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Top Attractions in Katmai National Park and Preserve

Brooks Camp

Brooks Camp is a visitor attraction and archeological site in Katmai National Park and Preserve, noted for its opportunities for visitors to observe Alaskan brown bears catching fish in the falls of the Brooks River during salmon spawning season. The Brooks River connects Lake Brooks and Naknek Lake over about 2 kilometres . This natural choke point for salmon runs made it an attractive location for prehistoric Alaskans, who occupied the area from 4500 BP. The Aglegmut Eskimo people lived along the Brooks River in historical times. The Brooks River Archeological District, which includes Brooks Camp, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Five thousand years before present the level of Naknek Lake was significantly higher, and Lake Brooks was part of Naknek. As the Naknek River cut through glacial moraines, the level of Naknek Lake fell, creating Lake Brooks and the Brooks River. Permanent habitation was established along the river about 4000 years ago. The area was inhabited when the first Russian explorers reached what is now Brooks Camp in the 18th century. The National Park Service operates a seasonal visitor center at Brooks Camp, with an exhibit of a reconstructed native house built in 1967-68 in the footprint of a documented house site. Visitors arrive at the Lake Brooks Seaplane Base via floatplane. The camp was developed in 1950 by Northern Consolidated Airlines, a National Park Service concessioner who operated a chain of camps in Katmai, served by float planes. Brooks Lodge continues to operate as a concession within the park. Bear viewing season peaks in July, when the salmon are migrating, and in September, when the salmon are dying after spawning and are washing downstream. Peak visitor season is in July.

Brooks Falls

Brooks Falls is a waterfall located within Katmai National Park and Preserve. Located on the Brooks River a mile and a half from Brooks Lake and an equal distance from Naknek Lake, the falls are famous for watching salmon leap over the 6 foot falls to get to their Brooks Lake spawning grounds. Consequently, large populations of brown bears are attracted as a result, to feed on the spawning salmon. Brown bears usually congregate at the falls in July and early September, and many well-known photos of bears have been taken there. Bears in July are the greatest concentrations seen at any year at the falls; up to 25 bears have been seen at one time at Brooks Falls in that month. In September, a smaller number of bears can be seen at the falls to feast on the later salmon runs. July and September are by far the best months for viewing Grizzly Bears in the Brooks Camp area. Before the 1950s, when Brooks Camp was opened, there were fewer bears at the falls than there are today, and no more than 6-7 bears could be observed at one time. Now, with hunting banned and viewing controlled, bear numbers have boomed to quadruple their former number. In the early days, since hunting was allowed, bear numbers were lower and salmon and sport fishing was the primary attraction to the falls. The sites archaeological human remnants date back some 9,000 years, some of the oldest human remains in North America. Since the site is not far from the Bering Land Bridge, it is quite possible that some of the first humans from Russia made villages here. Native Americans still continue to harvest food caches and live their own ways of life at a site not far from the falls known as the Old Savonoski Site. Despite all the old artifacts near the falls, most attention continues to focus on the bears and salmon; it is regular to find up to ten bears at the falls at one time. As many as 43 bears have been sighted at the falls in a single day.

Naknek Lake

Naknek Lake is a lake in southern Alaska, near the base of the Alaska Peninsula. Located in Katmai National Park and Preserve, the lake is 64 km long and 5–13 km wide, the largest lake in the park The lake drains west into Bristol Bay through the Naknek River. The elevation of the lake has lowered over the past 5,000 years as it has cut through a glacial moraine, separating Naknek Lake and Brooks Lake and creating Brooks Falls about 3500 years ago. The earliest Russian explorer reported the lakes name as Naknek, but a later one said its name was "Akulogak". Ivan Petrof named the lake Lake Walker, for Francis Amasa Walker, Superintendent of the 1880 United States census. The lake is famous for its sport fishing, supporting one of the largest king salmon fisheries in southwestern Alaska, though the king salmon are greatly outnumbered by sockeye salmon as well as pink and chum salmon. Large rainbow trout are also common around the lake, along with northern pike, lake trout and Arctic char. Brooks Camp is located on the lakes shore where the Brooks River enters the lake over rapids.

Mount Griggs

Mount Griggs, formerly known as Knife Peak Volcano, is a stratovolcano, which lies 10 km behind the volcanic arc defined by other Katmai group volcanoes. Although no historic eruptions have been reported from Mount Griggs, vigorously active fumaroles persist in a summit crater and along the upper southwest flank. The fumaroles on the southwest flank are the hottest, and some of the flank fumaroles can roar so loudly that they can be heard from the valley floor. The slopes of Mount Griggs are heavily mantled by fallout from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta volcano. The mountain was named for Dr. Robert Fiske Griggs, botanist, whose explorations of the area, after the eruption of Mount Katmai in 1912, led to the creation of Katmai National Monument by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918.

Amalik Bay Archeological District

The Amalik Bay Archeological District is a geographic area with a significant number of archaeological sites in Alaska. It is located on the Pacific coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve, in the mainland portion of Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. The most important site in the bay is on Mink Island, which contains evidence of human habitation from 7,300 to 500 years ago, and is one of the oldest known places of human habitation on the Alaska Peninsula. The site is located on the shore of the island and is subject to erosive tides; the National Park Service has installed a revetment to protect the site. The site has extremely well-preserved stratigraphy showing occupation sites and dietary evidence. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Hallo Bay

Hallo Bay is a sandy bay located beneath the peaks of the Aleutian Range within Katmai National Park. The bay is famous for its bear viewing, since large numbers of grizzly bears are attracted to feast on the rich sedges along the tidal flats of the bay. Sometimes they are also observed digging up clams in the mud, and fishing for salmon peaks in July. The food in the bay is so abundant that at times as many as five to six large bears can be seen at one time feeding on sedges, salmon or clams. The bears are usually timid around humans but have learned to trust them over the years due to decades of no hunting and the gentle nature of visitors. However, an incident for getting too close to a bear in 2003 cost bear expert Timothy Treadwell his life, not far from Hallo Bay. Visitors to the bay must know that the only places to stay aside from tents are several small cabins and an eating area, called the Hallo Bay Camp. Peak viewing season is July, visiting directions are at Hallobay.com

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is a valley within Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska which is filled with ash flow from the eruption of Novarupta on June 6–8, 1912. Following the eruption, thousands of fumaroles vented steam from the ash. Robert F. Griggs, who explored the volcano's aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916, gave the valley its name, saying that "the whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands—literally, tens of thousands—of smokes curling up from its fissured floor." The 1912 eruption was the largest eruption by volume in the 20th century, erupting about 13 cubic kilometers of material. Novarupta generated as many as 14 major earthquakes with magnitudes between M6 and M7, a level of energy release virtually unprecedented during volcanic eruptions in modern memory, and over 100 earthquakes greater than M5. Following the eruption, the summit of Mount Katmai subsided about 1,200 meters , forming the central caldera. Katmai is a stratovolcano, formed from alternating layers of lava flows and pyroclastic rocks. The presence of pyroclastic materials indicates that some Katmai eruptions have been explosive. The subsidence of the summit to form the central caldera and the extraordinarily energetic earthquakes accompanying the 1912 eruption are evidence of this. The ash-filled valley covers a 40-square-mile area and is up to 700 feet deep. In places deep canyons have been cut by the River Lethe, allowing observers to see the ash flow strata. Since the ash has cooled, most of the fumaroles are now extinct and despite its name the valley is no longer filled with smoke. The signs of volcanic activity are still visible on nearby hills. Katmai's most recent eruption was in 1927, but there have been non-eruptive events as recent as 2003. The Alaska Volcano Observatory still monitors Katmai's activity as part of the Katmai Cluster, where there are 5 active stratovolcanos within 15 kilometers of Katmai. Visitors to the valley most commonly arrive via bus along the 20-mile road from Brooks Camp, which is the only road in Katmai Park. The valley is a source of creative exploration by photographers and naturalists.

Kukaklek Lake

Kukaklek Lake is a lake in southern Alaska, near the base of the Alaska Peninsula. Located in Katmai National Park and Preserve, the lake is 46,080 acres in area and is the source for the Alagnak River, a designated Wild River. Notable for its excellent sport fishing, it is rated as one of the top wilderness destinations in Alaska. Wildlife in the area is typical of the Alaskan Peninsula, with grizzly bears, moose, gray wolf, and caribou frequently seen around the lakes shores. Grizzly bears in particular are frequently seen around the lake during the salmon run. The lake has recently been the source for a controversial grizzly bear hunt in Katmai Preserve. On September 20, 2007, near the end of the controversial 2007 bear hunt, an overloaded Helio Courier suffered a wing failure and crashed, killing all four men aboard. A similar incident without loss of life occurred in 2010, with a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver.

Katmai Wilderness

The Katmai Wilderness is a wilderness area in Alaska, United States. It is part of the Katmai National Park and Preserve. Today 15 active volcanoes line Shelikof Strait, which separates Katmai National Park and Preserve from Kodiak Island. Katmai protects this volcanic "laboratory" and, equally important, large numbers of brown bears. from shore and don't grow to be as huge, due to a more limited diet.) salmon spawn in Katmai in vast numbers, attracting the bears. Here you'll find huge lakes whose edges provide nesting spots for swans, ducks, loons, and grebes. The area is shared by moose and caribou and numerous smaller mammals. A campground exists inside the park, and preregistration is required. The campground has water, pit toilets, food-storage caches, fire pits (but firewood is limited), and picnic tables. Meals are available at nearby Brooks Lodge. Most of Katmai National Park has been designated Wilderness, and very little of it is ever seen by human eyes. It is the fifth-largest designated wilderness area in the United States, following the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness, the Mollie Beattie Wilderness, the Gates of the Arctic Wilderness, and the Noatak Wilderness. All are in the state of Alaska.

Savonoski River Archeological District

The Savonoski River Archeological District encompasses a complex of prehistoric and historic archaeological sites on the Savonoski River near the mouth of the Grosvenor River in Katmai National Park and Preserve, located on the Alaska Peninsula of southwestern Alaska. At least two sites, designated 49-MK-3 and 49-MK-4 by state archaeologists, were identified when the site was listed in 1978. In 2003, the district was enlarge to include a third site, XMK-53. This area is believed to be the site of one of a group of Native Alaskan settlements referred to in Russian records as "Severnovsk". Excavations of a known prehistoric site in 1964 uncovered additional evidence of a post-contact settlement. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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