Katmai National Park
Home to the world's largest population of brown bears, where visitors can watch these magnificent creatures fish for salmon at Brooks Falls.
🌲 Park Overview
Katmai National Park and Preserve protects 4.1 million acres of pristine wilderness in southwest Alaska, including the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes—a landscape dramatically transformed by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano. The park is world-famous for its brown bear population, with visitors gathering at Brooks Falls to watch bears catch salmon. This remote park offers exceptional wildlife viewing, volcanic landscapes, and true wilderness adventure.
🌟 Fun Facts
Katmai is home to the world's highest concentration of brown bears, with over 2,000 bears in the park.
The 1912 Novarupta eruption was 10 times more powerful than the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.
Brooks Falls is one of the best places in the world to photograph brown bears catching salmon.
Remote Fure's Cabin on Naknek Lake, built 1926, is reachable only by canoe portage or floatplane and now rents to backcountry paddlers.
📅 Best Time to Visit
June: 19 hours of daylight. Bears grazing on sedge meadows, waterfall at peak flow, bird migration. Brooks Camp still icy; fewer salmon so fewer fishing bears.
July: 18 hours of daylight. First salmon run—classic Brooks Falls bear action, midnight-sun hikes. Peak crowds at falls platforms; lodge sold out a year ahead.
August: 17 hours → 15 hours of daylight. Bear viewing shifts to Brooks River & lower riffles; blueberries ripen. Mosquito decline but more rain fronts.
September: 14 hours → 11 hours of daylight. Second salmon run—fat pre-hibernation bears, fall tundra reds, aurora start. Brooks Lodge closes ~Sept 17; cooler temps 30–50 °F.
October – May: Less than 10 hours to polar night. Northern lights, ski-plane photo safaris. Services closed; extreme weather; river unsafe ice.
🎯 Things to Do
Families:
- Bear-Viewing Platforms: Brooks Falls, Riffles, and Lower River boardwalks (all fenced)
- Junior Ranger booklets at Brooks Visitor Center; earn salmon-paw badge
- Easy Lake Brooks Peninsula Trail (1 mi) for beaver lodges & loon calls
Adventure-Seekers:
- Multi-day canoe chain of Naknek → Grosvenor → Coville Lakes (portage trails)
- Backpack Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes & summit Novarupta dome (overnight permit)
- Fly-out day trips: Hallo Bay coastal bear meadows, Margot Creek rainbow-trout fishing
Photographers:
- Sunrise back-lit bears at Lower River platform (late Aug)
- Aerials of ash canyons on Valley of TTS flightseeing (golden hour)
- Milky Way & aurora over Dumpling Mountain vista (Sep new moon)
🥾 Top Hikes & Viewpoints
Dumpling Mountain Trail: 3.5 mi RT / 1,100 ft - Panoramic Naknek & Brooks Lakes, bear-print tundra.
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Overlook: 1 mi boardwalk - View 700-ft ash cliffs & Knife Creek Glaciers.
Novarupta Dome Trek: 8 mi RT / 2,000 ft - Summit the volcano that created the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.