Alaska ATV Tour Excursion

One of the most difficult decisions during the planning of our Princess Cruises Alaska Cruisetour was deciding on our land and shore excursions. I wanted to see Alaska in its various forms, and that’s exactly what we ended up doing. Looking back, it was the right choice. Off the ship, my mom and I experienced Alaska by train, motorcoach, helicopter, plane, (small) boat, dogsled, zipline, and one of the more surprisingly cool excursions, a three hour all-terrain-vehicle tour with Black Bear ATV Adventures in Talkeetna.

Black Bear is a professionally run outfit with savvy and friendly guides. They provided helmets, gloves, eye protection, rainboots and raingear. After gearing up we were briefed on our Yamaha Grizzly, which were extremely user friendly, and after a couple of practice turns we were lead by our guide along a narrow fern-lined trail. Part of the thrill was that I had never been ATVing, but what really bewildered me was the beauty of Alaska’s backwoods. I became entranced with the green landscape and fascinated with the largest dandelions I’ve ever seen. We even sampled the edible pink Alaska Rose flower. There is something magical about being out in nature in a new setting and this was it.

We saw some fresh moose tracks on our ride, but don’t expect to see much wildlife on an ATV tour, as the loud engines send the animals scurrying in fear for their lives (though we did spy some jumping fish in the river). Our ride through the wooded trail was pretty mellow since there were bumps, dips and puddles every few yards which can make for a good tumble if you’re going too fast. We did encounter some light rain, which added to the ambiance, but my mom and I were particularly glad we opted for the waterproof protection since we splashed through some nice sized mud puddles and rivers. The beach was another story. About halfway through the ride we came to the flat river bank and at that point we were able to pick up some speed and really feel like we were riding- at least for first-timers. ATVing in Alaska was really was a great way to spend the afternoon and see a part of Alaska we would otherwise not experience.

Thank you to Princess Cruises for hosting us and allowing us to see Alaska and its various settings.