Katmai National Park & Preserve – How to get to Brooks Camp and what to expect!
Today, we are revisiting one of our absolute favorite memories of 2023 and an experience that we will talk about for the rest of our lives: camping with brown bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve.
Why is Katmai National Park so unique?
Katmai National Park and Preserve is on a peninsula in southern Alaska. Its wild landscapes span tundra, forests, lakes, and mountains. The park is known for the many brown bears that are drawn to the abundant salmon in Brooks Falls. If you’ve ever seen a photo of a brown bear catching a salmon at the top of a waterfall, this is where it took place.
There is no way to drive to Katmai National Park; you can either fly in on a float plane or take a boat. In most circumstances, it’s a combination of both.
How to get to Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park
We took RAVN Alaska to King Salmon, Alaska, from Anchorage, Alaska. This was the first of many small airplanes that we were going to experience while visiting Alaska. It was also the very first flight that we boarded without any security. A wild experience. Once we got to King Salmon, we were swarmed with bugs. We had no idea where to go to catch our next flight and had no way to google anything since there was no wifi/cellular. After 45 minutes of panicking, an unlabeled van showed up and whisked us away to the river where our float plane was going to take off.
Katmai Air was going to shuttle us from King Salmon to Brooks Camp. It was the first time we were on a float plane, and it was an extremely memorable experience. The power of the plane to skirt across the water and gain enough speed to get airborne was wild. Not as wild as the landing though. It felt like the nose of the plane was near vertical as the back of the floats touched down, and then slowly the rest of the plane dropped.
Bear School at Brooks Camp
The very first thing you do when you arrive at Brooks Camp is to go through Bear School. Yes, a 30ish min class 100% devoted to keeping yourself and the bears safe while you are in Katmai. The best part? We got a badge to denote our completion, and we were free to roam.
Where do you sleep at Brooks Camp?
While there are small cabins people can rent, we did not have that sort of money, so we brought our camping supplies and set up our tent. Yes, we slept in a tent when there were 50+ bears roaming around the area. It was one of the most nerve-wracking sleeps of our lives. The park ranger who had set up the very small electrical fence around the designated area for campers was pretty excited about how well she thought she had done. Later that day, three bear cubs entered the area.
The rest of our time at Katmai was split up between walking the trails to and from Brooks Falls, hanging out at the campfire, making new friends, and escaping the bugs to the best of our ability. It was a wild experience knowing that at any moment 1,000 lbs bears could come out of the forest and walk the same path as you. There was never a moment of relaxation; we were always on the lookout to ensure the safety of ourselves and the bears.
What else can you do at Brooks Camp?
Katmai National Park is so much more than just bears, though; the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is an area of lava flows and ash formed by a massive volcanic eruption. The only way you could get to this area was by a guided tour, and unfortunately, we got there and missed out on the last two spots. Another reason to go back!
And with that, our three days at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park were over. Would we go again? Absolutely.
Visiting a National Park for the first time?
We put together a blog post that highlights everything that we do as we prepare to visit a new National Park. This guide gives you key tips, links, and. tools to help you successfully plan your first National Park. Click here to read more!
Passport Stamps… in a National Park?
The Passport program began in 1986 to help visitors discover the beauty and history found in America’s national parks. Free cancellation ink stamps can be found at most national park areas. These rubber-stamp ink markings record the name of the park and the date of your visit.
Make sure to have a National Park Passport Book to house all your stamps. There are many to choose from, here are some of our favorites! Passport Book 1, Passport Book 2, and Passport Book 3.
How do you dress when visiting a National Park?
What you wear is dependent on where you are going and more importantly what time of the year you are going. Here are some of our favorite jackets, hats, globes, and more: Click here!
Did you know there is a National Park App?
Did you know the National Park Service has an app? It does and it has saved us more times than we can count. Make sure to download it before you get to the park and plan out your trip!
Want more National Park Tips, Tricks, and Itineraries?
As we are making our way to all 63 US National Parks in 2023-2024, we’ve been documenting everything! From where we stayed, what we ate, what we did, weather, and so much more! Check out all of our National Park blog posts.
What camera equipment should I bring?
We are huge camera nerds. Maybe Joey is a bit more than Katie, but we both love cameras and love photography and videography. So we might go a little “extra” when it comes to what we purchase but we want to shoot the best quality content for you all to enjoy. Click here to learn more!
Do you need more help?
We’ve been to 30+ National Parks together and by the end of 2024, we will have visited all 63 US National Parks.
If you are stuck and don’t know where to start, we are your guide to planning the perfect National Park Trip. From simple road trips to Joshua Tree in California to extensive planning to visit the Alaska National Parks, we are your trusted guides. Message us for rates!
