The Bears of Brooks Falls

Soon after deciding to go to Alaska, we started researching how to see brown bears. Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks are two of the easiest places to do this, although neither is on the road system so easy is relative, and it’s certainly not cheap. There are several guided tour options, but we just had to see the stars of Fat Bear Week fishing at Brooks Falls in Katmai NP.

A day trip to Brooks Falls requires a float plane and the closest launching point is Homer. We went with Alaska Bear Trips out of Anchorage because of a coupon. And even though that was a questionable decision, our pilot/guide was amazing, the weather was perfect, and we had the best day ever!! The longer flight from Anchorage meant seeing more of Alaska from the air, and we were particularly lucky because the pilot went out of his way to fly us close enough to see smoke coming from Mount Redoubt (an active volcano) and to see belugas at the mouth of the Beluga River. We also got a glimpse of Denali, but unfortunately, none of my photos of all those amazing sights are good enough to share.

After landing on Naknek Lake at Brooks Camp, we went to Bear School to learn how to keep us and the bears safe. There has not been a negative interaction between people and bears at Brooks Falls for a long time.

Around 2,200 brown bears live in Katmai National Park and when the salmon are running several dozen gather to fish in the Brooks River near the falls. Brown bears are normally solitary creatures so Brooks Falls is a special place. We counted 26 at the falls and saw around 40 total throughout the day.

On a busy day, you are only allowed 30 minutes on the main viewing platform. We spent nearly 2 hours waiting on the secondary platform for our turn. This is where the younger bears fish so it was just as entertaining as being at the main falls.

The older bears fish in the ledge above and the whirlpool beneath the falls.

Some of our favorite closeup photos…

This was just the absolute best Alaska experience we could have hoped for!