Treat yourself to a small group rafting and scenic driving tour through the famous Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Meet your expert guide and enjoy a riverside drive along the Haines Highway. The drive is incredibly scenic: glacier-clad mountains thrust to the sky, colorful wildflowers line the road, green riverside channels provide habitat for moose, bear and trumpeter swans. The highway was declared a National Scenic Byway in 2009. Arrive at the river in the heart of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, approximately 45 minutes away. Don your life jackets, listen to your guide’s safety talk, board the raft and leave the road and civilization behind. You are immersed in the Alaskan wilderness, floating the silent river channels. This is a scenic float trip (no whitewater) through the home of the largest bald eagle congregation in the world. Thousands of bald eagles travel here to feed on salmon in the fall and winter. In the summer months, a healthy resident population of bald eagles lives along the river. Your expert guide will push the raft along, explaining the intricate balance of nature that makes this a unique and special place. You do not have to paddle; your hands are free for your camera and binoculars. Keep an eye out for other wildlife besides bald eagles. ……moose, otters, brown and black bear, and even wolves, call this Preserve their home. You will spend approximately one and one half hours floating the river. After rafting, your guide will select a scenic spot to enjoy a picnic lunch on your way back to Haines and/or back to your ship in Skagway.