Alaska Grizzly Safaris

Alaska Grizzly Safaris runs Jacques Adventure Lodge, a bear viewing and bush flying lodge on Lake Iliamna in southwest Alaska, United States. Guests reach it by air and explore the wilderness with local guides.

The lodge is a custom operation where guests choose their own adventure each day. Options include wildlife photography, bush flying adventures, flight instruction, beachcombing and fishing. The company says it is not a fishing lodge. Still, it offers a day or two of guided fishing on Bristol Bay waters, with fly or spin tackle supplied. It runs its trips in an eco-friendly, non-consumptive way. Its guides go with guests to any of 127 separate wilderness locations.

Aircraft are central to the business. There are no roads to this part of Alaska, so flying is the only practical way in. The company operates a nine-passenger Pilatus PC-12 from Merrill Field Airport in Anchorage to Lake Iliamna. The trip takes about 45 minutes. From the lodge dock, guests fly in three De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver float planes or a Cessna 185 on floats. Bush planes with large tundra tires land on remote beaches.

A typical stay includes three kinds of bear viewing. On the second day, a float plane takes them to a remote creek with no platforms or trails, where they stand at eye level with coastal brown bears. On the third day, a bush plane lands on a black sand beach on the Katmai coast. The timing follows the tides, and guests get six to seven hours with the bears.

At the lodge, each room has a private bathroom, two full-size beds and electricity around the clock. The kitchen serves meals for meat eaters and vegetarians. Guests need to be in reasonable health and able to hike up to four miles a day over rocky, wet or tundra ground. Baggage is limited to 70 pounds per guest, including carry-on, because small aircraft have strict weight limits. The company says its oldest guest was 98.

The business grew from a family with a long history in Alaska and the Yukon. Its roots go back to 1885, when an ancestor moved from England to Canada. The family first came to Alaska as trappers and guides. Today it focuses on photo safaris, bush flying adventures and adventure travel. The lodge owner has guided wildlife photographers in Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks for 48 years and has about 17,000 hours of bush flying experience.

Services

• Bear viewing safaris
• Photo safaris
• Bush flying adventures
• Flight instruction
• Guided fishing
• Beachcombing
• Float plane transfers
• Lodge accommodation