Six Takeaways from Visiting Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks |

Two of the least visited national parks in America lie an hour's flight southwest of Anchorage. In 2023, Lake Clark National Park had fewer than 17,000 visitors. Katmai National Park was home to fewer than 34,000 animals. Visiting these two national parks is a rite of passage for thousands who plan to visit every American national park in their lifetime.

In August I made my own pilgrimage to these majestic Alaskan lands to see them for myself and photograph brown bears on the coast. Over the course of five days, I saw lands that may never have had human contact, bears that walked ten feet in front of me, explored my 35th national park, and got a taste of what life is like where paved roads are a luxury.

The term “bucket list” is used all too often these days, but from an outdoors and photography perspective, this was absolutely a bucket list item. If you want to be excited and develop a deeper connection with nature, a trip to Alaska is for you.

Katmai's protected bear population

Approximately 2,200 brown bears live in the protected area of ​​Katmai National Park and Reserve. Anyone visiting Katmai should expect to see bears, whether they visit Brooks Falls, Hallo Bay, or other areas where bears are common.

What makes this experience unique is the consistent and widespread food supply. These are “happy bears” because they eat half a dozen or more salmon daily and are generally unconcerned with nearby humans, provided they are watching them safely and wisely.

An appointed bear guide will explain the basics and ensure an unforgettable experience. I know we will never forget seeing about 20 bears in one day.

Alaska's higher cost of living

Like most things in Alaska, outdoor excursions can be expensive. Anyone who takes a leave of absence from work and stays for the entire three-month tourist season will likely sacrifice a quarter of their annual income.

The cost of bear watching in Alaska ranges from $900 to $1,500 per day. If you want to stay at Brooks Falls, Lake Clark Resort, Redoubt Mountain Lodge, or other Lake Clark/Kamai accommodations, expect to pay around $1,000 per night. Most couples on multi-day Alaska trips can easily shell out $6,000 to $8,000.

Unfortunately, the beautiful remote state becomes expensive as Alaska's geographical location drives up prices significantly. An Alaska trip is worth the money, provided you have disposable income. But it is understandably out of reach for many travelers, especially those with work commitments.

The Magic of Brooks Falls

This surprised me the most, but if you think about it more, it's not shocking.

For many, visiting Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park could be their first time seeing a bear in the wild. Additionally, this small area welcomed 10,000 visitors a month in July, making it ideal for bear and human encounters.

To address concerns and promote safety, everyone visiting Brooks Falls is required to take a 10-minute bear safety course. This course covers common sense guidelines such as: E.g., not approaching bears, avoiding them if you see them, and storing food safely.

The second part that surprised me was that you only have 30 minutes at a time on the famous bear viewing platform. You'll need to put your name on a list, and once it's called, you can head out to take photos and spot bears near the falls. Once your time is up, you can stay in a secondary viewing area as long as you like while you wait to return.

Thanks to its popularity, Brooks Falls felt less like a natural wonder and more like I was being transported from A to B, and my autonomy was secondary. This experience was very different from the previous day, when we landed on a lake and mingled harmoniously with the bears for five hours.

Bears follow the salmon from Brooks Falls

We learned this the hard way. In mid-August it was unclimatic at the famous Brooks Falls as most of the salmon had already found their way there. This meant that the once crowded bear mecca was all but deserted. We saw five bears compared to numbers in the 20s, 30s or 40s.

If you want to see the most bears, plan a visit in July, when salmon roar upstream—and sometimes into the mouths of patiently waiting bears.

Nevertheless, visiting Brooks Falls was a great experience. Luckily, salmon and bears were plentiful in other areas.

Flying is a must in Alaska

In the lower 48 countries, we commute to work or other places by car. In Alaska you fly. During our five-day trip to Lake Clark and Katmai, we boarded a single- or twin-engine plane eight times and traversed the two national parks in search of bears and epic sights. If you don't handle tight spaces or turbulence well, this area may not be right for you. As a precaution, stock up on some anti-nausea medication beforehand.

Keep your schedule flexible

This is the key. Alaska's rapidly changing weather sometimes causes flights or tours to be canceled or postponed. Despite a day of no-flying, they were great with getting around on one of our tours to ensure we could still do the scenic flight and bear watching tour of the Katmai Coast. However, we left later in the day than originally planned.

I suggest planning a few “days off” during your Alaska vacation to ensure you get the most out of your trip and check everything off your bucket list.

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.