bridge which crosses the estuary. The Rainforest folks have access as little further in. Do not take any tour in Ketchikan expecting to see bears as it is hit or miss. There's one in my driveway daily (empty trash containers tipped over) and I've only seen him once in four years, but can track his path through our neighborhood, trash pile by trash pile, because our (&^%$$ neighbors do not secure their trash. Take a tour because it sounds like fun, fits your interests or is unique.

Thank you so much for your reply. We get there next week and am very excited. You provided great info and now I am much more realistic about the whole bear thing. I can't wait to see the town and surrounding forest.