Katmai National Park (>4 million acres) is home to the world’s largest population of brown bears (>2000). Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park is famous for viewing brown bears feeding on salmon trying to make their way upstream.
You can visit Katmai National Park as a day trip from Anchorage, Homer, or King Salmon to see the bears.
Best time to go for bear viewing in Katmai National Park
Late May to late September is the best time to visit Brooks Falls in Katmai National park for bear viewing. However, the number of bears arriving at the Brooks Falls in turn depends on the arrival of salmon and I highly recommend to book these expensive tours only after confirming the salmon arrival.
Typical cost of a bear viewing trip at Brooks Falls
See the table below for companies that offer bear-viewing trips to Brooks Falls. None of the tours include food and beverages and you must bring your own packed lunch, snacks and water. Lunch buffet can be purchased at Brooks Lodge for $20-40 per person and the nightly accommodations there are over $1000 per night.
Brooks Falls Bear Viewing Tours
| Tour Name | Time Spent Flying | Time Spent With Bears | Cost | Pick Up Place | Notes |
| Katmai Air | 2.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1,370 | Anchorage | $30 Park Entry Fee |
| Regal Air | 2.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1,350 | Anchorage | |
| Trail Ridge Air Inc. | 2.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1,350 | Anchorage | 3% credit card surcharge |
| Rust's Bear Viewing | 2.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1,350 | Anchorage | $30 additional Katmai NPS fee |
| Brooks Lodge Bear Viewing | 2.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1,350 | Anchorage | |
| Emerald Air Service | 1.5 hours each way | 5 hours | 1,595 | Homer | 6% online convenience fee (call company to book) |
| Alaska Bear Adventures | 1.5 hours each way | 4 hours | $1395 | Homer | |
| Brooks Lodge Bear Viewing | 30-45 minutes | 4 hours | $450 | King Salmon | Katmai Air is used for transportation |
Typical Bear Viewing Itinerary from Anchorage
Cheaper way to Brooks Falls from King Salmon island
Travelers can fly from Anchorage to King Salmon (AKN) and then take either a float plane (e.g., Katmai Air) or a water taxi (Katmai Water Taxi) to Brooks Camp and pay only $450 for the round trip. The lodging in King Salmon island is around $450 per night (link) and the water taxi ticket comes with a free shuttle from the airport to the ferry launch point. I highly recommend using Katmai Air instead of a water taxi due to the issues described below.
Issues with water taxi
- The water taxi rides tend to get cancelled due to bad weather.
- Refund policies are not customer friendly even when the cancellations are due to bad weather.
- Read the negative reviews of Katmai water taxis from disappointed tourists on TripAdvisor (link).
Award booking flights to Anchorage & King Salmon
Alaska Mileage Plan can be used to book award flights to Anchorage (ANC) and King Salmon (AKN) airports.
It’s also easy to make use of Alaska’s free one-way stopovers to spend some time in Anchorage on your way to King Salmon (see image below).
Conclusion
A trip to see brown bears eating salmon in Katmai National Park is very expensive and needs careful planning. If you book too early, there may not be any bears at the falls due to late salmon arrival and you will be disappointed after spending a lot of money. I recommend using Alaska miles to fly to King Salmon Island and using Katmai Air to make a day trip to Brooks Falls.
My trip to Brooks Falls was several years ago and there were very few visitors. However, these days (due to the post-COVID 19 travel surge), the wait times at the Brooks Falls Platform may exceed 3 hours.