Bear Viewing at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park and Preserve
This is the premier grizzly bear viewing area as regularly featured in National Geographic and Discovery Channel specials on Alaska Brown Bears.
The National Park Service has spared no expense developing the Brooks River area into a world-class bear viewing center because of the high concentration of brown bears.
The area has been developed with your safety in mind, as well as allowing these majestic animals to continue to exist uninhibited by any development and human presence.
The Park Rangers maintain a watching eye on bear movements around the site to ensure your safety and that of the bears.
Bear Viewing
There are 3 specially designed viewing platforms where visitors can watch brown bears in their natural habitat.
From these platforms you get an uninterrupted view of male and female brown bears with cubs feeding on sockeye salmon as they make their way from Naknek Lake up the Brooks River and into Brooks Lake to spawn.
At the Falls Platform you see the largest grizzly male bears feeding although it is not unknown for juvenile males and female bears with cubs to come up to the falls to feed.
A short distance downstream is the Riffles Platform where you see the younger male and female bears splashing and crashing about trying to catch the salmon with varying degrees of success.
At the Lower River Platform near the floating bridge mainly females with young cubs feed. The cubs try and learn from Mom and have a wonderful time rushing about playing, chasing seagulls, and generally being very inquisitive.
Many of the bears have been regular visitors for more that 20 years and are well known to Park Rangers who will point them out and tell you some of their history.
Best Times
The peak times for bear viewing at Brooks Falls are July and September.
July marks the peak of the annual migration of salmon into the freshwater rivers and lakes to spawn. During late June to early August the bears gather to feed on the salmon as they make their way upstream.
As the fish run slows the brown bears move away in search of other sources of food. A few bears remain in and around Brooks during the summer.
Come September the bears return in numbers to forage on the salmon carcasses washing down from the spawning grounds.
Yield - 'Bear Jam' Ahead!
At all times priority is given to the bears, it is after all their home.
If a bear decides to stand or lie down on the trail then humans must wait until the bear decides that it’s time to go fishing again. This leads to the infamous Brooks ‘Bear Jam’.
This is why it is so important to have a full day at Brooks to ensure that a 'Bear Jam' does not curtail your bear viewing experience.
The Park Service Rangers are in constant radio contact with each other to ensure visitors can move about the falls environment with the minimum of delays.
Visitors Center, Brooks Camp and Lodge
The National Park Service Visitor Center is located on the edge of Brooks Camp. This is where you receive your ‘Bear Etiquette’ orientation program.
Bears can and do wander through the camp on their way to fish so it is important to keep an eye out whilst moving around the camp.
The Lodge where all meals and refreshments are taken is situated within the camp. The Lodge is open to all visitors to Brooks and contains a restaurant, bar, and open circular fireplace and comfortable chairs. Rest rooms are situated outside of the Lodge and at strategic places throughout the site.
Accessibility
Most of the trails round Brooks Camp together with the trail up to Brooks Falls are wheelchair accessible.
However, they are unpaved and frequently muddy. Additionally, you should always be prepared to leave the trail in order to avoid a bear.
Other Activities Available at Brooks
- Valley of the Ten Thousand Smokes. Full day guided excursion to see and marvel at the power of nature. The valley was filled with 100 to 700 feet of volcanic ash during the June 1912 eruption of Novarupta; the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century.
- Canoeing and kayaking. Hire a canoe or kayak by the hour or day and get a different perspective on this pristine wilderness.
- Nature walks and hikes. Guided gentle or strenuous walks and hikes are bookable at the NPS Visitor Center.