McNeil River — State Game Sanctuary and Refuge
Getting There
Access to McNeil River Sanctuary and camp is generally by floatplane. Several commercial air taxis offer transportation to the sanctuary from Homer, Kenai/Soldotna, King Salmon and Anchorage. Floatplane access into the McNeil camp is limited by tides, weather, daylight and transporter availability. You should contact an air taxi operator to make reservations well in advance of your visit. Please refer to the list of authorized air taxis for information on outfitters authorized to fly into McNeil River. You must be at the sanctuary campground no later than 9 a.m. on any day for which you wish to use your permit. If you want to use all four days of your permit to view bears, generally you will need to arrive the day before your permit begins and depart the day after your permit ends. Just remember that your viewing permit is valid only on the dates specified and therefore you will be restricted to base camp outside those dates.
The following list provides information on air taxi operators who have obtained, or indicated they plan to obtain authorization from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to transport visitors to the sanctuary. This list should not be considered a recommendation of any particular operator. The Department of Fish and Game cannot endorse nor guarantee the service of the air taxi operators listed below. Nor should it be considered a complete list, other transporters may be available but will need to obtain an access authorization prior to flying into McNeil River SGS & SGR.
For information on rates and schedules contact these or other air taxi operators of your choice directly. Please remember that it is your responsibility to contact the air carriers and make your own flight arrangements. All arrangements made between the air taxi operators and permit holders do not involve the Department of Fish and Game.
| Air Taxi Operator |
Seat Fare (SF) or Charter (C) |
Permitted to Access |
Location of Aircraft |
Type of Aircraft (Max passengers*) |
Email/Web Addresses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Airways, Inc P.O. Box 1037 Kodiak, Alaska 99615 907-487-2566 |
C | McNeil River Camp Kamishak River |
Kodiak | Otter (8) | info@andrewairways.com www.andrewairways.com/ |
| Beluga Air LLC P.O. Box 3662 Homer, AK 99603 (907) 235-8256 |
C | McNeil River Camp | Homer | Beaver (4) 1200 # max |
angela@belugaair.com www.facebook.com/BelugaAirLlc www.belugaair.com |
| Branch River Air Service P.O. Box 545 King Salmon, AK 99613 (907) 246-3437 |
C | McNeil River Camp | King Salmon | Cessna 206 (5) Beaver (6) |
bras@alaska.net www.branchriverair.com |
| Island Air Service 1420 Airport Way Kodiak, AK 99615 907-487-5000 |
C | McNeil River Camp Kamishak River |
Kodiak | Cessna 185 (3) Cessna 206 (4) Beaver (6) |
floats@flyadq.com www.flyadq.com |
|
Kachemak Air Service 969 Lakeside Dr. Homer, AK 99603 (907) 299-2699 |
SF | McNeil River Camp | Homer | Cessna 206 (3) |
info@kachemakair.com www.kachemakair.com |
|
Katmai Air, Inc 4125 Aircraft Drive Anchorage, Alaska 99502-519 (907) 246-3079 (summer) or 1-800-544-0551 (all year) |
C | McNeil River Camp Kamishak River |
King Salmon |
Otter (10) Cessna 206 (4) Cessna 207 (5) |
info@katmailand.com www.katmaiair.com |
|
Northwind Aviation P.O. Box 778 Homer, AK 99603 (907) 235-7482 (907) 299-9697 |
SF | McNeil River Camp | Homer | Otter (8) Cessna 206 (3) |
scott@northwindak.com www.northwindak.com |
| Regal Air, Inc. 4506 Lakeshore Drive Anchorage, AK 99502 (907) 243-8535 |
C | McNeil River Camp | Anchorage | Beaver (6) 206 (5) |
info@regal-air.com www.regal-air.com/ |
| Sea Hawk Air, Inc. P.O. Box 3561 Kodiak, AK 99615 (907) 486-8282 1-800-770-4295 |
C | McNeil River Camp | Kodiak | Beaver (6) | info@seahawkair.com www.seahawkair.com |
| Some air taxi operators offer seat fares to the sanctuary; otherwise you can charter the entire plane and split the cost with fellow permit holders, if you so choose. We will provide you the names and contact information of the other permit holders in your time block. | |||||
| * The maximum number of passengers is restricted by the total weight of the aircraft's load (passengers plus gear). | |||||