Katmai Bear Viewing and Tours in Alaska
Providing the Ultimate Wildlife Experience Since 1978
Guiding Photographers and Adventure Travelers are our passion. We guarantee that you will get up-close images of grizzlies.
It takes more than experience to make this guarantee. It takes a combination of seaplanes, boats, and bushplanes with tundra tires. Our unique location lets us park our 3 sea/float planes and our 2 tundra tire-equipped planes at the lodge. Having instant access to all three combined with Alaska’s oldest bear viewing service guarantees you will see grizzlies.
As avid photographers ourselves, we understand that seeing lots of bears is not enough. We get you into the proper position for light and background. Helping you capture fantastic images of wildlife is what we do best.
ITINERARY
Day 1 July 14 Anchorage's Merrial Field
Departing from Anchorage's Merrill Field at 3:00 PM on Lake & Peninsula Air Taxi. The turboprop plane will fly you directly to the small, remote Indian village of Iliamna. Arrive at 4:15 PM. The lodge staff will greet us and provide transportation to the lodge, where the rest are eagerly waiting to meet us.
After introductions, the crew will help get everyone's gear into their rooms. Each room is comfortable and has a full bathroom and two beds.
After you've had a chance to settle into your room, Hor d'Oeuvres will be waiting to be devoured. Our gathering place is the "great room," with amazing panoramic views of Lake Iliamna and Roadhouse Mountain. Relax, socialize, play a game of pool, check out the many displayed Alaskan antiquities, or just sit back and soak in the view.
Once everyone has gathered at the lodge, orientation will begin. This meeting ensures any questions about what the week will consist of are answered.
Next, everyone will be individually fitted with state-of-the-art Gore-Tex waders and wading boots, all supplied by the lodge. If you have never experienced the joy of waders, you will be blown away by your newfound ability to remain perfectly dry through river crossings, swamps, and all! The gear is lightweight, comfortable for all-day wear, and totally impervious to the weather!
In the meantime, our chef, Kellam, has prepared a multi-course dinner that will be served at 7:00 PM. After you've eaten your fill, together as a group, we discuss the plan for what tomorrow will bring. Once details are set and everyone knows where they are going, what equipment to get, and what aircraft to board in the morning, you are free to spend the remaining hours of daylight as you wish.
Our entire staff understands that photographers have special and logistical needs, such as having the ability to stay out late for the best lighting or a need to bring extra, fragile, and expensive camera equipment into the field. This will come as no surprise to our team, and we will work to accommodate your unique situation.
Day 2 July 15 Katmai National Park
After a hearty breakfast, we fly in the world's most famous and Iconic float plane, the De Havilland Beaver. Destination Katmai National Park is only accessible by float plane. Landing at Brooks Lake to visit Brooks Falls, we will capture the iconic images of fish jumping up the falls, only to be greeted by the jaws of countless hungry bears. Brooks Falls is undoubtedly a sight worth seeing and a destination for many professional photographers.
On our flight back to the lodge, we will fly over the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, Mount Katmai, the giant caldera of Crater Lake, and Novarupta, with its many steaming volcanic vents and 30,000-year-old glaciers.
By the time we arrive at the lodge, Hors d'Oeuvres will be waiting, followed shortly by another mouthwatering dinner, hot showers, and an image-sharing session.
Day 3 July 16 Katmai National Park.
After a hearty breakfast, we will board one of the lodge’s aircraft, and the adventure begins! One of the main things that set our lodge apart from any other is our fleet of 5 aircraft. Capable of landing on rivers and lakes with our seaplanes and on beaches, gravel bars, and ridge tops with our tundra-tired bush planes. Our planes, paired with our 12 boats, all set aside for the exclusive use of our guests, bring an unparalleled experience from any other lodge. We never have more than 12 guests at the lodge at the same time, ensuring your ability to make the most of your visit.
Today, you’ve set out to capture images of coastal brown bears fishing in Katmai National Park. We will land in Katmai on a small alpine lake in one of the lodge’s De Havilland Beaver floatplanes.
After landing, your guide will lead you on a short 15-minute walk, where you will find the confluence of two creeks. There, we will spend the day filming and photographing bears on the creeks as they chase fish in the shallow water. Your guide has led bear-viewing trips here since 1978 and knows the area intimately. He will ensure that you get the best images and bear viewing experience possible.
After a day of excitement watching countless bears fish, when your SD cards are full and your camera batteries are low, you will return to the plane and begin your short 18-minute flight back to the lodge. You will be greeted at the docks with the strong aroma of fresh smoked salmon ready for eating. Only now are you faced with a tough decision: A hot shower first or to dive into the tasty Hor d’Oeuvres platter waiting in the lodge.
After dinner, we again will discuss what the next day will hold. We encourage everyone to share their prized photos or video clips from the day. With the blinds closed, the images can be displayed on a large-screen TV in the great room straight from your laptop. The lodge staff often joins in the background to see the amazing show. Dump your SD cards, recharge your cameras, and get ready for another day
Day 4: July 17 Katmai coast
Today, you leave the lodge in the morning and arrive on the Katmai coast. The mission for today: photographing bears digging for clams on the shore and eating sedge grasses.
It is expected to see a wolf on or near this secluded beach. Today may require more walking than other days because the bears may be spread out along the tidal flats, digging clams, chasing salmon, or napping in the sedge grasses. With swans nesting in the salt grasses, eagles patrolling the cliffs and waters from above, and sea otters playing in the surrounding streams, you will be happy you brought back up SD cards. Caribou, moose, and bears are also expected to see along the way.
A 40-minute flight back to the lodge will fly you low over the glaciers and ice fields of Mount Douglas. And, of course, a hot shower, Hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and fellowship will follow.
Day 5: July 18
We fly to another secluded wilderness destination, the confluence of 2 creeks full of salmon. Again, landing on a small alpine lake in the lodge’s De Havilland Beaver float plane, we proceed with a 15-minute walk to the creek. Yet again, countless bears do their best to fill their bellies on Sockeye Salmon in the shallow water.
Today may even be more productive than Brooks Falls; early evening, when everyone is satisfied, you will wave your goodbyes to your newly found 600-pound furry friends and make your short flight back to the lodge.
