Sounds Wild: Bears And Bees
Thousands of sockeye salmon migrate up Hidden Creek each year in late July and early August. With salmon come bears to feed on them. As you drive through this area, you may be able to spot bears at the Skilak Road crossing of the creek near the Hidden Lake Campground turnoff. When fish are moving in late afternoon, bears will follow the fish and often cross the road to make it to the upper portions of the creek. As you drive over the creek and look downstream you will see what looks like a fence across the creek. This is a counting weir used by the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association to count sockeye salmon.
There's nowhere to park here, so if you don't see bears as you drive by, continue up the road another to a viewing site pullout. The pullout a mile or so to the west offers one of the more spectacular views in the area. You can look across the valley, see Skilak Glacier in the distance, and look for moose and bear in the distance.
One thing you don't want to do is get out of your car right here at Hidden Creek and walk down the creek looking for bears! It's not safe; people have been mauled because they got too close to the bears. You also don't want to park roadside and wait for the bears to wander through, because there's no telling when and where they'll show up, and it can create a traffic hazard on the road.
