The viewing program was established by ADFG to provide the public with an opportunity to view and photograph bears while minimizing impacts to bears and wildlife habitats. Due to the popularity of the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary bear viewing program, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducts a lottery to select visitors to the Sanctuary.
The program is operated annually in 4-day blocks typically between early June and late August.
The deadline to apply for the 2020 season is March 1, 2020.
For information about applying for the lottery to visit McNeil River, we refer you to the ADFG website.
Here is an easy link to the ADFG McNeil River permit lottery page:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=mcneilriver.access
And for detailed information about visiting McNeil River, please refer to the ADFG site for a series of McNeil 101 videos.
LINK TO VIDEOS:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=mcneilriver.videos
McNeil River Alliance 