Katmai National Park
Katmai National Park, King Salmon, AK
the Alaska Peninsula
The place where big brown bears line up at a waterfall to snatch leaping salmon from the air, on a wild peninsula still smoldering with the memory of a colossal eruption.
Katmai is best known for a single unforgettable scene: enormous brown bears standing at the lip of Brooks Falls, mouths open, as bright red salmon hurl themselves up the cascade. Each summer, when the salmon run up the Brooks River, dozens of bears gather to feast, and viewing platforms let people watch from close range as the animals fish, spar, and grow huge on the bounty. It is one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in North America, broadcast to the world but even more astonishing in person.
Yet the bears are only half the story. Katmai was created to protect the aftermath of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. In 1912, the Novarupta eruption blasted the region with ash and buried a green valley beneath hundreds of feet of hot debris, which steamed for years afterward, giving the eerie Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes its name. Together, the fishing bears and the volcanic valley make Katmai one of Alaska's most extraordinary wild places.
What Guests Love
- Watching brown bears catch leaping salmon at Brooks Falls
- Some of the largest brown bears anywhere, fat on the salmon run
- The strange, ash-filled Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
- A true fly-in wilderness of volcanoes and salmon
Worth Knowing
- There are no roads; access is by small plane, commonly via King Salmon, then to Brooks Camp
- The famous bear-viewing platforms are busiest in July during the salmon run, with a reservation and permit system
- This is serious bear country with strict food and distance rules; follow ranger guidance closely
- The season is short and summer-focused, and weather can delay flights, so build in flexibility
Details
the Alaska Peninsula
Learn about Katmai National Park
The bears of Brooks Falls
Each summer, sockeye salmon surge up the Brooks River to spawn, and the brown bears of Katmai know it. They gather at Brooks Falls, where the fish must leap the cascade, and take up fishing spots along the lip and in the pools below. From elevated platforms, visitors watch bears snag salmon in mid-air, wrestle over prime positions, and pack on the fat they need to survive the winter, growing into some of the largest brown bears on earth.
It is a rare chance to watch wild bears behaving naturally, absorbed in the hunt, at close but safe range. The experience has made Brooks Falls world-famous, yet standing on the platform with the sound of the falls and the sight of the bears at work is something no screen can match.
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
In June 1912, the Novarupta volcano erupted with staggering force, one of the biggest eruptions of the twentieth century, and buried a nearby valley under a deep blanket of glowing ash. For years the valley hissed and steamed from countless vents, and an early explorer named it the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.
The smokes are gone now, but the valley remains a stark moonscape of ash, carved by rivers into deep gorges and ringed by volcanoes, a haunting contrast to the salmon-rich green country nearby. Reaching it takes effort, but it stands as a monument to the raw volcanic power that shaped this whole peninsula.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near the Alaska Peninsula
Brooks Falls and Brooks Camp
In the park
The famous bear-viewing area on the Brooks River, with platforms overlooking the falls where brown bears fish for salmon.
Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
About 23 miles from Brooks Camp
The ash-filled valley left by the 1912 Novarupta eruption, a stark volcanic landscape reached by a park road tour.
King Salmon
About 30 miles
The gateway village on Bristol Bay with the regional airport and visitor center, where trips into Katmai begin.