Why Outside Magazine Says the Best Brown Bear Viewing in Alaska is at Waterfall Creek

Each season we host a wide range of visitors, from people looking for their first encounter with brown bears, to those who have spent years traveling to the world’s most famous bear viewing regions, including Alaska’s national parks, Admiralty Island, and British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest.

Last August, Outside Magazine contributor Robert Annis visited several of Southeast Alaska’s best-known bear viewing sites, ending his trip with a day at Waterfall Creek with Wild Coast Excursions.

The article that followed did not frame Waterfall Creek as simply the best peak-season bear viewing in Southeast Alaska. It placed it alongside Alaska’s most famous bear viewing destinations and then went a step further.

The headline says it plainly: This Little-Known Bear Viewing Spot Is the Best Place to See Brown Bears.

Brown bears fishing in the salmon stream at Waterfall Creek on Chichagof Island.
Brown bears using the creek mouth at Waterfall Creek during peak salmon season, moving and feeding naturally as tides and fish runs shift through the day.

A Place That Still Feels Wild

From the outset, the article focuses on setting. Waterfall Creek is described not as a manicured attraction, but as a natural place that still operates on its own terms.

There are no viewing platforms. No constructed overlooks. No predictable choke points where bears are expected to perform for people. The experience unfolds along a stretch of coastline and creek mouth where bears come and go with the tides, the salmon, and one another.

That lack of development is not presented as a drawback. It is the foundation of the experience.

The author repeatedly returns to the feeling of being in a place that has not been arranged for visitors, where nature dictates how the day unfolds rather than the other way around.

Fewer People Than Bears

One of the most striking elements of the article is how often the number of bears is compared to the number of people.

At Waterfall Creek, small groups view from the shoreline while bears fish, travel, rest, and interact nearby. The author notes how unusual it is, even at well-known bear viewing sites, to have so much space and so little crowd pressure.

This absence of congestion shapes everything. Bears linger longer. They move more freely. Encounters stretch out instead of cycling through short viewing windows.

For someone accustomed to iconic bear viewing locations, that contrast is not subtle.

Multiple bears fish for salmon at Waterfall Creek in Juneau
A range of bear behavior at Waterfall Creek, from cubs close to shore to adults moving through the background, illustrating the depth and variety of encounters described in the Outside Magazine article.

Watching Bear Behavior, Not Just Feeding

Rather than centering the story on a single dramatic moment, the article emphasizes behavior.

Bears fishing, yes, but also bears moving through the area without urgency. Bears interacting with one another. Cubs testing boundaries. Adults responding differently depending on age, sex, and social context.

These are the moments that tend to disappear first when viewing pressure increases. They are also the moments experienced wildlife watchers notice most.

The article makes clear that Waterfall Creek offered a depth and range of behavior the author had not consistently seen elsewhere, even at places known for dense bear concentrations.

Why the Katmai Comparison Matters

Outside Magazine frames Waterfall Creek in direct comparison with Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, one of the most recognizable brown bear viewing locations in the world.

Katmai is not dismissed. Its reputation is earned. But the article is clear about the tradeoffs that come with fame, structure, and crowd management.

What Waterfall Creek offers is different. Fewer people. Less infrastructure. More variability. More room for bears to behave naturally over the course of a day. Visitation to Brooks Falls can reach more than 400 people per day. During his visit, the author shared Waterfall Creek with fewer than 10 others.

The comparison is not made lightly. It places Waterfall Creek in the same conversation as Alaska’s most celebrated bear viewing destinations, and then explains why, for this author, it stood above.

“There are, however, alternatives to Brooks Falls… there’s another, somewhat secret spot offering even closer glimpses at bears’ daily lives… it may be the best alternative to Brooks Falls to see truly wild brown bears.”
— Outside Magazine

Outside Magazine also produced a short video from their visit to Waterfall Creek, capturing the same elements described in the article: low visitor numbers, an undeveloped setting, and bears moving freely through the landscape.

Watch the Outside Magazine video here.

Juneau and Access to World-Class Bear Viewing

Waterfall Creek is accessed by floatplane from Juneau, making it possible to reach a place that still functions as wild habitat within a single day.

That matters.

Juneau sits at the edge of the Tongass National Forest and in Alaska’s coastal rainforest, within reach of intact ecosystems that have not been altered by mass visitation. Bear viewing sites like Waterfall Creek and Pack Creek exist because of that geography, and because development has remained limited.

The Outside article reflects this reality. The experience described is not an anomaly. It is the result of place, access, and restraint.

What Wild Coast Excursions’ Guests See at Waterfall Creek

The video below offers an introduction to Waterfall Creek as it is experienced on site, narrated by a Wild Coast Excursions guide and former U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Ranger. Rather than a highlight reel, it provides context for the landscape, the pace of a visit, and how bear viewing unfolds in this part of Southeast Alaska.

Waterfall Creek and Wild Coast Excursions

Wild Coast Excursions operates bear viewing trips to both Pack Creek and Waterfall Creek. In this case, peak season at Waterfall Creek became the focus of the Outside Magazine article.

Our role is simple. We provide daily access and expert local guidance that allow people to spend time in these places while keeping group sizes small and pressure low.

The conditions the author describes are not manufactured. They are what Waterfall Creek offers when trips are timed carefully and approached with respect for how bears use the area.

Lead guide briefing guests at Waterfall Creek during a private bear viewing trip.
A Wild Coast Excursions guide briefing a small group at Waterfall Creek, where limited visitation and an undeveloped setting allow bear viewing to unfold without the pressure of crowds.

Read the Outside Magazine Article

The full article provides the author’s complete perspective, shaped by years of bear viewing across Alaska and beyond.

This Little-Known Bear Viewing Spot Is the Best Place to See Brown Bears
Outside Magazine

Why This Matters for Juneau Bear Viewing

This post exists to document what was observed and reported by an independent writer, and to place that perspective in context.

Waterfall Creek offers a combination of undeveloped landscape, low visitor density, and natural bear behavior that is increasingly difficult to find. The Outside Magazine article makes the case clearly and without qualification.

For those researching Alaska bear viewing, Juneau bear tours, or Waterfall Creek bear viewing, it provides a grounded, experienced perspective on why this corner of Southeast Alaska belongs among the state’s most serious bear destinations.

For readers interested in learning more about how Waterfall Creek bear viewing trips operate from Juneau, additional details are available here on our webpage.