McNeil River
Guided Viewing Permit Dates
The table below presents 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. It also presents information on high tides for those time blocks. Access to McNeil River is generally by floatplane. Floatplane access to McNeil River Camp is further dependent high tide heights, weather, and the transporter capabilities. Highlighted dates and tides in the table represent tide series that may present a problem to access, using a minimum access standard of 14.5 ft. or greater tides occurring between 0800 and 2100. Difficulty accessing the site on these days may require extending your stay by arriving days early or staying days 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, are "in camp" days; bear viewing with the group is only approved for your permitted period.
| Time Block Letter | Time Block Dates | 2020 High Tide Time; Height |
Number of Permits Available | % winning 5-Yr. Average by time block | Viewing Areas/Bear Activities | 2009 - 2018 Average Bears/Day Viewed |
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| Tide Flats | Sedge Flats | Mikfik Creek | McNeil River falls | Lower McNeil River & Lagoon | ||||||||||||
| 6-Jun | 16:12; 18.87 | ARRIVAL DAY | ||||||||||||||
| A | 7-Jun | 16:58; 18.56 | 10 | 15 | c | V* | 10 | |||||||||
| 8-Jun | 17:44; 17.88 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 9-Jun | 18:31; 16.95 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| 10-Jun | 19:20; 15.97 | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| B | 11-Jun | 20:13; 15.13 | 10 | 8 | c | VM* | FM* | 13 | ||||||||
| 12-Jun | 21:09; 14.61 | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| 13-Jun | 8:56; 12.76 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 14-Jun | 10:12; 12.24 | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| C | 15-Jun | 11:25; 12.4 | 7 | 6 | c | VM* | FM* | 14 | ||||||||
| 16-Jun | 12:26; 13.03 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 17-Jun | 13:17; 13.91 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| 18-Jun | 14:02; 14.86 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| D | 19-Jun | 14:44; 15.77 | 10 | 7 | c | VM* | FM* | 18 | ||||||||
| 20-Jun | 15:24; 16.52 | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| 21-Jun | 16:03; 17.05 | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| 22-Jun | 16:43; 17.32 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| E | 23-Jun | 17:24; 17.34 | 7 | 4 | c | VM* | FM* | 20 | ||||||||
| 24-Jun | 18:06; 17.17 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| 25-Jun | 18:51; 16.92 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 26-Jun | 19:40; 16.7 | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| F | 27-Jun | 20:33; 16.62 | 10 | 5 | c | VM* | FM* | 23 | ||||||||
| 28-Jun | 8:41; 14.69 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 29-Jun | 10:00; 14.12 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| 30-Jun | 11:20; 14.27 | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| G | 1-Jul | 12:32; 15.02 | 10 | 4 | c | Vm* | Fm* | Fm* | 32 | |||||||
| 2-Jul | 13:35; 16.03 | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| 3-Jul | 14:29; 17.01 | 38 | ||||||||||||||
| 4-Jul | 15:18; 17.77 | 37 | ||||||||||||||
| H | 5-Jul | 16:03; 18.22 | 10 | 3 | c | Vm | Fm* | Fm* | 40 | |||||||
| 6-Jul | 16:45; 18.29 | 40 | ||||||||||||||
| 7-Jul | 17:25; 18.03 | 43 | ||||||||||||||
| 8-Jul | 18:04; 17.48 | 50 | ||||||||||||||
| I | 9-Jul | 18:43; 16.78 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 48 | |||||||
| 10-Jul | 19:23; 16.02 | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| 11-Jul | 20:04; 15.34 | 46 | ||||||||||||||
| 12-Jul | 20:49; 14.85 | 48 | ||||||||||||||
| J | 13-Jul | 9:10; 12.24 | 7 | 2 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 48 | |||||||
| 14-Jul | 10:27; 11.84 | 47 | ||||||||||||||
| 15-Jul | 11:44; 12.18 | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| 16-Jul | 12:49; 13.05 | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| K | 17-Jul | 13:42; 14.19 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 53 | |||||||
| 18-Jul | 14:26; 15.4 | 51 | ||||||||||||||
| 19-Jul | 15:07; 16.54 | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| 20-Jul | 15:46; 17.52 | 51 | ||||||||||||||
| L | 21-Jul | 16:24; 18.26 | 10 | 3 | c | vm | fm | Fm* | 43 | |||||||
| 22-Jul | 17:03; 18.73 | 42 | ||||||||||||||
| 23-Jul | 17:42; 18.89 | 38 | ||||||||||||||
| 24-Jul | 18:22; 18.78 | 35 | ||||||||||||||
| M | 25-Jul | 19:06; 18.44 | 7 | 2 | c | v | f | Fm* | 34 | |||||||
| 26-Jul | 19:53; 17.95 | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| 27-Jul | 8:23; 15.06 20:47; 17.44 |
33 | ||||||||||||||
| 28-Jul | 9:41; 13.97 | 30 | ||||||||||||||
| N | 29-Jul | 11:08; 13.77 | 10 | 5 | c | Fm* | f | 31 | ||||||||
| 30-Jul | 12:28; 14.42 | 28 | ||||||||||||||
| 31-Jul | 13:33; 15.49 | 27 | ||||||||||||||
| 1-Aug | 14:25; 16.59 | 26 | ||||||||||||||
| O | 2-Aug | 15:09; 17.51 | 10 | 6 | c | Fm* | F* | 24 | ||||||||
| 3-Aug | 15:48; 18.14 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 4-Aug | 16:23; 18.45 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| 5-Aug | 16:57; 18.45 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| P | 6-Aug | 17:29; 18.16 | 7 | 4 | c | F* | F* | 21 | ||||||||
| 7-Aug | 18:00; 17.63 | 19 | ||||||||||||||
| 8-Aug | 18:31; 16.94 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| 9-Aug | 19:03; 16.16 | 17 | ||||||||||||||
| Q | 10-Aug | 19:39; 15.39 | 10 | 9 | c | f | F* | 18 | ||||||||
| 11-Aug | 20:24; 14.72 | 18 | ||||||||||||||
| 12-Aug | 9:33; 11.81 | 16 | ||||||||||||||
| 13-Aug | 11:05; 11.83 | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| R | 14-Aug | 12:25; 12.74 | 10 | 14 | c | f | F* | 16 | ||||||||
| 15-Aug | 13:21; 14.11 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| 16-Aug | 14:05; 15.62 | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| 17-Aug | 14:44; 17.13 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| S | 18-Aug | 15:21; 18.5 | 10 | 17 | c | f | F* | 12 | ||||||||
| 19-Aug | 15:57; 19.63 | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| 20-Aug | 16:33; 20.38 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| 21-Aug | 17:10; 20.68 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
| T | 22-Aug | 17:49; 20.49 | 10 | 21 | c | F* | 10 | |||||||||
| 23-Aug | 18:30; 19.81 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| 24-Aug | 19:15; 18.75 | 7 | ||||||||||||||
| 25-Aug | 20:08; 17.49 | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| 25-Aug | 20:08; 17.49 | DEPARTURE DAY | ||||||||||||||
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.