Fortress of the Bear

Awesome... A super nature reserve just in the outskirts of Sitka. One of the best excursions ever and the reason why I must go back to cruise Alaska and of course to see the bears again. Well set out with very informative and caring guides. If you go to Alaska you must make this THE. Place to go to. Five Stars All The Way.

Worth the Visit!Lets begin with the staff, very friendly and willing to accommodate us a bit outside of one of the time slots due to our schedule. The member that walked us around was very knowledgeable and good natured.The bears were a site to see! Even if youve seen plenty of bears, these friendly bears are worth visiting. The three black bears were goofy and doing some silly things like two if them sitting on a tree stump for one.Then theirs the Brown bears, this is an opportunity to see a grizzly quite close without the fear of being mauled. One of them even knows some form of sign language and was able to indicate it wanted food and understood when the guide signaled back all gone.In short, this is not your typical zoo experience and you will be happy you visited.

The staff was very well educated and gave a 15 minute educational walk-through which was scientific enough to keep you interested but also easy to digest to spit back to friends later.The Bears here unfortunately won’t be set back into the wild due to Alaskan laws, the staff and owner are trying to protest against these laws. However at the Fortress of the Bear they do an excellent job of feeding, training and still keeping the Bears thanking as if they were still in the wild.The facility is very clean, & during coronavirus it’s by appointment only. I wish we would have been able to stay longer and take in more of the Bears behavior but due to scheduling purposes they have everyone leave after 30 to 45 minute intervals. Masks and handwashing are required before entering in the facility.

Very unique. Very informative. I got a lot of great video from there.

The guided was very knowledgeable, and he has a lot of humor too. he explained a lot of stuff about the forest and the bear over there3

Despite what one might think, this is not a zoo and it’s not hype. It’s simply caring people rescuing baby bear cubs whose moms were killed. In Alaska, Dept of Fish n Game will otherwise put infant bears down since they cannot survive in this type of intense bear population. It’s a chance to watch the habits and ways bears communicate and feed and play. As close to their natural habitat as possible. It’s actually very educational and you do not walk away feeling sad for the bears. I’ve had that experience at a zoo - not here ! Very dedicated folks who run it and work there Year after year.

You definitely see bears. Building is still being renovated. Hopefully, their gift shop will be much nicer and facilities easier to use.

Loved this place. However, we were very lucky the bears and Cubs were very active today. Made for many great photo opportunities and a great time...

Worth the trip. Great bear rescue where it feels like the bears have room to roam and feel comfortable.

Amazing. Im alaskan, and STILL had a GREAT time!!! Highly recommended.

The facility is gorgeous, you can have a very up-close encounter with the bears, and most importantly, the bears seem relaxed, happy, and very well-cared for!

Well worth a visit. Bears are in thoughtful and large enclosures and well cared for, appropriate to a bear.

Eye opening, educational, full of knowledgeable staff. Interesting to see bears in a natural environment setting. Animals here are happy and the enclosure are huge. It is a wonderful place for wildlife rehabilitation to take place.

First of all, I dont think this is a zoo. This is a sanctuary where people do their best to save bears and show how wonderful these animals are. Make no mistake: if they released them to the wild they wouldnt have survived. They were rescued and they got used to human environment. Excellent place, very informative, well run, fun. Thanks guys.

Private non-profit bear rescue organization bought remains of lumber mill water treatment plant. Tall concrete walls of 2 circular settling ponds, partly drained to provide zoo like habitat for 4 brown bears, from which visitors can view from above. Another area with birch trees provide climbing poles and branches for 3 black bears.

What a great facility! I’ve never seen such an immersive rehab/rescue facility quite like this one. They do amazing work for these animals. It was a lot of fun, great for all ages.

So awesome!! The bears are beautiful and cute and amazing! Its sad to hear their stories about how they ended up at the center, but what this place is doing is so cool and it is getting bigger and better!! They were in the process of expanding when we were there. Sitka was really cool!

Pretty neat, unique, close encounters with bears and they are doing great work in rescuing them. Smaller than I thought, but really cool sanctuary.

A unique place, good to see bears interacting, playing ect.

This place was nice but it just was not for me. I felt as thought the admission fee was much too high for what you get to see. The staff working there were really great and extremely knowledgeable. Dont avoid this because of this review because all of the others in our tour bus seemed to LOVE IT

Fun experience to see the bears interact with each other. They were getting fed watermelon and berries when we went. In the process of building a huge cabin, viewing area. Friendly to all abilities with a large open deck, wheelchair friendly, and multiple workers to answer questions.

Great place to see bears. They only have two pens right now but are expanding.

About 8 bears in 3 different areas. Bears are well behaved and well fed. A must see site in Sitka. Bears are in a old water treatment plant. A few man made caves for hibernation. Several bear were relaxing in a huge pool of water with logs. Pool was perhaps 15k square foot. Brand new tourist building almost complete with gift store.

Cool animal-shelter like non-profit exclusively for rescued bears. $10 admission is steep, but at least it goes to a good cause. Basic covered viewing platform. Nothing fancy.

They love their bears...the staff is great

Great facility! Super informative and friendly staff!

Great experience. Their story of how they got started is inspirational.

We saw lots of active bears and learned about brown and black bears. The place is under construction and lots of tourists everywhere.

Such a great place! From what I gathered visiting Alaska, if a bear gets into someones garbage enough, they will be shot. Often the cubs will be shot as well. In a case when the cubs are not shot, they go to a place like this where they can live out the rest of their lives fairly well.There were a few brown bears here as well as a few black bears and ... a ton of bald eagles. If you want to see bald eagles, you could easily go here and see them. They hang out here to steal the food thrown in for the bears. I posted one photo with a bald eagle perched mere feet from a sleeping bear.Note: We visited this place through a package excursion that also went whale watching and to the raptor center and included bus fare and whatnot.

Not exactly a zoo but they are doing great things to rescue and rehabilitate these bears. We got to watch them eat and learned a few things about them. Stroller friendly. Usually at zoos you can only see as much as you can tippy toe. This place has an incline that allows you to have a whole eyes view of the bears and their environment.

Great place to visit! Great education spot about bears. The bears seem happy and healthy. A new visitors center is being constructed and will certainly enhance viewing and learning opportunities. Plan on spending 30 to 60 minutes.

This is a bear sanctuary, not a zoo. Entry is $10/person, which is very inexpensive for the experience. In August 2017 there were 3 black bears, and 5 brown bears. Management is in the process of expanding the sanctuary. If you find yourself in Sitka, this is an absolute must-see.

Great educational facility and tourist attraction. The bears live good lives here that they would never have gotten to lead otherwise. Natural habitat, feeding and wellbeing is at the heart of what these guys do. I hope this place continues to flourish and develop over the next few years.

This was a neat place to visit. They turned an old water treatment place into a shelter for bears that couldnt make it in the wild. Admission was only 10 dollars for an adult and it was worth it. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable. They also seemed to genuinely care for the well being of the bears. Even if you dont have little kids, this is an awesome place to see these great Alaskan animals.

Great experience, staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Price is worth the cause, and the bears did out on a show by playing with each other and during feeding time.

They are currently working on updating and expanding the visitors center. But the staff was very informative and friendly. The bears where all out and in view they seemed happy. A pair even frolicked for us. Great visit

Lovely bear refuge.

Great place to help orphan bears

Amazing! I could spend all day there watching the bears and learning more. Chris was great offering to educational tidbits and information on volunteering. Im hoping to be back next summer to volunteer here.

They are doing great things here, saving bear cubs that would have otherwise been put down when their moms were killed by bad humans. The visitor center is lack luster but under expansion. Put the price is cheap and for a good cause, a must see place in Sitka.

This was a fantastic experience. The guides have a ton of ursine knowledge, and the bears really seem to enjoy their habitat. Also, this place is helping preserve these incredible animals at human encroachment pushes them into more populated areas

For their work saving bears and their effort to engage visitors, they deserve five stars. Its just not that interesting or exciting. Yeah, I got a couple of good bear pictures. Glad to see that they are expanding and wish them all the best. NHice surprise, you can buy coffee, a Starbucks K-cup.

These are wild bears that where hurt. This place heals them to go back out in the wild of Alaska.

Go to the zoo. Save your money. They dont rehabilitate bears but rather rescue them and raise them as pets. Come pay to see my dogs. You will help me raise them and get more out of it. Know what I mean?

Exceptional learning experience. Best May and June when bald eagles are there while feeding the bears. Good knowledgeable people manage this place.

Enjoyed seeing the baby bears that were saved. Hope they get to rescue more babies instead of the killing of them. Was visiting with my Mom for my birthday week. 2 Texas Gals

It was extremely crowded when our tour bus arrived and added even more people into the fray. People were lining the ramp trying to take pictures or even just stay out of the way. They will occasionally talk over a microphone to tell the story of the bears past and the work the organization is doing.

Id strongly recommend visiting if in the area, more impressive than a normal zoo exhibit. Almost equally worth the visit as the bears is all of the eagles flying overhead trying to steal food from the bears!

Fortress of the Bear is an excellent example of taking a space and repurposing it. This is not a zoo so animals arent cramped and as up close and visible as most places, it means that sometimes they may be hiding in thier new habitat enclosure. This place isnt about bells and whistle it is about fulfilling a need and protecting cubs that would be potentially destroyed and with the revenue they are able to slowly expand the venue. I have enjoyed every trip I have made there.

We visited while the renovation is still under way so there was not much organization to the facility. The bears appear happy as juveniles; I hope they’ll be content 10-20 years from now. It would be nice to have a little brochure with the story of the Fortress, it’s founders’ inspiration and their purpose/mission.... I do wish them well.

Great place that saves orphaned bear Cubs from certain death. Great program. Loved seeing all the bears. Cant believe the State of Alaska will not allow rehabilitated bear Cubs to be released into the wild.

Itll be better when they finish the remodeling. Fun watching two baby bears wrestling-two 400 pound babies!

This place is so great if you love animals and care about their ethical treatment!

Im really happy that there is a bear rescue, however if you have have ever been to a zoo then you have seen the same things. At least your money goes to supporting these bears that will never be released back into the wild.

We couldnt have been more impressed by this experience. The people know their stuff and genuinely care about the bears!!! I would recommend this adventure to anybody!!! Hope we can make it back to see the new facility. Thank you!

Ask for military discount if applicable. You can get about 15-20 feet from the bears! They do tricks for food. Great place to stop by and see wildlife up close. Please donate.

Staff are super knowledgeable and passionate about rescuing Cubs. The bears are really fun to watch and seem to love their home.Admission is $15 and it goes to a good cause.

Had a great time feeding the bears and thanks to the gentleman who takes in orphaned cubs.

Nice to see Costal Brown Bears up close. The sub-adults in particular are fun to watch. Very active.

Absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area.

Recovery center for bears that couldnt survive in the wild.

Lovely place for rehabbing bears, but cannot be released to the wild. Essentially a zoo, but better than killing them. Really natural environment for them!

The staff was very informed on the bears and gave insightful information on the bears lifestyles and information on if one crosses paths with a bear.

Very small venue but a great opportunity to get fairly up close and personal to 4 brown bears and 2 black bears. This is a sanctuary so there are plenty of photo opportunities. It is a place where the bears are well taken care of and the caretakers have a lot of information not only about the resident bears but bears in general. There are bald eagles everywhere! It is a little out of the way, but well worth the drive to see these beautiful creatures.

Fantastic organization and such a noble cause. Bears are well cared for and its great to see them so close and not in a zoo

Good tour stop to learn about the current situation with rescuing bears in Alaska towns.

A seasonal visitor must see. The enclosures are so open as if the bears were one with nature . Nice little gift shop. Informative, knowledgeble and friendly staff.

Several black bear rescues, as well as, several Alaskan coastal brown bears that were rescues. You walk to the top of a wooden platform on one side you see the black bear the other brown bear. That is it, they throw some food out to attract the bears to come closer periodically. The money goes towards maintaining the animals which by law can not be released back into the wild, so in that respect it is a worthwhile stop.

This was a very informative visit. Not only I learned more about the grizzly bears habitats, but also about their behavioral patterns. Definitely good start if you are planning to do some of the trail after.The male and female bears are separated by their own choice.The facility is now funding to expand.

Super! The bears are great to see. It is awesome that places like this exist.

Fantastic! This is not bears on exhibit in a zoo. Certainly bears can roam further than their confines here, their homes are part of the natural surroundings found there on the island. We got to see the bears eating whole salmon as they would in the wild. The brown bears had large pools or ponds in the center of their enclosures in which 2 were enjoying a soak. The ongoing construction is a minor distraction but speaks of the investment being put into their mission. The lack of interaction between the staff and the visitors was a bit of a disappointment. One left after only answering a couple of questions (felt like he was annoyed by educating the tourists). I would travel just to Sitka to come back here.

We saw lots of eagles in the trees around the bear enclosure. The bears were entertaining.

Loved seeing the bears! They are building it to make it even better.

Awesome bears.

Very nice. Cute bears. Very well run.

Amazing place to visit, so up amd close with nature and their purpose is important.

Loved it,it will really be amazing when they get the new addition finished

They have bears here & they know all are viewing them & they show-off some amusing antics but mostly showoff their size which is HUGE! After seeing bears in the wild for days, I wasnt thrilled with the captivity component but it was their only means of living after being injured in the area (when 100% rehabilitated, theyre released to the wild but these animals have deficits & therefore cannot fend for themselves in the wild.. Its a good stop in our travels.

Amazing to see the reclaimed space and how well taken care of these rescued bears are. Great stop on our trip.

Wonderful organization. The staff was very knowledgeable and clearly cared a lot about the bears in their care. You get great views of the bears without disturbing their habitats and daily life. Highly recommend visiting and supporting this wonderful organization.

What kindness is shown here, they save baby bears that have no mother, its a dance the people of Alaska do to protect the babies from the law that states they need to be put down. This place has a total of 9 bears - 3 black bears, 4 brown bears and two babies a bother and sister 8 months old. The babies and biggers are very well taken care of and the photos you can take are incredible of them playing, swimming, eating and just being safe and comfortable in their forever home. Thank you to the team that is so loving, and to the town who helps with donations of food and whatever is needed.

They raised the price to $15 per person for admission which is a bit spendy but I understand they need the money to help the bears. Was pretty special to see so many bears living in one place!

Excellent views of bears. People with a passion for the bears. Do not miss this in Sitka!

Great experience! Thank you all for what you do for the bears and for educating us all. The staff is friendly and informative. I felt like I knew the bears personally when I left. This is also a great place to see bald eagles. Our shuttle driver was amazing as well. He was a local and shared his love and knowledge of the area.

Fascinating and great photo op!

Great way to see the bears and in a natural habitat.

They saved these bears when their mothers will killed. They are usually quite active so it was fun to watch them out and about.

A very interesting experience and habitat for the bears! A definite must visit for this non profit. They have black bears and brown bears from all over Alaska. And they are the only organization that takes in these baby bears so that they dont have to be shot (the only other option). So it is a very nice visit for a good cause!

Been many times and each time is as good as the first

We enjoyed going to this place.

Very enjoyable

Awesome bears with staff who will happily tell you all about them.

Wonderful experience and serivce they provide here. The staff is very knowledgeable about all the bears and great job explaining how they take care of them.

Great.place to watch a bear and an eagle fight over a steak!

Great concept to provide a home for orphaned brown bears and now black bears too! Huge one acre pens with room to ramble and continuing construction to improve. We saw dozens of wild bald eagles trying to steal from the bears!Help support this great program.

Great place to visit, if you want to get up close to bears.

Awesome encounter on so many levels.

Very informative great place to photograph bears close up.

Really cool bear sanctuary - its not like a typical zoo and the bears have plenty of room to move around. The founder seems very passionate about the animals and the work. Its not a large destination, but definitely cool to see these animals in a more open environment.