08/24/2026
If planning to visit Katmai here are some tips!
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I booked Katmai back in 2022; but it was an incredible experience and I can’t wait to eventually go back!
Save for future planning 📌
Brooks Falls at Katmai National Park has viewing platforms which allows visitors to experience these bears in their natural habitat undisturbed. There’s about 2,200 brown bears estimated to inhabit the park.
The best time to go is July-September when the salmon run is occurring.
This park is more remote than some of the other AK parks; you aren’t able to access it by car.
You can either take a water taxi or fly from Anchorage to the small port town of King Salmon with Ravn Air and then King Salmon to Brooks Camp with Katmai Air.
As soon as your arrive, you will attend bear safety class where you are educated on and provided with instructions on how to co exist safely with the bears. This was very informative and important to not only keep you safe but also the bears, this is their home!
HIGHLY recommend making reservations in advance at Brooks Lodge or applying for a camping permit at Brooks Camp on Recreation.gov. We won a camping permit and so glad we did, as the bears were more active at the falls late in the day once the day planes left and we got to enjoy the platform to ourselves watching the bears without a time restriction.
Staying more than the day trip also allows you to explore more at Katmai as well. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is so neat and such an interesting part of Alaskas history and landscape.
Enjoy! 🐻
