Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Rafting - Skagway Departure

Skagway, USA

6 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket

Explore our promoted experiences

Skagway, Alaska

4.9

(65)

Guided Winter Wonderland Tour to Canada

from $121

Skagway, Alaska

4.9

(532)

Skagway City and Summit Tour

from $76

Make memories that will last a lifetime!

Skagway, Alaska

5.0

(56)

Laughton Glacier Hike and White Pass Rail Adventure

from $400

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

The Chilkat Preserve is one of the best places in the world to find American bald eagles—thousands congregate there to feed on salmon during the fall and winter. This tour takes you on a scenic rafting trip along the Chilkat River—where the eagles put up residence during the summer—and provides the wilderness knowhow to spot the birds and other animals while navigating the river’s channels.

Spot bald eagles along the Chilkat River in the heart of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve
Travel with a guide so you don’t get lost in the river channels of the Alaskan wilderness
Have a picnic lunch after your rafting trip is over
Round-trip transportation from Haines by catamaran

What's Included

High Speed Catamaran transfer between Skagway and Haines, Alaska
Local Driver/Guide
Lunch

Lunch consists of a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, fruit, freshly baked cookie and water. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options are available with 48 hours advance notice.
Port Pick-up

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Pick-Up Instructions – Please Read Carefully To join your tour in Haines, you must make it to the ferry on time. - The ferry begins loading 15 minutes before departure. - The ferry leaves on time and does not wait. - To be considerate of other guests and the prompt ferry departure, we cannot always wait for late arrivals. - Your guide will be holding a Rainbow Glacier Adventures sign with a large rainbow logo. ---Cruise Ship Guests--- *Railroad Dock* (next to the rock cliff/landslide area): - If you are tendered (small boat), walk up the ramp and wait by the “Small Boat Harbor” sign to meet your guide. - If you are shuttled by bus, stay at the Ship Shuttle drop-off area to meet your guide. *Broadway Dock* (center of town): - Walk to the end of the pier, in front of your ship, near the start of the train tracks. - Your guide will meet you at the greeting area there. *Ore Dock* (by the helicopters): - Walk up the ramp and just past security to the greeting area. - Your guide will be waiting for you. **Important: If you do not immediately see your Rainbow Glacier Adventures guide, stay and wait at the greeting area. DO NOT WALK TOWARDS TOWN.** If you do not see the guide by 15 minutes prior to the tour, please call the tour operator. ---Hotel & B&B Guests--- - Pick-up is directly in front of your lodging. - Watch for the van with the Rainbow Glacier Adventures logo. - If you do not see the guide by 15 minutes prior to the tour, please call the tour operator.

What To Expect

Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve

Haines

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Children must be accompanied by an adult
Not wheelchair accessible
Minimum age 7 years
Maximum weight 250 lbs.
Service animals allowed

A minimum of 2 people is required to open the tour
Cruise Ship Passengers, please provide ship name for meeting location. Hotel guests, please provide name of hotel for pick-up.
Near public transportation
Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Karen_B

The trip started with the ferry ride from Skagway to Haines, a great trip in its own right. Then a mini bus trip to the Rafting spot. Again another adventure. Dona gave great commentary and stopped along the way to see points and birds of interest. Then the rafting itself was superb. Our rafter of 36 years experience made it look easy navigating the fast flowing river. We saw bald headed eagles and bear footprints - but no bears unfortunately. A fabulous day in all.

Reviews

4.5

based on 31 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

A relaxing float with...

Avery_T, Jul 2026

A relaxing float with great opportunities to learn about Alaska’s natural history and observe local wildlife. It was a fun and unique way to experience Alaska, and we had a wonderful time!

Response from Host, Jul 2026

Thanks for this great review. I appreciate that you mention learning on this tour. We are an educational tour company.

Great family adventure.

Courtney_D, Jun 2024

This was our family's first rafting trip, and it was a great one! We have 5 children ranging in age from 19-8 years old, so it can be difficult to find activities that everyone enjoys. This adventure was equally enjoyed by everyone! It was very windy, drizzly, and cold, so we were very appreciative of the crew's anticipating our needs. They had extra socks and ponchos for all of us. We were also thankful for the lunch they provided after rafting. Our guide and driver were both very knowledgeable and friendly. Great experience! I highly recommend it.

Great experience in nature

JUDY_H, Jun 2024

Enjoyed the beautiful raft float down the river. The guide has been on this river for over 30 years, and was very knowledgeable.

A fabulous day

Karen_B, Aug 2023

Response from Host, Sep 2023

Thanks for this great review. I was your guide that day and it really was a great trip. I like that you t share in this review details about the entire experience, because it really is a package. We meet you at the cruise ship dock in Skagway, transfer you to the Fast Ferry, the journey on the boat is 45 minutes each way with great views, followed by the scenic drive to the Chilkat River. That would be a full tour in itself but that is where you boarded the raft and headed off into the wilderness with me. We saw plenty of bald eagles that day as they are fishing along the Chilkat River. We don't emphasize the bear viewing on the rafting tour- the main idea is to get out in the wilderness away from the road. For those who really hope to see bear we recommend our Chilkoot Wildife and Nature tour. That rour has pretty good odds of seeing brown bear along the road in August and September.

Great personalized tour

diannajordan, Jun 2023

Anna and Tyler were out guides and were both fantastic. They had so much knowledge to share and went out of their way to make sure we had a great time. I highly recommend this tour. We saw many eagles and other birds. The scenery is just breath taking!

Response from Host, Jul 2023

I'm so happy to read this review. Anna works in our office but also gets out in the field now and again to guide. So. you were lucky to have her as your driver. She has lots of stories and information from growing up in Haines to share and she is lots of fun, too.

Nice experience overall but needs a few changes

568debbie, Jul 2019

Nice float in a beautiful valley and overall a very smooth experience. I was not aware that there was so much travel time involved just to get to the activity as I might not have booked this. But getting to see Haines was nice. My main critique is that our river guide dave took his raft down the river sideways 95% of the time which meant that my back was down river most of the time. So I had a terrible view and had a hard time viewing what he was talking about most of the time. The entire staff was nice and professional.

Response from Host, Jul 2019

Thanks for the review and your comments. We take all comments seriously and appreciate the chance to respond. The tour from Skagway involves a 45 minute Fast Ferry ride between the two towns each direction. There is no direct road connection- as a matter of fact, to driver from Haines to Skagway is 350 miles one way! The end result of this is that Haines is not as crowded as Skagway- Skagway gets over 1 million visitors a year! So the fact that there is some expense and time involved to get between the two towns actually works in favor of those who want get off the main tourist track. Another factor that is affecting our travel time to the river is that there is some road construction taking place along the Haines Highway right now. Of course, this is out of our control and some trips get delayed along the road. The actual length of time on the river varies depending on current, wind and other factors- but the typical trip spends 4 hours in Haines with 1.5 hours on the river. As far as your comment about going sideways down the river, it is important to understand the type of watercraft we use and how they move down the river. We use rubber rafts that are steered by the guide using two oars. This allows our guests to have their hands free to take pictures or use their binoculars to look at the eagles and scenery. Guests are not expected to paddle or row. The power that propels the raft down the river is the current of the river. In order to maximize the efficiency of travel down the river, the guide turns the raft sideways to the current. The raft is constantly turning from one side to the others as it moves downstream. While it may seem that the guide could drive the raft as if he is driving a car and simply point downstream, this is simply not the case. The boat travels sideways most of the time. But it is easy for the guide to turn around 180 degrees. So if you had your back downstream most of the time, you could have talked to Dave about it. Dave is a great guide and I'm sure if you had asked him or talked to him about it he would have turned the raft around so you would be pointed downstream. We always want our guests to leave our trip happy, and so it helps to let us know if there is an issue during the trip instead of after.

Though the experience was really a...

JOANNE F, Jul 2017

Though the experience was really a float tour, our guide was amazing. We loved the beauty and the abundance of wildlife and local tales. A great trip but note you are not paddling- just relaxing... very nice.

This was a wonderful trip. The boat...

Lane D, Jul 2017

This was a wonderful trip. The boat ride to and from Haines from Skagway was beautiful and informative. Byrne did a great job of checking us in and driving us to and from the river. Ashley was amazing as our raft guide, giving us plenty of information about the nature. We saw many mature eagles, some babies and multiple nests. The views were spectacular even though the day was overcast. We loved having a boat for just the four of us! The tours booked through the ship had from twelve to sixteen on each boat. This was a far more personal experience!!!