McNeil River
Guided Viewing Permit Dates
The table below lists the available time blocks, permittees per time block, average chance of winning, bear viewing activities, and number of bears you are likely to see during your visit in those time blocks.
Access to McNeil River is generally by floatplane during the daily high tide and is influenced by the height and time of the high tide, weather conditions, and the transporter's capabilities. The highlighted dates and tides below may present an access problem when tide height is below 15.0 feet, or occurs too late or too early in the day to safely operate. Difficulty accessing McNeil River on these days may require lengthening your stay by arriving one or more days early or staying later. Your transporter will determine flight accessibility depending on their equipment and operational constraints.
Please review the table and consider this information in your period selections and travel planning. Additional days at the sanctuary are "in-camp" days; bear viewing with the group is only approved for your permitted period.
| Time Block Letter | Time Block Dates | 2023 High Tide Time (24 hour) | 2023 High Tide Height (Feet) | Number of Permits Available | % winning 5-Yr. Average by time block | Viewing Areas/Bear Activities | 2011 - 2020 Average Bears/Day Viewed |
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| Tide Flats | Sedge Flats | Mikfik Creek | McNeil River falls | Lower McNeil River & Lagoon | |||||||||||||
| 5-Jun | 16:47 | 17.83 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 6-Jun | 17:34 | 17.62 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| A | 7-Jun | 18:25 | 17.19 | 10 | 15 | c | V* | 13 | |||||||||
| 8-Jun | 19:19 | 16.74 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 9-Jun | 20:16 | 16.43 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 10-Jun | 21:16 | 16.4 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| B | 11-Jun | 22:15 | 16.67 | 10 | 10 | c | VM* | FM* | 16 | ||||||||
| 12-Jun | 23:10 | 17.14 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 13-Jun | 11:56 | 14.28 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| 14-Jun | 13:00 | 14.88 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| C | 15-Jun | 13:55 | 15.57 | 7 | 7 | c | VM* | FM* | 17 | ||||||||
| 16-Jun | 14:43 | 16.16 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 17-Jun | 15:27 | 16.58 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| 18-Jun | 16:07 | 16.75 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| D | 19-Jun | 16:45 | 16.69 | 10 | 6 | c | VM* | FM* | 20 | ||||||||
| 20-Jun | 17:23 | 16.4 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| 21-Jun | 18:01 | 15.95 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 22-Jun | 18:39 | 15.44 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| E | 23-Jun | 19:19 | 14.97 | 7 | 5 | c | VM* | FM* | 23 | ||||||||
| 24-Jun | 20:00 | 14.64 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 25-Jun | 20:43 | 14.53 | 25 | ||||||||||||||
| 26-Jun | 21:29 | 14.7 | 25 | ||||||||||||||
| F | 27-Jun | 22:17 | 15.15 | 10 | 5 | c | VM* | FM* | 26 | ||||||||
| 28-Jun | 23:07 | 15.89 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| 29-Jun | 23:57 | 16.85 | 30 | ||||||||||||||
| 30-Jun | 13:24 | 14.46 | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| G | 1-Jul | 14:16 | 15.73 | 10 | 3 | c | Vm* | Fm* | Fm* | 37 | |||||||
| 2-Jul | 15:05 | 16.89 | 35 | ||||||||||||||
| 3-Jul | 15:51 | 17.84 | 41 | ||||||||||||||
| 4-Jul | 16:36 | 18.48 | 38 | ||||||||||||||
| H | 5-Jul | 17:21 | 18.8 | 10 | 3 | c | Vm | Fm* | Fm* | 44 | |||||||
| 6-Jul | 18:06 | 18.81 | 44 | ||||||||||||||
| 7-Jul | 18:52 | 18.56 | 48 | ||||||||||||||
| 8-Jul | 19:40 | 18.13 | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| I | 9-Jul | 20:31 | 17.61 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 50 | |||||||
| 10-Jul | 21:25 | 17.12 | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| 11-Jul | 22:22 | 16.76 | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| 12-Jul | 23:22 | 16.63 | 46 | ||||||||||||||
| J | 13-Jul | 12:52 | 13.79 | 7 | 2 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 50 | |||||||
| 14-Jul | 13:51 | 14.58 | 47 | ||||||||||||||
| 15-Jul | 14:39 | 15.38 | 52 | ||||||||||||||
| 16-Jul | 15:20 | 16.05 | 51 | ||||||||||||||
| K | 17-Jul | 15:56 | 16.55 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 55 | |||||||
| 18-Jul | 16:29 | 16.86 | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| 19-Jul | 17:00 | 16.98 | 52 | ||||||||||||||
| 20-Jul | 17:31 | 16.93 | 48 | ||||||||||||||
| L | 21-Jul | 18:01 | 16.73 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 42 | |||||||
| 22-Jul | 18:32 | 16.44 | 41 | ||||||||||||||
| 23-Jul | 19:03 | 16.11 | 37 | ||||||||||||||
| 24-Jul | 19:37 | 15.8 | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| M | 25-Jul | 20:17 | 15.57 | 7 | 2 | c | v | f | Fm* | 31 | |||||||
| 26-Jul | 21:07 | 15.47 | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| 27-Jul | 22:10 | 15.67 | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| 28-Jul | 23:18 | 16.34 | 28 | ||||||||||||||
| N | 29-Jul | 13:10 | 14.09 | 10 | 4 | c | Fm* | f | 28 | ||||||||
| 30-Jul | 14:05 | 15.67 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| 31-Jul | 14:52 | 17.23 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| 1-Aug | 15:35 | 18.61 | 25 | ||||||||||||||
| O | 2-Aug | 16:16 | 19.67 | 10 | 4 | c | Fm* | F* | 23 | ||||||||
| 3-Aug | 16:57 | 20.31 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 4-Aug | 17:37 | 20.46 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 5-Aug | 18:17 | 20.12 | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| P | 6-Aug | 18:59 | 19.32 | 7 | 4 | c | F* | F* | 22 | ||||||||
| 7-Aug | 19:43 | 18.2 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 8-Aug | 20:33 | 16.95 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| 9-Aug | 21:34 | 15.83 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| Q | 10-Aug | 22:49 | 15.23 | 10 | 8 | c | f | F* | 21 | ||||||||
| 11-Aug | 12:49 | 13.37 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| 12-Aug | 13:48 | 14.39 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| 13-Aug | 14:30 | 15.36 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| R | 14-Aug | 15:03 | 16.22 | 10 | 11 | c | f | F* | 18 | ||||||||
| 15-Aug | 15:33 | 16.94 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| 16-Aug | 16:00 | 17.53 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 17-Aug | 16:27 | 17.93 | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| S | 18-Aug | 16:53 | 18.13 | 10 | 13 | c | f | F* | 14 | ||||||||
| 19-Aug | 17:18 | 18.11 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 20-Aug | 17:43 | 17.88 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 21-Aug | 18:10 | 17.49 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| T | 22-Aug | 18:41 | 16.96 | 10 | 18 | c | F* | 11 | |||||||||
| 23-Aug | 19:18 | 16.33 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 24-Aug | 20:11 | 15.67 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 25-Aug | 21:27 | 15.29 | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 26-Aug | 22:57 | 15.76 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 27-Aug | 12:59 | 14.46 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 28-Aug | 13:48 | 16.33 | 0 | ||||||||||||||
C=clamming; M=Mating behavior; F=Fishing; V=Foraging on Vegetation
Capital letter indicates behavior common; small letter indicates behavior less common.
* indicates primary areas visited during guided bear viewing tours.