Fortress of the Bear

Fortress of the Bear was founded in the 2000s by Les and Evy Kinnear, who saw a gap in how Alaska handled orphaned bear cubs. Zoos and sanctuaries have limited space, and cubs that could not be placed were routinely put down. The Kinnears set out to build a place that could take them.

They found their site in an abandoned piece of Sitka's industrial past: the giant concrete clarifier tanks left behind by a closed pulp mill. Rather than see them as ruins, the founders saw ready-made enclosures, deep and strong, that could be turned into naturalistic habitats with soil, trees, ponds, and climbing structures.

Over the years the sanctuary has taken in brown bears and black bears, many arriving as tiny, frightened cubs after their mothers were killed. Each has a name and a history, and the staff care for them for life. The center works with Alaska wildlife authorities, who bring orphaned cubs here rather than euthanizing them when a spot is available.

Alongside caring for the animals, the sanctuary has become an education center focused on coexistence, teaching visitors and especially Alaskans how to keep both people and bears safe so that fewer cubs are orphaned in the first place.

The residents are coastal brown bears, the same species as the grizzly, and American black bears, both native to Southeast Alaska. Because they were orphaned young and raised in care, they cannot be released; they never learned to survive on their own in the wild, and a bear habituated to people cannot safely be set loose.

In their reshaped tank habitats the bears do what wild bears do, more or less: forage for food hidden by keepers, wrestle and play with one another, nap in the shade, and swim in the ponds on warm days. Watching them problem-solve for a treat or splash through the water is a window into how intelligent and individual bears really are.

Because the viewing is from above and behind barriers, visitors get remarkably close looks in complete safety, a rare chance to study a brown bear's size, claws, and behavior without any risk to either the person or the animal.

Sitka sits on the outer coast of Baranof Island, wrapped in the Tongass rainforest and facing the open Pacific, and it is genuine wild-bear country. The same species cared for at the sanctuary roam the surrounding forests, and salmon streams nearby draw wild bears every summer.

The town is rich in wildlife beyond bears: sea otters and whales in the sound, bald eagles everywhere, and a rehabilitation center in town that cares for injured raptors. The combination makes Sitka one of the best places in Southeast Alaska to understand the region's wildlife.

Sitka is also steeped in human history, as a former capital of Russian America and a longtime Tlingit stronghold, with totem poles, a historic Russian church, and the Sitka National Historical Park all within a short distance of the sanctuary.

Summer is the main visitor season, when Sitka is busiest, the days are long, and the bears are most active in the warm weather. It is the easiest time to reach the island and the liveliest time to visit.

Spring brings the bears out of their slower winter rhythm and the rainforest into fresh green, with fewer visitors than midsummer.

Fall is quiet and atmospheric, cool and often wet, as the cruise season fades and the town settles back into itself.

Winter is dark, rainy, and still, with the bears less active in the cold; the sanctuary's needs continue year-round even as visitor numbers drop.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.