If you’re wondering how to visit Katmai National Park, you’re in the right place! Katmai is a bucket list national park for anyone who loves seeing wildlife. This is one of the best places in the world to see grizzly bears feeding on salmon. During the summer months, you can walk up to the Brooks Falls Viewing Platform and watch dozens of bears catch salmon as they migrate upstream.
Katmai is most famous for the bears at Brooks Falls, but the large park is also home to a large dormant volcano, glaciers, lakes and valleys. In fact, it was first established as a national monument to preserve the site of the Novarupta-Katmai eruption in 1912. It was a massive volcanic eruption that created “The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.”
Even though I only had a few hours, I had such an incredible experience watching the bears at Brooks Falls. During my day trip to Katmai, I saw at least 60 bears and was left in awe as I watched the bears catch salmon next to the waterfall. Katmai quickly became one of my favorite US national parks (I’ve been to almost all 63!) and I’ll definitely be back someday to spend longer. I think taking a day trip to Katmai is 100% worth it!
This blog is based on my experience visiting Katmai in August 2025.
Tips and Things To Know About Visiting Katmai National Park
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Get excited for your trip by watching the Brooks Falls bear cams before you go!
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Katmai is one of several national parks in Alaska that can only be realistically reached by small plane. (It could also be reached by boat, but it would take a long time and is very uncommon). The small planes cost a lot to maintain, insure and gas up. This means that you should expect high prices. I paid $1,390 for my day trip to Katmai.
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When you arrive at Brooks Falls, you’ll start at bear school, where a ranger will tell you how to act around the bears. One thing to keep in mind is that you can’t carry any food with you to Brooks Falls, but there is a food storage area.
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Bear spray is not recommended for those taking a day trip to Katmai. Instead, make sure to follow the rules and advice of the rangers closely.
How To Get To Katmai National Park
As I mentioned, you’ll need to take a small plane to reach Katmai. There are a few different places you can fly from, but leaving from Anchorage will be the most convenient for most travelers.
You’ll need to take a float plane to land at Brooks Falls. Some operators have a stopover in King Salmon where you’ll switch to the float plane. I went with Fly Katmai and we took a float plane directly from Anchorage and didn’t have to switch.
The flight between Anchorage and Brooks Falls takes a little under 2 hours and has some epic views along the way. Our pilot with Fly Katmai took us slightly different ways each time and we got to see tons of bears from the plane, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, and countless mountains and valleys.
When To Visit Katmai National Park
The bears at Brooks Falls can be actively catching salmon between late June and mid-September. They tend to be the most active in July, as that’s typically the peak time for the sockeye salmon migration. However, July also brings the largest crowds, which can lead to wait times on the viewing platform.
I visited in mid-August which is typically a time when there are less bears. However, a record-breaking salmon run in 2025 meant that August had just as many bears as July, but fewer people!
Mid-July tends to be your best bet when it comes to when to visit Katmai, but if you don’t like crowds, or it’s more convenient to visit at another time, don’t be afraid to visit in August or September.
My Experience Taking a Day Trip to Katmai
Here is what it’s like to take a day trip to Katmai National Park! I went with Fly Katmai and left from Anchorage.
We arrived at Anchorage Aero at 6:45AM, which is right next to the main Anchorage Airport. We were supposed to leave at 7AM, but ended up being delayed an hour and a half due to fog at Brooks Falls. The staff at Fly Katmai were watching the public Katmai webcams to monitor when it might be safe to fly over there.
They took off as soon as it was safe to do so, and we began the 2(ish) hour flight over to Brooks Falls. The views along the way were STUNNING. We passed by Lake Clark National Park and admired countless mountain peaks, wetlands, lakes and coastline.
As we got closer and were flying over Katmai, the pilot flew lower and followed a winding river, where we saw at least 30 bears from the plane. It was an incredible start to the trip.
The plane held 10 passengers and every seat was a window seat. We rode in a Cessna 208 that was built in the 90’s.
We landed in the water next to Brooks Falls and our first stop was Bear School. Here, a ranger shared how to act around the Katmai bears. It is super important for every visitor to follow the rules to ensure the safety of both the visitors and the bears.
The building where bear school is held also has a small gift shop, and you can get your national park stamp. Next to this building, there is a locker to stop any food you have on you, and a picnic area with an electric fence.
After attending bear school, it was finally time to make our way to Brooks Falls! First, you’ll walk past the Brooks Lodge (where you can have lunch) and then you’ll cross over the Brooks River on a nice bridge.
If you haven’t seen any bears yet, you might see them here! We saw a few from this platform right away. On some days, there could be more bears here than over at the waterfall.
After crossing the bridge, you’ll turn right and make your way to the Brooks Falls Trail. The hike to reach the platform is about 1.2-miles round trip and mostly flat.
Next to Brooks Falls, there is an upper platform and a lower platform. The upper platform is right next to the famous waterfall! During busy times, the rangers limit the amount of people on the upper platform (you’ll have to stay 30 minutes at a time). While you wait to return to the upper platform, you can get a view from further away at the lower platform.
Tip: Tripods are not allowed on the upper platform during peak times. However, monopods are allowed.
Watching the bears from the upper platform was one of my favorite wildlife experiences to date! We were able to stay for about 4 hours and had about 8-10 bears surrounding the waterfall the whole time.
Each bear had their own fishing style and sometimes they would assert their dominance to occupy certain fishing spots. Some bears patiently waited for salmon to come to them, while others ran after the fish, splashing in the water.
The bears had so many salmon to choose from, so they could be picky on which fish they wanted to eat. They preferred the female salmon due to their eggs. We were told that the bears get less picky at the end of the season when it's time to bulk up for winter.
Our day trip included lunch at the Katmai Lodge, but we skipped it to spend more time watching the bears. They serve a buffet style lunch that rotates daily.
When we made our way back to the plane, there was a bear on the beach right next to us. It was the perfect end to a perfect day (minus the delay). We also flew back a slightly different route and got to see more of the scenery in Katmai National Park.
I had such an incredible experience watching the bears at Brooks Falls and cannot wait to return someday. If you enjoy wildlife experiences, I can’t recommend this trip enough!
Want to stay longer than a day trip? Options include:
- Staying at Brooks Lodge. A lottery takes place to stay here over a year in advance, so you’ll need to plan ahead and get lucky.
- Camp at Brooks Camp. There is a limit of 60 people in the campground. Reservations go on sale in January of the same year and go quickly.
- Book a trip with another lodge or tour operator in the area. Options include a camping trip with Focus Photo Tours, a stay at Lake Clark Lodge, a stay at Katmai Wilderness Lodge, and more.
FAQ’s about Visiting Katmai National Park
How much does it cost to take a day trip to Katmai?
I paid $1,390 per person for my day trip to Katmai in 2025. You can expect this to be around the typical price for the day trips that leave from Anchorage. However, you can also compare prices for traveling on your own to King Salmon or Homer, and taking a day trip from there.
Is a day trip to Katmai worth it?
In my opinion, it was 100% worth it to see the bears fishing in their natural habitat! However, it might not be worth it if you’re not super into seeing wildlife. You also are likely to get more “bang for your buck” by spending the night and camping at Brooks Camp.
Is Katmai National Park dangerous?
While brown bears are certainly very dangerous, the precautions in place, the low number of visitors and the ample amount of food available for the bears make bear attacks here extremely rare. As far as I can tell, the only fatal incident of a bear attack in Katmai occurred in 2003, and it was a documentary film maker (Timothy Treadwell) who was breaking many park rules in terms of harassing the bears, getting too close to them, etc.
Fatal brown bear attacks are slightly more common in Yellowstone and Glacier National Park in the lower 48. Make sure to always do your research on how to respect wildlife in each new destination that you visit.
Where is Katmai national Park located?
Katmai is located in a remote part of Southwest Alaska. There are no roads to access the park. As the crow flies, Katmai is a little over 200 miles from Anchorage.
Is there cell reception or wifi at Brooks Falls?
No. There is no wifi available and I had no cell reception at all at Brooks Falls.
Final Thoughts
Seeing the bears in Katmai is one of my favorite national park experiences to date and is definitely worthy of your bucket list. I hope this guide helps you learn exactly what to expect on a day trip to Katmai National Park.
For more Alaska travel guides, check out my other blog posts:
- An Epic 7 Day Alaska Road Trip
- The Best Things To Do in Seward, Alaska
- A Guide to Visiting Matanuska Glacier
- A Guide to Visiting Denali National Park
- A Guide to the Denali Transit Bus
Thanks for Reading!
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