Days 10 & 11: King Salmon / Katmai National Park—Brooks Falls

Fly southwest to King Salmon this morning, then by floatplane to Katmai National Park and world-renowned Brooks Falls, one of the best places to view giant Alaskan brown bears in their natural habitat. Katmai is home to the world’s largest population of these enormous coastal grizzlies, with some 2,200 individuals inside the park. As many bear populations around the world decline, Katmai's 4 million acres of wilderness provides some of the last pristine habitat for these magnificent carnivores.

Within Katmai's protected bounds, scientists study bears in their natural environs, visitors have unparalleled viewing opportunities, and the bears live largely undisturbed. Nurturing this delicate relationship between people and bears is the key to Katmai's success, making it the world's preeminent place to observe brown bears in the wild. From the safety of platforms built over Brooks Falls, we get a close look at one of the world's most iconic wildlife spectacles, which few visitors to Alaska have the privilege to witness: at close range, watch bears stand in the rushing whitewater, jaws gaping, trying to catch the salmon that leap up the falls once spawning season starts. Our June and July departures will have a good chance to see fishing bears, since this is when the salmon are running, but viewing is excellent in August and September, too, with even more bears in the vicinity, wandering up and down the Brooks River. During each full day with the bears, we break to have lunch at world-famous Brooks Lodge, an easy walk from the falls.

Accommodation: Alaska's Gold Creek Lodge or Brooks Lodge

Day 12: Katmai / King Salmon / Anchorage

After a last round of bear viewing in Katmai, fly back to King Salmon, then on to Anchorage, where our Expedition Leader hosts a farewell dinner to celebrate our Alaskan adventures.

Accommodation: Hilton Anchorage

Day 13: Anchorage / Depart

Our Alaska wildlife safari comes to a close today as we transfer to the airport for homeward flights, or ongoing travel for those who have booked extensions.

Important Note on Bear Viewing: Bears are attracted to the Brooks River at multiple times during the summer, and their precise location varies depending on seasonal elements including weather and fish movements. More intimate experiences with bears (due to fewer tourists) tend to happen in late August and September (versus late June and July), when bears are found throughout the area rather than primarily fishing atop the falls.

Important Note on Katmai Accommodations: Depending on your departure date, you will overnight on Days 10 and 11 at either Alaska's Gold Creek Lodge or Brooks Lodge. Brooks Lodge is a more rustic accommodation located inside the park, within walking distance of the viewing platforms over the falls, and offering round-the-clock proximity to the bears. Alaska's Gold Creek Lodge is a deluxe fly-in wilderness lodge near King Salmon, from which we make a scenic round-trip floatplane ride (20 minutes one way) to reach Brooks Falls. Talk with your Travel Curator for more details about these two very different accommodation options, each with their own unique advantages.

Activity Level: Moderate. The activities on this Alaska wildlife adventure are diverse, requiring general mobility and fitness. The longest required walk is one mile one-way over a relatively flat wooden boardwalk to reach the Brooks Falls viewing platform from the main lodge in Katmai National Park, where we observe the brown bears. Trail surfaces for our various walks vary from pavement to uneven natural terrain. While all travelers must be able to walk at least two miles without assistance, some longer hikes are available for those who desire. Travelers may have the opportunity to participate in optional kayaking, on Fox Island, weather permitting. Though no prior kayaking experience is required, general fitness and mobility, including the ability to get into and out of a kayak, are essential. We stress that travelers are not required to participate in every activity, but all participants must be generally physically fit and have the ability to walk two miles unassisted.

Important Information About This Trip: This trip ventures far afield from the typical Alaska tour circuit where large motorcoaches move long lines of cruise clients to crowded destinations. A few details you should be aware of: The day we transit from the remote heart of Denali National Park to Talkeetna is a long one (10 hours), but it includes magnificent scenery the entire way, and we travel by both small bus and train. Solar power is available during daytime hours at Kenai Wilderness Lodge. All Ultimate Alaska trips begin in Fairbanks at 4pm and end in Anchorage. You can depart any time from anchorage on Day 13.

Bears: A prime focus of this Alaska adventure is bears, which, naturally, should be treated with caution. At Brooks Falls, thousands of visitors have traveled here to view bears over the past 50+ years and, to our knowledge, there has never been a bear attack. But we never know exactly what bears are thinking, so we ask our travelers to consider this and pay close attention to the rules set forth by the park rangers.