A bear perched on a waterfall's edge, white water rushing around her steady paws as silvery salmon leap from the cascade below. Between the wildlife photography that comes from the area, popular webcams beaming bears to viewers around the world, and fan-favorite Fat Bear Week, you could argue that there is no more well known Alaskan scene than this: Brown bears fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.
But like all things Alaska, it takes a bit of planning, flexibility, and preparation to see this scene for yourself. Here's what you need to know.
Most Visitors Come to Brooks Falls on a Day Trip
There is a small lodge at Brooks Camp, but getting a room there is tougher than scoring tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. Rooms are reserved two years out via a very competitive lottery system. There is also a national park campground in the area. Reservations for these campsites typically open in January for that calendar year and are booked up almost immediately.
This leaves a day trip as the best way to see Brooks Falls. These tours run about 10-12 hours and include roundtrip transportation. Which brings us to...
You Have to Fly to Get to Brooks Falls
Katmai National Park and Brooks Falls are only accessible by boat or plane. Day trippers typically come from Anchorage via float plane. Brooks Lodge guests and tent campers will sometimes fly commercial from Anchorage to King Salmon and take a float plane from there. For flight times you can expect:
- Anchorage to Brooks Falls - ~2-3 hours
- Anchorage to King Salmon - ~1 hour
- King Salmon to Brooks Falls - ~20 minutes
As you can see, given how famous Brooks Falls is, it is quite remote. Make sure that you bring any medications that you may need in case there is a delay leaving. Other items to add to your day pack: A warm layer, rain jacket, water bottle, bug spray, camera. Be sure to wear comfortable outdoor clothes, preferably synthetic rather than cotton, and shoes you can walk in for a few miles.
At Brooks, Bears Come First
The very first thing you'll do when you land at Brooks Camp is go to Bear School. This consists of a short video and Q&A session with a park ranger laying out the rules for human behavior while you're in the park. Your personal safety is certainly a consideration, but these steadfast rules are primarily in place to minimize the impact people have on bears. The key takeaways:
- Absolutely no food leaves the immediate area around the ranger's office where you go to Bear School. There is a secure storage room where you can leave anything with a scent. This includes packaged foods, gum, mints, candy, fruit, soda, etc.
- There are covered picnic benches nearby where you can eat. But again. No food leaves the area.
- Bears always have the right of way. If you see a bear on a path, make noise and slowly move away. In some cases, that may mean moving off the path entirely. Never ever approach a bear.
- Close gates behind you. This is a national park, not a zoo, so bears roam pretty much anywhere. That said, keep gates closed on raised boardwalks to minimize the chance of a "bear jam" in these higher traffic walking areas.
You’ll Likely See Bears in Many Other Places Besides the Falls
The beach along Naknek Lake where you fly in, the forest around the visitor center, the lower river. Bears move through all these areas. Keep an eye out from the moment you arrive!
It’s Just Over a Mile Walk to Brooks Falls
Leaving the visitor center area (where you'll store all your food and smelly items), you'll pass through the Brooks Lodge area and then onto the Boardwalk Trail. This long, raised boardwalk crosses the lower Brooks River and is a prime spot to see bears swimming, fishing, or snoozing on a riverbank. Keep an ear out, too, sometimes you'll hear them before you see them.
From here you'll continue onto a gravel road that connects with the Brooks Falls Trail. The trail eventually climbs up to another raised boardwalk with a branch off to the Riffles Platform before ending at the Falls Platform. The walk is mainly flat.
You'll likely make a few trips back and forth from the Falls Platform. On a recent day trip, we set out for the platforms straight after Bear School. After about an hour we walked back to the visitor center area to have lunch, then set out again for another hour before taking our time walking back to catch our flight.
Lots of Salmon = Lots of Bears = Lots of People Sometimes
What makes Brooks Falls such a unique experience is that brown bears, who are naturally solitary creatures, are rarely ever seen in these numbers in such close proximity. They tolerate each other because of the abundance of salmon moving through the Brooks River. The salmon run typically peaks in July. So do the number of bears in the area. And also the number of day trippers. It can get busy.
Granted, we're talking busy by Alaska standards. But still, park rangers will sometimes institute a wait list and cycle visitors through the Falls Platform every 30 minutes to control capacity.
If You Really Want to Go to Brooks Falls, Flexibility is Key
As with many things in Alaska, weather delays happen. Embrace an easygoing attitude on the day of your tour. It's also good to build flexibility in your overall itinerary. In case of cancellation, some wiggle room in your travel plans will make it easier to fit in a rescheduled day trip. And speaking of travel plans...
Reserve Your Spot on a Brooks Fall Day Tour Early
Day tours to Brooks Falls run primarily through the month of July. Most day tour companies don't book out over a year in advance, so you'll need to keep an eye on when they open reservations and make plans soon after. Would you like some help coordinating a Brooks Falls bear viewing tour as part of a full Alaska trip? We can help! We open reservations for the following year starting in early October of the year prior (i.e. we open 2025 reservations in October 2024), so we can get your Brooks tour reserved early and coordinate the rest of your itinerary around it. Easy travel planning for the trip of a lifetime!
And if you're not able to travel in July, no worries. There are many other ways to go bear viewing in Alaska. Check out our bear viewing timeline and additional tour options.
At Alaska Tour & Travel, we specialize in building custom trips for every timeline, personality, and budget. If you'd like to have an Alaskan plan your Alaska trip, give us a call at 800-208-0200.
Posted in: Active Adventures, Alaska Parks, Best Things to Do, Local Advice