brooks falls

When the Sockeye Salmon are jumping up the falls, the bears are all over. The lookout tour is a great place to get some killer pictures!

We did a day trip here from Anchorage via Katmailand. It was a lot of travel (and money!) for only ~5 or so hours of bear viewing but I still have to say it was worth it. We went mid July and it had started to quiet down in terms of how many bears but we saw lots of the same ones. There were anywhere from 0-3 bears at the upper falls and usually 2-4 bears at the lower falls. The upper falls had the more dominant larger bears that stood quite still, occasionally lounging to catch its salmon. The lower falls had the younger and/or smaller bears who were more lively and entertaining to watch! Especially the young bears who would chase after the salmon. However, with the bears often by the bridge at the lower falls, which you must cross to get back to the main area for departure, you must get back early as the bridge is closed when bears are within 50 ft. Really amazing experience.

Visited katmai np / brooks falls through brooks resort day trip from anchorage. It consists of taking a pen air flight to king salmon, and then a float plane to the park. The float plane was small and cramped, but it is only a one hour flight. I went in early July, not during the peak of the salmon run, but there were 5 bears fishing, including one with a cub sitting on a railing. Try to get an early flight out of anchorage so you can beat the waiting time. There is limited space on the viewing platforms, so they limit you to 40 minutes at a time. If you beat the rest of the visitors there you will not have to wait. I think I had a 6 am flight, and did not have to wait, but I was one of the last lucky ones. There are a couple of other platforms besides the falls, and you can stay on those as long as you like. Plenty of bears to see from those platforms as well during my visit. The park service also offers a cultural tour to see some native dwelling areas including a recreated long house, which was interesting. The one thing I was leery of was that brooks resort's web site said there was no refunds in case flights had to be canceled due to weather. If I had to do it over again, I would probably try camping there, that way there would be plenty of time to watch the bears because the day trip flights all leave by around 5 pm.

You may see the amount of bears others have reported, you may see only half that. Honestly you need to go regardless. I went in July when in previous years it was prime time to view bears. When we arrived, we learned the salmon had peaked a week earlier. Although some of the photographers were a bit disappointed, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It started with a spectacular float plane with Katmailand from King Salmon out to Brooks Camp. Landing not far from the beach was a thrill in itself as we taxied in over incredible blue waters. The Rangers are well-informed and displayed confidence in their knowledge and skills. A food cache and storage area is conveniently located next to the bathroom near the beach.Even though I had spent 6 years working in Denali National Park, I am still respectful and leery of bears. I have never felt so comfortable in bear territory. It's an amazing opportunity to witness bears feeding, and going about their business as if you are only a visitor. If you have your doubts, know that you are not alone, and you will get educated and be in good company with other visitors. Let that not deter you from an opportunity to see these bears.

Yes it's expensive to go but there is simply no other place like this anywhere. Save up and go, you won't regret it. We came in Sept. and there was only 1 bear at the falls, several more down by the lake. It was a simply stunning and perfect day.

Actually we were there in mid July and the salmon were running--and there were SO MANY BEARS everywhere catching and eating salmon. The "date of visit pull down" on this site only goes back to October 2013...so that's what it says up above. I never saw anything like this national park, and probably never will again. As soon as our float plane landed we were whisked off to"bear school," so we would know how to deal with and avoid confrontations with all the bears. We saw several moms with cubs. The place is run so well, you never feel scared if you do as you're told. We went to Brooks Falls several times in the 4 days we camped at Katmai. We saw amazing "bear footage". Once a big grizzly bear bit another bear who had dared to infringe on his spot under the falls. We saw a mother bear nursing her QUADS--yes 4 babies. We were so close to her on the viewing platform, I counted her nipples as she lay on her back to nurse. It was a totally amazing sight. LOVED it...it deserves more than 5 stars, but that's the most I can put!

Save and easy bear watching from platform. Short walk from lodge through the woods. Dont forget to call out"hello bear". ;)

I can't even explain the majesty of Brooks Falls. Watching sockeye swim upstream to spawn, bears fishing, bears fighting, bear fights! This is one of the best adventures I have ever done. My husband and I did a day trip on Katmailand air and think it was worth every penny!!

Recently visited Brooks Falls to see the bears fishing at the falls. Unfortunately the salmon arrived early this season and we only caught the tail end of the bears. Still we had a marvelous time,we saw several bears one with her cub and a couple of youngsters frolicking around. The scenery is magnificent and the trip out to Brooks Lodge via seaplane is great. Brooks lodge accommodation is very expensive and basic but the experience is well worth the cost. All staff are very friendly and accommodating. There is also a camping area, where you can hire camping equipment. Lots of walking and hiking trails for those enthusiasts. Unforgettable experience.

I went on this bearviewing trip with my 18 y old son. We had the time of our life.We flew in with Bald Mountain Air from Homer, a 1,5 hour flight by floatplane. You have great views of Katchemak Bay, Mt Augustine and other volcanoes, the mountains and glaciers of Katmai NP.We were packed with lunch, water, binoculars, photo material and extra memory cardsAfter arriving at Brooks Camp our pilot advised us to have our lunch during the bear talk of the rangers (so we did not waste any of the precious time) You can also have lunch at the picnic area but then you have less time to watch the bears.Immediately after the briefing we stored our food in a safe room and headed out to the viewing platforms at Brooks Falls. The only food item you are allowed to take with you is water. So no candy, soda's, sandwiches, chewing gum, ...We put our names on the list for the upper platform and then went to the lower platform to spend some time before it was our turn to go to the other platform.When it is your time a ranger comes looking for you here (good system, you don't waste your time, they look at their watch for you)Our time on the upper platform also was awesome. When your turn is over, a ranger comes to call you. We went back to the lower platform.In total we saw 10 bears at the falls and 5 on the beach and path.The weather on the day we went was sunny (we had to use our sunscreen). Just to be sure we packed rain gear, sunscreen and bug repellant before heading out of Homer.Brooks Falls is an amazing spot to watch bears when salmon run is going on.(mid July is a good time)We had an incredible day!

We booked the one day tour through Brooks Lodge. Took early-morning commercial flight from Anchorage to King Salmon, then connected with a 20 minute scenic floatplane service to Brooks Lodge. Upon arrival we attended a short mandatory Bear Safety Orientation presented by the rangers, and then we headed out to Brooks Falls. We were a week past peak trout season, but still got plenty of bear activity to observe. We were glad to not be stuck with a tour guide and were free to balance between seeing bears, walking the trails, and relaxing by the lake (with even some pebble skipping time). There was always a ranger at every turn who was friendly and helpful in explaining anything. NOTE: I strongly recommend traveling light and not bringing food or excessive baggage because you will have to lock it up in a bear-proof facility by the entrance. It’s worth traveling light and paying the $26 for the buffet lunch, which although not cheap was good and fulfilling. A summary of our day can be seen at http://youtu.be/e8-qNnkyB0g

I Visited on August 20 2014. The plane flight up gives you an amazing view... the seaplane ride is amazing. It was a beautiful sunny day. Location is amazing. Just have a few issues with the folks running the bookings.Was told over the phone "it's a bit quieter at this time of year. you won't see as much as you would in a month's time. It'll be better if you could wait a while". I was only in town for a couple of days.... so after calling back and being told Bears were still being seen in the area.. I went ahead.I realise nature is nature and all that... but I REALLY wish I had asked much more specific follow up questions about the likelihood of seeing bears because......When I arrive the Orientation Ranger says "we have 57 Bears who live in the area... at the moment we think 3 are in the vicinity." So basically.... 95 percent of the Bears you are paying a LOT of money to see are not even at the location... so you obviously have no chance of seeing them.They really should be very specific about this on the phone. Next Ranger says "most of the bears leave the area at this time of the year and are about 6 miles away. They'll be back in September though. You'll be able to log onto the webcam when they are feeding on the salmon... and tell people you've been here..."After paying around 700 dollars to make the day visit ... this is not really of much use to me since I live in Australia.I was also told I could catch a boat to another spot where there "is more Bear activity"... for another 200 dollars.And to cap it all off... the site was also under construction... and there were huge 10 wheel trucks moving large amounts of earth backwards and forwards all day up and down one of the 3 main trails you are supposed to use to go and try and find the Bears. This was not mentioned at all on the phone either.I am not an expert..... but I am guessing huge loud trucks going up and down the road every 30 minutes doesn't help an already difficult cause of finding Bears in their "natural" environment.So in my mind... if you know 54 of the 57 Bears are not even there... and there is very loud construction taking place all day... it's not really that cool to even be open for business charging people a lot of money to do a day trip to specifically go and see the Bears. Tell people they are more than welcome to come and camp at a beautiful location, enjoy the amazing 18 hours of sun and the serenity, fishing, hiking etc... but be very upfront about the fact you have a 5 percent or less chance of seeing a Bear.I am sure it is spectacular when all 57 residents are in the area. This is just not in AugustSo my count for the day was Bears 1... Giant Trucks 15.

A two hour flight out of Anchorage with Regal Air and then 20 minutes on a seaplane gives one an idea of how isolated this place is.Yes the number of bears depends on the amount of fish and the travel companies can't be held responsible for that. So you pay your money and takes your chance. On our trip we spent almost an hour waiting on the trail for two bears to move off so that we could cross the first bridge only to be stopped further up by a couple (of bears!) courting on the path! When we eventually got to the viewing platform the bears were literally only a few feet away and to see they dynamics of how their hierarchy worked was incredible.If we ever manage to save enough to go again we'd stay in the lodge so that we could spend longer here.As a final comment do they really need to allow fishing so close to this location isn't Alaska big enough for them already ?

Treated ourselves to a day at Katmai National Park and Brooks Lodge to see the bears fishing for salmon. Our day began early with a flight our of Anchorage on a small plane. The views of the surrounding Alaska Range were almost woth the price. We landed at a small airstrip on a lake and transferred to a float plain for the final leg to Brooks Lodge, We landed on Lake Nanaskna (sp) and sighted our first bear walking along the beach. After bear school we headed out to bear sighting areas. All I can say is there were bears, bears, bears, jumping salmon and just a perfect day watching bears fishing and interacting with each other. We had a bear at the lodge before flying out and arrived in Anchorage over 12 hours after leaving. It was a wonderful day and worth every penny.

The experience of being dangerously close to the earths second largest terrestrial carnivore.... We walked many trails ..saw brown bears every where we went... the weather is warm in the day in August and pleasantly cool at night...you share a lodge for meals and you just can't help swapping stories and sharing photos with your neighbors...