SE Alaska’s Otter Coast Rainforest Expedition
After over 40 years in business, we have chosen to offer one pinnacle experience each season to a hand-picked team of explorers. Each of these trips will have an underlying goal of being the trip we always wanted to do. Last season was Greenland, and this Alaskan Adventure is the next is this series of one-off top shelf experiences.
This remote kayak expedition originates in Sitka, served by several flights a day from Seattle making it fairly easy to fly into. Remote multi-day kayak trips to this part of Alaska are very uncommon and feature some amazing tidal features, animal life, wild food foraging, and pure wilderness. We have done four other shorter trips to this region the last few years and still haven’t encountered any other kayak groups. You will paddle with rafts of sea otters, sea birds, seals, sea lions, and humpback whales on water, while on land we’ll encounter Sitka blacktail deer and talkative Ravens. This area is also home to large numbers of bald eagles and wild grizzly bears. Bears along this remote part of Alaska aren’t very interested in humans and always retreated into the dense forest whenever we’ve encountered them.
If your interests include navigation in areas where tidal currents rule days that are punctuated by fresh caught fish and huckleberry desserts, then read further. To give the best shot at a beautiful wilderness experience, we are paddling away from town on a one-way journey…with a boat pick-up scheduled at the end for your return to Sitka. We’re going to try to leave some time for foraging, photos, some fishing and perhaps a layover day. We’ll find ample freshwater along our route, setting up comfortable camps with lots of tarps and we’ll work together on tactical bear hangs during this June trip, which is one of the least rainy months.
We start by hand picking a group of 4-6 paddlers and outfit them with excellent expedition gear ready for any weather. Level 3 skills are pretty much the baseline to expect: ability to paddle in 10-15 kt of wind, 2 kts current and 1-3 ft waves. Next, we provision with real food, bombproof tents and full-on safety gear. Michael, an ACA certified Instructor Trainer and Lisa, a British Canoe Sea Leader will be your guides for a truly personal experience. You can even be assessed for your ACA L-3 or L-4 skills at the end of this trip if you wish. This is a great opportunity for participants looking for ACA guide training/assessment as well (only one spot).
Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival in Sitka. Meet up for dinner and overnight (lodging included).
Day 2
Orientation Day: Provision, pack, prepare, and plan. Overnight in Sitka (lodging included)
Days 3 – 10
Leaving from Sitka, we paddle out to a first night camp and continue through a labyrinth of islands as we get more remote. We’ll invest our time in exploring nooks and crannies, tide races, river mouths (fishing for salmon anyone?), mussel beds, foraging for wild huckleberries, salmonberries and enjoying fresh rockfish for dinner, paddling wide open spaces and narrow channels. Expect to share this experience with humpback whales, sea otters, brown bears, sea lions, eagles, ospreys, seals, mink, and a variety of other wild creatures that call this remote wilderness home.
Day 11
Boat pick-up to transfer back to Sitka, hot showers, clean sheets, and a dinner out. (lodging included)
Day 12
Flights home or transfer to your own extended adventure!
Dates for 2026
- June 11 – 22
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Note: This trip is FULL
What’s Included
- Two nights pre-trip and one night post trip lodging
- Kayaks
- Boat shuttle
- Permits, guides, safety and group gear
- Camping gear
- the best backcountry food in the business.
What’s Not Included
- Airfare to and from Sitka
- Guide gratuities (suggested 10%)
- Airport transfers
What to Bring
Registration
NOTE: If a booking date shows on the calendar below, there is space available but always feel free to call or email with specific questions. If the trip is full and you’d like to be waitlisted, give us a call.
Reservations are held with a $1000 deposit. The price below reflects the full amount, including service fees; However, your initial payment will be a $1000 deposit (assuming you book 30+ days prior to the course).
The remaining amount due will be automatically charged to your credit card 30 days before the trip.
NOTE: You must choose the date of the trip you want before clicking on BOOK NOW. Be sure you are on the right month! You may need to choose the fare you want and then zero out the fare that the system initially chooses. Let us know if you have any difficulty.
What registration option should I choose?
- Joining by yourself? Choose Single Occupancy
- Joining as a couple or with a friend? Choose Double Occupancy
- Joining by yourself but willing to share a room? Choose Double Occupancy but realize we will adjust the price to single occupancy if we can’t find you a roommate.