Katmai National Park - 3 Tips to Help You Conquer The Grizzly Kingdom

“Cat-My? Err… what?!”

If this is your 400th stop on an endless journey through the depths of cyberspace to uncover the mysteries of Katmai National Park and Preserve and all that anyone has ever said about their experiences there in order to devise your own Katmai masterplan, then you are exhaustively educated on this magical place by now - much like I was by the time it come to stepping on that 1950s float plane destined for grizzly-dominated Alaskan wilderness. For those of you that aren’t familiar with this place, allow me to explain its wonders and potentially provide the spark that sends you down your very own cyber wormhole of Katmai information overload.

“a motherfu**in’ GRIZZLY standing on a motherfu**in’ WATERFALL, catching a motherfu**in’ salmon in MID-AIR!”

Now if you’re detecting a slightly exhausted vibe from this blog post so far then you may be on to something, but I’ll get to that in a sec. First, about that wormhole… if it wasn’t already clear from the bloody massive shot above of a huge grizzly about to absolutely munch that salmon in the face, Katmai is a mecca for general grizzly admirers, salmon-lovers and wildlife photographers alike. It is situated on the southern coast of Alaska and contains over 4 million acres of prime Alaskan wilderness filled with opportunities for world-class bear-viewing, salmon fishing, backcountry skiing, hiking, camping and kayaking, flightseeing, wildlife photography and more. Yes - 4 million of all of that cool shit! It’s outrageously big. That’s the equivalent of around 4 million football fields in which you could fit 72 million average sized homes or (because I know you’re wondering) 6,336,000,000 potatoes placed in a line one after another!

Goes without saying but I’m very glad it isn’t full of all of those things, It’s un-meddled with nature is what enticed my girlfriend and I to it and is what attracts around 30,000 other visitors per year. Those visitors mainly come to catch a glimpse of the estimated 2,200 brown bears that call the area home - the world’s largest protected brown bear population. Rarely disappointed, visitors have the chance to see large numbers of bears fishing around the famed Brooks Falls where the bears jostle for the best fishing spots during the height of the salmon run each year in the summer months. Up to 70 bears have been documented at the falls at one given time during July, the busiest period at the bears’ fav place for salmon buffet. Everyone has probably seen this epic spot at some point in one nature documentary or another, a place that is known the world over as a unique location in which humans can get just meters away from one of the coolest moments nature has to offer - a motherfu**in’ GRIZZLY standing on a motherfu**in’ WATERFALL, catching a motherfu**in’ salmon in MID-AIR! A moment so spectacular that only Sam L Jackson-esque quotes can do it justice.

“when you’re paying $$$$$ to visit a once-in-a-lifetime destination, you want to do it right.”

All of this excitement paired with the opportunities to see the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a huge volcanic expanse containing tonnes of volcanoes (7 currently active) birthed during one of the most significant volcanic events in modern times back in 1912, makes for an overwhelming amount of information to consider when planning a Katmai trip. That’s where this blog comes in and where that vibe you so accurately detected earlier returns to kill the mood. As with all bucket list trips, there is always a life-altering amount of admin that goes into planning that life-changing experience. This trip in particular had my girlfriend and I relentlessly flip-flopping between optimal travel dates in our heads, being torn between one blog poster’s opinion to another Trip Advisor reviewer’s completely contrasting recommendation. Don’t get the wrong idea, we are far from stringent in our organisation when we travel and like to leave a lot open to spontaneity but when you’re paying $$$$$ to visit a once-in-a-lifetime destination, you want to do it right. It is (mostly) recommended that visitors make the journey to the park in July when salmon and bear numbers are at their highest but we decided to visit in shoulder season at the end of August when salmon and bear numbers are dwindling - say what?!

So without further ado and at the risk of just further saturating the already noisy area of online ‘Katmai - time of year to visit’ discussions, I’m hoping I can provide some definitive proof as to why shoulder season can be just as rewarding as peak season so you don’t have to spend the week prior to your trip as an anxiety-ridden mess surveilling the YouTube ‘Brooks Falls Live Cam’ day and night for the slightest glimpse of a bear-less day on top of the falls or the sudden arrival of a rainstorm. Ultimately here are the three factors that I think you should consider if planning to visit and how our experience with each of them fared during shoulder season.

1. Salmon

Salmon is king in this part of the world and without sockeye salmon, Katmai would be a very different place. The salmon come to breed, the bears come for the salmon and the people come for the bears - so naturally this is a great place to start when planning your trip, chronologically speaking. The sockeye salmon run starts at the end of June and by the end of July, over A MILLION(!) salmon will have passed from saltwater into the nearby freshwater network of streams, rivers and lakes in order to spawn. Brooks Lodge, the main place to visit in the park, sees a large section of these salmon as they pass through on what has to be one of the world’s truly monumental journeys - an insanely epic battle to evade an onslaught of teeth, talons and beaks whilst persevering to overcome the elements to reach higher spawning grounds in calmer waters. Oh and did I mention that this is a one-way trip?! Salmon die shortly after reproducing meaning that they are destined for death from the outset of their mission, it is just a question of whether it’ll be on their own terms or as a result of running the grizzly gauntlet. In my eyes salmon are the unsung heroes of the natural world, throwing down Armageddon-style sacrifices on an annual basis and significantly contributing to the balance of their ecosystem in doing so. This contribution is so significant in fact that now salmon numbers are on the decline, the coastal ecosystem of Alaska is under serious threat, particularly the animals that rely on the salmon as a food source like the coastal brown bears. But hey, that’s a story for another time.

“…if like myself, you appreciate a horny red salmon but don’t necessarily need to see thousands in one day, then perhaps visiting at the end of Aug through till the middle/end of September is more for you.”

If these fish are your main concern and seeing them hurl themselves out of the water in mass numbers is detrimental to the success rating of your Katmai trip, then you’re 100% going to want to visit at the end of June through July when the majority of the salmon are turning all red and horny, ready to make some babies. However, if like myself, you appreciate a horny red salmon but don’t necessarily need to see thousands in one day, then perhaps visiting at the end of Aug through till the middle/end of September is more for you. Not only are there numerous benefits to this in regards to the 2 other factors below, but there is also plenty of opportunity to indulge in some top notch salmon viewing. This is where I want to emphasise that you really can over-think this. As a photographer, the success of my Katmai trip depended on getting that bucket-list shot. This was the cause of much anxiety leading into the trip given our decision to visit out of peak season as it was so hard to figure out if the salmon would still be propelling themselves up the falls or not. Most Katmai-heads online claimed that salmon and bears are seen almost exclusively in the lower river areas away from the falls during the transitional period from summer to autumn, and in much lower numbers. Due to this I had prepared myself for the worst, but what was I worried about?! Plenty of salmon action at the falls meant plenty of bear action too and there were multiple occasions each day where the two would come together for that ultimate gravity-defying and time-shrinking moment of predatory special-ness. Whilst we perhaps didn’t experience this phenomenon at ‘full flow’ in mid-summer where the bears barely get the chance to take a breath before being slapped in the face by another dozen leaping salmon, we did witness it 5-10 times per day which is pretty good going! Now I know things like this are never certain, especially considering the number of variables to consider, but trust me, Katmai lives up to the hype regardless of the time of season and plenty of salmon miss the memo and arrive to the waterfall party fashionably late. Plus the bears can’t help but check in on their fav waterfall perch throughout the day as their luck dwindles in other fishing spots lower down the river - so fear not! Save yourself the worry and be confident that the salmon and bears will put on a show, even in September.

2. Bears

There are huge benefits to paying the Katmai bears a visit during shoulder season, with huge being the suitable word to use. After a summer of binging on salmon, these bears are MAHOOSIVE, like proper mentally big - I’m talking King Kong levels of largeness. It really took my breath away watching one bear after another rock up to the falls, each one more impossibly stacked than the last. I actually felt genuine sympathy for some of the bears, watching them lug their fat arses around and more often than not plonking their butts down in the bubbly jacuzzis at the base of the falls with a look of shameful regret for their summer of over-indulgence. We’ve all been there before, that feeling of post-large Dominos all to yourself or post-Christmas dinner guilt where the only solution is to immediately collapse into the recovery position. Bears here weigh in at around 600-900 pounds and well over 1000 pounds at their peak plumpness just before hibernating, having been known to grow up to a gargantuan weight of around 1500 pounds! That’s the equivalent of a human weighing 107 stone (if you’re British) or one and a half whale testicles, for those of you that really just needed something you can visualise to truly grasp the scale. This body transformation has to be one of the most dramatic in the natural world and one that I’m sure gets even Christian Bale’s seal of approval. All of this grizzly fat-shaming aside, seeing these bears at the prime of their bulk is something I highly recommend so if visiting later in the season, you’re already on to a winner!

If you made the educated decision to visit the park in September after reading this guide (oh yes, it’s a guide), then not only are you sure to be surrounded by some of the largest grizzlies the world has to offer but you’re also going to be surrounded by very active ones. During September, the race is seriously on for the bears as they look to cram in every berry, every fish, every calorie in their sight before their long sleep through winter which means they are most active at this time and are endlessly stuffing their faces, increasing your chances of around the clock bear action. Not only that, but bear numbers in the area spike again during this time. After salmon numbers dip during August the majority of the bears retreat to areas away from the river but once the salmon have completed mission: spawn their sacrifice is complete, meaning lots of dying salmon and easy pickings for the bears as the all-you-can-eat buffet is back on and accelerating into happy hour.

But wait… there’s more! A huge bonus on top of all of this is that despite all of the bear activity, there won’t be an overwhelming amount of bears hanging out in the area, certainly not in the numbers experienced in July. Bear traffic jams are quite common during busy season which means park rangers will request that visitors wait for up to hours at a time to allow bears to clear off the trail before progressing to the falls or back to the lodge. Visiting at a quieter time of year meant less chance of this happening, and whilst still possible, we didn’t experience any delays which meant we were able to spend our time more productively.

3. People

Human beings are exceptional - their ability to communicate at such an advanced level, to create, to feel, to realise technological triumphs, to build, to sail, to drive, to fly, to even leave Earth - remarkable. Truly we are the world’s most intelligent and marvellous inhabitants. And it’s not that I don’t like… us, far from it, I’m definitely not saying that. It’s just that whilst humans do all of the mad shit above, you have to remember that it was also humans that did other mad shit like invent the selfie stick and elect the guy from The Apprentice as president. So I like my humans like I like my bears when I travel - in manageable numbers and at a comfortable distance. If, however, you’re more of a people person and not a pessimist filled with levels of grump that far exceed your years, then by all means don’t let me stop you. Go right ahead and book those peak season Katmai flights for July and have the time of your life, because you 100% will! You’ll just be getting very cosy with your fellow bear-watchers - the main viewing platform at the falls is understandably packed during the summer months and you’ll most likely be limited to 45 minute viewing periods throughout the day. In contrast to this during the time that we visited, a time limit was only enforced once during our entire stay and although still busy, the platforms were pretty spacious and relatively free of selfie stick warfare. I had plenty of room to shoot with two cameras and we even had the main platform to ourselves at some points, for hours at a time! There is a drawback to this however when you’re in a grizzlies back garden and that brings me to my next point.

Yes, shoulder season brings fewer crowds but I have to admit that there’s a lot of truth in the phrase ‘safety in numbers’. At this time of year you’ll be rejoicing not only at being the owner of a private viewing platform for hours on end but you’re also sure to find yourself jumping for joy at merely reaching the bear-proof gated section of the viewing platform with your heart still in your chest. Between the lodge and the main viewing areas you’re faced with a swift 20-30 minute walk through unfenced woods, even swifter if you’re scaredy cats like us. You’ll mostly be walking alone and you definitely hear tales of bears crossing the trail at multiple times throughout the day, the numerous signs of fresh bear scat and trodden bear paths a constant reminder of this as you make your way to the falls. There’s really nothing to do here but keep making noise and get from A to B swiftly but cautiously. The same can be said for the camping area. The image below is the low-trafficked path to the campsite from the main lodge that you’ll tackle on a daily basis. Playing chicken on a narrow 10-minute long grizzly motorway is also an activity sure to get the blood pumping. But fear not! The grizzlies here really are way more interested in the salmon than you and the park rangers do a great job of prepping you for potential close encounters so you can move with confidence. This is one of the most densely populated areas in the world for protected coastal brown bears and the fact that there are next to no fatal human-grizzly encounters speaks volumes to the way tourists are educated as they visit, even with a ban on bear spray! We didn’t bump into any bears unexpectedly during our trip and realised all of the worry was for nothing. All of this is just something to think about and embrace during the quieter time of year ;)

Bon Voyage!

So there you have it! Just my two cents about our time in Katmai and the factors that contributed to us getting all that we’d hoped for from the trip. There are obviously numerous other things to consider, two other areas I considered chewing your ears off about were money and weather, but in all honesty they seemed less important in the grand scheme of things (and by this point you’re sure to be sick of reading!) Weather - in shoulder season there’s more chance you’ll get wet, but hey, to enjoy a rainbow you’ve gotta put up with a bit of rain. Money - you’ll need lots of it regardless of when you visit, it’s just one of those things with once-in-a-lifetime trips like this. You’ll likely snag slightly cheaper flights and accommodation in shoulder season, as well as have less of a fight on your hands when trying to beat others to reserving tours etc. But even during the quieter time of year, and as money-conscious travellers, we still splurged an impressive $4000+ (CAD) each on our 10 days in Alaska, with Katmai accounting for a big chunk of that. Fortunately, a year on from the trip now and we are able to feed ourselves, but it was touch and go. Jokes aside, we spent a lot but we gained a lot. We journeyed into the final frontier, strapped inside a tin can from the 1950s, rubbed shoulders with grizzly giants and came away rich with Alaskan experiences.