Katmai National Park Adventure Tours

Backpacking and bear viewing adventures into this diverse and amazing national park.

Alaska Alpine Adventures has been guiding Katmai National Park since 2003 under an NPS Commercial Use Authorization (CUA). We run four scheduled multi-day trips here each summer – bear viewing, backpacking, and a Valley of 10,000 Smokes expedition – all designed as wilderness experiences beyond the Brooks Falls day-flight crowd. Two of our trips fly in via Lake Clark; two access the park via King Salmon. Katmai itself holds the world’s largest brown bear population, the unaltered evidence of one of the most powerful documented volcanic eruptions on Earth, and 400 miles of wild Pacific coast.

About Katmai National Park

Katmai National Park and Preserve covers more than 4 million acres on the Alaska Peninsula and the adjacent Pacific coast – one of the largest national park units in the United States and one of the most geologically active. The park’s defining geological event was the 1912 eruption of Novarupta, which deposited the ash and pumice flow that created the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. By volume of material erupted, it was the largest volcanic event of the 20th century. The Mount Katmai caldera, the peaks ringing the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, the surrounding ash plain, and the valley’s geothermal features are what remain. Katmai holds the world’s largest brown bear population, estimated at over 2,000 animals. The famous concentration at Brooks Falls each July, where bears fish for sockeye salmon at the lip of a six-foot waterfall, is the most-photographed bear scene in North America. But the bears spread across the park’s interior, coast, and salmon-rich rivers – and our bear-viewing trips access them well away from the Brooks Falls platforms. The Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) and Aleut peoples of the Alaska Peninsula have lived in this region for thousands of years. The lands our trips travel through carry that long human history, and the contemporary villages along the Alaska Peninsula coast continue traditions tied to salmon, bears, and the sea.

Our Guided Katmai Trips

We run four scheduled trips into Katmai each summer, divided between two access routes. Two of our Katmai itineraries fly via Lake Clark Air, both with a night at the Lake Clark Resort included (accommodations and meals). Our Basecamp Bears is a 5-day Level 2 hiking and bear-viewing trip that flies to Katmai’s interior, well away from the Brooks Falls platforms – bear watching in remote terrain where the Brooks Falls crowds aren’t. Our Backpacking Katmai is a 7-day Level 2 wilderness backpacking trip that combines hiking and bear encounters along salmon-rich interior rivers. Our other two Katmai itineraries access the park via King Salmon, with a pre-trip night at our partner hotel in Anchorage (orientation dinner and breakfast). King Salmon is a transit point, not an overnight. Our Valley of 10,000 Smokes Experience is a 10-day Level 3 backpacking expedition through the ash flow deposited by the 1912 Novarupta eruption – one of the most distinctive landscapes anywhere in the National Park System. Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula is a 12-day Level 2 hiking trip that combines Aniakchak National Monument and Katmai. The Katmai component flies by charter floatplane from King Salmon to Brooks Camp, where the group camps in the NPS campground near Brooks Falls.

How to Get to Katmai & When to Visit

Katmai is accessible only by air. Two of our trips access the park from Anchorage via Lake Clark Air – a wheel-plane flight from Merrill Field to Port Alsworth, followed by floatplane into Katmai’s interior. The other two trips access the park via King Salmon, with a commercial flight from Anchorage to King Salmon followed by charter aircraft into the park itself. The Katmai season runs from late May through September. June brings salmon arrival in the rivers and is a great window for the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. July is the famous bear month – Brooks Falls peaks for bear concentration. August continues bear and salmon activity. September brings the first fall colors and cooler weather. We schedule our four Katmai trips across this window.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Katmai National Park?

Katmai is accessible only by air. Our four trips use two different access routes. Two of our trips – Our Basecamp Bears and Our Backpacking Katmai – fly via Lake Clark Air: a wheel-plane flight from Anchorage to Port Alsworth, then floatplane into Katmai’s interior. The other two – Our Valley of 10,000 Smokes Experience and Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula – access the park via King Salmon, with a commercial flight from Anchorage to King Salmon followed by charter aircraft into the park.

Is this a Brooks Falls day trip?

No. Our Katmai trips are multi-day wilderness experiences, distinct from the day-flight bear-viewing tours that visit Brooks Falls from Anchorage. Of our four Katmai trips, only one – Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula – includes time at Brooks Camp. The other three operate in Katmai’s interior, away from the Brooks Falls platforms and crowds.

Will I see brown bears on a Katmai trip?

Yes. Katmai holds the world’s largest brown bear population, estimated at over 2,000 animals. Our Basecamp Bears trip is structured specifically around bear viewing in Katmai’s interior. Our Backpacking Katmai also includes regular bear encounters along salmon-rich rivers. Our Valley of 10,000 Smokes is more about the volcanic landscape but bears are present throughout. Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula visits Brooks Camp where bear concentration peaks in July.

When is the best time to visit Katmai?

Our Katmai trips run from late May through September. June brings salmon arrival in the rivers, quieter bear watching, and a great window for the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. July is the famous bear month – Brooks Falls peaks for bear concentration. August continues bear and salmon activity. September brings fall color and cooler weather.

What is included in the trip cost?

Our Katmai trips are fully inclusive of pre-trip lodging (Lake Clark Resort for Our Basecamp Bears and Our Backpacking Katmai trips, or our partner hotel in Anchorage for Our Valley of 10,000 Smokes and Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula trips), with meals at the Resort or orientation dinner and breakfast at the hotel, round-trip air transport from Anchorage, all bush flights into the park, professional guiding, all camping and group gear (tents and trekking poles included – many competing outfitters do not provide these), and meals during the trip. Pricing currently runs $5,195 for Our Basecamp Bears, $5,195 for Our Backpacking Katmai, $5,995 for Our Valley of 10,000 Smokes Experience, and $8,695 for Our Parks of the Alaska Peninsula.

Ready to book a Katmai trip? Browse our four Katmai expeditions below, or call us at 907-351-4193 to talk through which itinerary – and which access route – fits your group. Our team has been guiding Katmai since 2003 and can walk you through bears, the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, and the trip arc before you commit.