Katmai National Park Bear Viewing

Alaska | United States

national parkoutdoorswildlife

Katmai National Park is one of the best places in the world to see bears. It’s the home to some of the biggest bears in the world, Alaska’s coastal brown bears. We think the best way to see the bears is to fly in from the Kenai Peninsula: the small flying outlets in Homer and Soldotna will take you in small groups to remote areas where you can experience the bears up close with no platforms, trails, or infrastructure getting in your way. They’ll also figure out where the bears are most likely to be, and they’ll adjust if the bears don’t show up (many even offer refunds if you don’t see any bears). This is a very expensive trip, but if you can fit it in your budget, it’s worth it: it’s a once-in-a-lifetime adventure you don’t want to miss. We went with Sasquatch Alaska Adventure Company, and we can’t recommend them highly enough. Their pilots are top-rate, and we got to spend hours in a meadow with bears all around us.

Brooks Falls

The best-known spot to view bears is Brooks Falls. If you’ve seen pictures of bears snatching salmon out of a gushing waterfall, there’s a decent chance it was taken there. That makes Brooks Falls a highly sought-after destination. The platforms above the falls get crowded, and the park staff typically gives visitors about 30-40 minutes before shooing them away and letting another group watch.

It’s also hard to organize logistically. You can take an Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage to King Salmon, but then you need to take either another flight or a water taxi to Brooks Falls. We haven’t done it ourselves, but we hear that the flights are more reliable and not that much more expensive. It’s possible to do this all in a day; some operators even offer day trips from Anchorage. But weather in Alaska is always variable, and the bears don’t show up on any particular schedule (especially if the salmon aren’t running), so you’ll have a much better chance of seeing bears if you spend more than one day in the area.

By far the most economical option is to camp at Brooks Camp ($12/person/night). Reservations for the campsite open for the calendar year at 8am Alaska time on January 5. If you want to try this option, book immediately when reservations open: they fill up quickly, especially for peak bear season (late June, July, and September). The other nearby option is the insanely expensive Brooks Lodge. Alternatively, there are some small hotels and vacation rentals in King Salmon (but then you’ll have to take the water taxi or bush plane each day out to Brooks Falls).