Special Places
The Tongass abounds with special places, from bear viewing areas to migratory bird stopover sites, glaciers and misty fjords to limestone caves and karsts, and millions of acres of Wilderness. The chance to visit some of these special places is what draws more than 2.3 million people from around the world to visit the Tongass each year.
The Tongass has more than 5,750,000 acres of Wilderness, covering nearly one third of the entire forest.
Five designated Bear Viewing Areas across the Tongass enable visitors to observe black and brown bears in their natural habitats.
With miles of sandy shoreline, Yakutat boasts some of Southeast Alaska's most extensive, and most renown, beaches.
Continental ice sheets shaped the landscape of Southeastern Alaska over millions of years. The slow-moving ice carved deep fiords, sharpened mountain summits, and transported tons of sediment and debris onto the landscape.