Bears, Raptors or Sea Life? Sitka's Animal Stops

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By Greg Peters, editor · Updated October 2026

Sitka's three animal stops are very different visits. The Alaska Raptor Center is a working hospital for injured birds of prey, Fortress of the Bear is a rescue for orphaned bears, and the Sitka Sound Science Center is an aquarium and hatchery for families who want to touch a sea star. Two can be reached on foot from downtown; the bears need a ride. For whales and sea otters you need a boat, which our ranked excursions cover.

Side by side

	Raptor Center	Fortress of the Bear	Science Center
Getting there	About 20 minutes on foot east of downtown, past the totem park	About 6 miles east; taxi, hop-on bus or tour	About 10 minutes on foot east along Lincoln Street
Summer hours	Daily 8am to 4pm, last entry 3:30	Daily May to September, 10am to 4pm, last entry 3:30	Sunday to Thursday 9am to 4pm (Tuesday from 9:30)
Admission	Adults $17, ages 12 and under $8, veterans $11, 5 and under free	Sold online; we could not confirm prices	Ages 13 and up $15, ages 5 to 12 $5, under 5 free
What you see	Eagles, owls and hawks in care, on a wooded campus by the Indian River	Brown and black bears in large enclosures	Touch tanks, an aquarium and a salmon hatchery

Hours and prices are what each place published when we checked in October 2026. Confirm them for your date.

Alaska Raptor Center

Founded in 1980, the Raptor Center treats roughly 100 to 200 injured birds a year on a 17-acre campus beside the Indian River. Pay at the door; the spring and summer schedule starts April 29, and from September 30 it drops to Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. Walking there takes you past Sitka National Historical Park, so the two pair well.

Fortress of the Bear

Les and Evy Kinnear started Fortress of the Bear in 2003 in two clarifier tanks left behind by the Alaska Pulp Corporation mill, which ran on Sawmill Cove from 1959 to 1993. It now keeps eight orphaned brown and black bears in three enclosures. It opens daily from May to September and on weekends in April and October, and closes on July 4. Tickets are sold online and can sell out on busy days.

Sitka Sound Science Center

The Science Center on Lincoln Street has more than 200 species and three touch tanks. Its hatchery was built by students in 1972 and was the first permitted hatchery in Alaska. In summer, Ludvig's runs a chowder cart on site.

Seeing them on a tour

If you would rather not arrange taxis, the top-rated Best of Sitka Land Tour takes groups of up to 14 to the totem trail, Fortress of the Bear and the Raptor Center in about three hours, with entry fees included. The Simply Amazing Sitka Tour covers the same stops but meets downtown, so ride the shuttle in first. See every option in our ranked list.