Two of the least visited National Parks in America lie an hour’s flight to the southwest of Anchorage. In 2023, Lake Clark National Park had fewer than 17,000 visitors. Katmai National Park saw fewer than 34,000. Visiting these two National Parks is a rite of passage for thousands aiming to visit every American National Park in their lifetime.

In August, I made my own pilgrimage to these majestic Alaskan lands to see them for myself and photograph coastal brown bears. Over the course of five days, I saw lands that may have never had human contact, bears walking 10 feet in front of me, explored my 35th National Park, and got a sense of what life is like where paved roads are a luxury.

The phrase “bucket list” gets thrown around loosely these days, but from an outdoors and photography standpoint, this was absolutely a bucket list item. If you want to be wowed and develop a deeper connection with nature, a trip to Alaska is for you.

Katmai’s Protected Bear Population

Approximately 2,200 brown bears reside within the protections of Katmai National Park and Preserve. Those visiting Katmai should expect to see bears, whether visiting Brooks Falls, Hallo Bay, or other areas bears frequent.

What makes this experience unique is the consistent and prevalent food supply. These are “happy bears” because they eat half a dozen or more salmon daily and generally don’t care about nearby humans, provided they watch safely and wisely.

An appointed bear guide will explain the basics and ensure a memorable experience. I know we’ll never forget seeing some 20 bears in one day.

Alaska’s Higher Living Costs

As with most Alaskan things, outdoor excursions can be pricey. Those taking leave from work and staying for the entire three-month-long tourism season will likely sacrifice one-quarter of their annual income.

Expect bear-watching in Alaska to cost between $900 to $1,500 per day. If you wish to stay overnight at Brooks Falls, Lake Clark Resort, Redoubt Mountain Lodge, or other Lake Clark/Kamai properties, anticipate paying around $1,000 per night. Most couples on multiday Alaskan trips can easily shell out $6,000 to $8,000.

Unfortunately, the beautiful remote state gets costly, as Alaska’s geographic location raises price tags significantly. An Alaskan excursion is worth the money, provided you have disposable income. But it’s understandably out of the grasp of many travelers, especially those with career obligations.

The Magic of Brooks Falls

This is the one that surprised me the most, but when you think about it longer, it isn’t shocking.

For many, visiting Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park might be their first time seeing a bear in the wild. In addition, this small area welcomed 10,000 monthly visitors in July, making it ripe for bear and human encounters.

To mitigate concerns and promote safety, everyone who visits Brooks Falls must attend a 10-minute bear safety class. This class covers common-sense guidelines, like not approaching bears, getting out of their way if you see them, and storing food safely.

The second part that surprised me was that you only have 30 minutes at a time on the famous bear-viewing platform. You have to put your name on a list, and once it’s called, you can venture out to take photos and view bears near the falls. Once your time is up, you can stay in a secondary viewing area for as long as you want while waiting to go back.

Thanks to its popularity, Brooks Falls felt less like a natural wonder and more like I was being shuttled from A to B, and my autonomy was secondary. This experience differed starkly from the prior day when we landed at a lake and harmoniously mingled among bears for five hours.

Bears Follow Brooks Falls’ Salmon

We learned this one the hard way. In mid-August, the famous Brooks Falls was anti-climatic as most salmon had already made their way through. This meant that the once-crowded bear mecca was almost desolate. We saw five bears compared to numbers in the 20s, 30s, or 40s.

If you want to see the most bears, plan on visiting in July when salmon roar upstream — and sometimes into the mouths of patiently waiting bears.

Still, visiting Brooks Falls was a great experience. Thankfully, salmon and bears were plentiful in other zones.

Flying is a Must In Alaska

In the lower 48, we commute to work or travel places in cars. In Alaska, you fly. Over our five-day trip to Lake Clark and Katmai, we hopped in either a single-engine or two-engine plane eight times as we crisscrossed the two national parks looking for bears and epic sights. If you’re not good with tight quarters or some turbulence, this area may not be for you. Get some anti-nausea meds beforehand, just in case.

Keep Your Schedule Flexible

This one is key. Alaska’s rapidly changing weather sometimes cancels or pushes flights or tours. Despite one day of grounded flights, they were great at moving around one of our tours to ensure we still got the Katmai Coast flightseeing and bear-watching trip. However, we left later in the day than originally planned.

I suggest scheduling some “free days” throughout your Alaska vacation to ensure you maximize your trip and cross everything off your bucket lists.

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Alec Sills-Trausch | Wealth of Geeks

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.