One Week Itinerary: Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks

Itinerary: Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks

Lake Clark and Katmai National Park are two of Alaska’s most remote national parks with stunning scenery and incredible wildlife viewing opportunities. No roadways lead to either of these parks, which means you have to take small aircraft, such as floatplanes, to reach this wilderness, which adds to the excitement of visiting these parks. In this guide, we break down how to plan a trip to both Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks.

About This Trip

We had plans to visit Katmai National Park staying at the coveted Brooks Lodge and built our entire Alaska trip around those particular dates.

Because of the close proximity of Lake Clark to Katmai it made logistical sense to visit Lake Clark before our trip to Katmai. We also knew we would arrive into and depart out of the Anchorage Airport to enter Alaska and planned a day for travel on either end of the trips to and from the national parks.

Here is what we did:

We flew into Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (airport code: ANC) and planned a one night stay at the Anchorage Marriott.
The next day we traveled out of Anchorage’s Merrill Field, a smaller airport that services the remote Alaskan destinations with small aircraft. Our flight on Lake Clark Air departed from Merrill Field en route to Lake Clark Resort.
We spent two nights at Lake Clark Resort in Lake Clark National Park.
Lake Clark Resort once again provided our transportation to Brooks Lodge in Katmai National Park via a float plane.
We spent three nights at Brooks Lodge in Katmai National Park.
When departing Katmai, we took Katmai Air from Brooks Lodge to King Salmon, Alaska on a float plane that held six of us and our luggage.
From King Salmon we boarded an Alaska Air flight back to Anchorage.
We spent two nights back in Anchorage.

Here are the details as to what flights we booked throughout our time in Alaska:

Delta Airlines to and from Anchorage (airport code: ANC) to get to Alaska.

Lake Clark Air, booked through Lake Clark Resort. We had our stay booked with them and reached out to book our transportation from Anchorage to Lake Clark and again from Lake Clark to Katmai. They handled all the details and the planes were always ready for us!

When departing Brooks Lodge in Katmai, we took Katmai Air to King Salmon, Alaska. This was a float plane, as only float planes come and go from Brooks Lodge in Katmai. The float plane departed Naknek Lake right outside Brooks Lodge and was a quick 25 minute ride to King Salmon, landing again in Naknek.

Our last domestic flight in Alaska was a one-way from King Salmon (airport code: AKN) to Anchorage (airport code: ANC) booked on Alaska Air.

Both Lake Clark Resort in Lake Clark National Park and Brooks Lodge in Katmai National Park make planning these interior flights easy. Reach out to them and they can help guide you!

Lake Clark National Park

Lake Clark National Park is one of the most remote national parks in the U.S. National Park system. The park protects the deepest lake in Alaska, Lake Clark, as it is the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The area also has cultural significance to the Dena’ina people, as it is their ancestral homeland. Lake Clark is an area of rugged beauty in southwestern Alaska.

Upper Twin lake | Lake Clark National Park

Lake Clark is the deepest lake in Alaska, measuring approximately 1,000 feet deep. It is 42 miles long and surrounded by beautiful mountains and valleys. It is a stunning expanse of land and a great portrayal of wild Alaska.

LAKE CLARK NATIONAL PARK FACTS

Lake Clark is the deepest lake in Alaska

LOCATION: Alaska
CLOSEST CITY: Anchorage, AK (120 air miles)
ANNUAL VISITORS: 18,500
60th most visited national park (out of 63)
BECAME A NATIONAL PARK: 1980
TOP THINGS TO SEE & DO: Kayak Lake Clark and visit the Historic Proenneke Cabin

Two Days in Lake Clark National Park

Day 1 – Lake Clark Arrival | Visitor Center | Kayaking

We arrived via small plane, landing on the gravel runway next to the vast Lake Clark and were so excited to explore this remote national park! As we exited the plane our luggage was offloaded onto a four-wheeler driven cart and brought to the resort.

We checked in to our room at Lake Clark Resort, which is in the town of Port Alsworth. Port Alsworth has 170 full time residents and is not really a town but a settlement. It was so exciting to be here!

Lake Clark National Park Visitor Center

After settling in to our room, we set out to explore. Lake Clark Resort is located close to one of the Lake Clark National Park’s Visitor Centers. To get here, we walked along a gravel road from the resort, crossing the two gravel runways.

One of two gravel runways you need to cross to get to the Lake Clark Visitor Center from Lake Clark Resort

We then took a right and followed the runways until we came upon the Lake Clark National Park sign.

The first national park sign, across from the two runways

Keep going, you are almost to the visitor center. You then will come across another sign guiding you down a short path to the visitors center. It is a small visitor center but with plenty of information and artifacts.

The Lake Clark Visitor Center with another national park sign

We checked out the displays and maps and enjoyed the outdoor displays as well.

The outdoor displays at the Lake Clark National Park Visitor Center

The outdoor displays are always available for viewing in case you reach the visitors center when it is closed.

Kayaking on Lake Clark

Lake Clark Resort provides guests with free kayaks for use during their stay. We had a great time kayaking Lake Clark in the afternoon.

Our kayaks

We paddled all around Hardenberg Bay, where Lake Clark Resort sits, and out to Lake Clark. In Lake Clark, we kayaked around the island that sits just outside of Hardenberg Bay.

Kayaking in Lake Clark

The turquoise blue water is so clear and we could see many feet below. It was an overcast day with on-and-off drizzle, but with waders and rain jackets on we were dry and found the weather peaceful for kayaking. Kayaking Alaska’s deepest lake and national park namesake was a fantastic experience.

Dinner is provided every evening in the main lodge of Lake Clark Resort. The meals were all fantastic! All the produce is grown on site in the large greenhouse. Lake Clark Resort used to be called The Farm Lodge, due to the on-site farm/garden. We enjoyed our dinners while chatting with other guests in the beautiful main building.

Day 2 – Day Trip to Twin Lakes & the Historic Pronneke Cabin

While in Lark Clark National Park, we had a planned day trip to visit the Twin Lakes area of Lake Clark. These two glacial lakes, Upper and Lower Twin Lakes, are gorgeous with their bright turquoise blue water and pine forests lining the rocky coast. One of the best things to do in this beautiful area is to visit Dick Proenneke’s cabin which sits on Upper Twin Lake.

About The Historic Proenneke Cabin

In the spring of 1960, Dick Proenneke began building a small cabin on Upper Twin Lake in the area now known as Lake Clark National Park. He documented his first year here in a journal complete with photos of himself building the cabin in various stages. Dick also built a shed with an attached outhouse as well as a tall cache for storing food. Built completely with hand tools, many of which Dick himself created, the cabin exemplifies his incredible craftsmanship and desire for wilderness preservation. His grit and fortitude to build this peaceful place to reside in solitude is very inspiring!

The historic Proenneke cabin | Lake Clark National Park

When Dick was in his 80s, he finally left his cabin after living here for 30 years to live in California with his brother. He donated his cabin and most of his belongings to Lake Clark National Park. The cabin has been maintained by the national park service ever since.

Both Mike and I read the book based on Dick’s journals, “One Man’s Wilderness”, and have also watched the documentary based on Dick’s time here. Visiting his cabin was the top of our list of things to do in Lake Clark National Park!

How to get to the Proenneke Cabin

The only way to arrive to this remote part of Alaska is via float plane that lands on Upper Twin Lake, the location of Dick’s cabin.

Our float plane parked just feet from Dick’s Cabin | Lake Clark National Park

Lake Clark Resort offers a variety of day trips in the area, including one to the historic Proenneke cabin. Booking this day trip through the resort was seamless. They provided the plane and pilot, a sack lunch, and brought us to this remote location within Lake Clark National Park for an epic day trip!

Read our in-depth article on visiting the historic Proenneke Cabin:

Lake Clark National Park: A Day Trip to the Proenneke Cabin

After two days at Lake Clark Resort in Lake Clark National Park it was time to head down to Katmai, where the bears were waiting!

Katmai National Park

Katmai National Park and Preserve is located in southwestern Alaska. It encompasses a vast swath of land including the area from the 1912 volcanic eruption, now known as the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. This volcanic region sits within the Pacific Ring of Fire and is one of the most active volcanic areas in the world.

Valley of 10,000 Smokes | Katmai National Park

Volcanic ash and sand was deposited after the eruption forming what is now known as the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, aptly named due to the once enormous amount of smoking fumaroles post eruption. Today, we can visit the Valley of 10,000 Smokes as a day trip from Brooks Lodge, for an up close look at the change that the 1912 eruption brought to the area.

Besides the visual result of the volcanic eruption, seeing the wildlife tops the list of things to see in Katmai National Park. Over 2,000 brown bears make their home in Katmai National Park. For the best chance of viewing them up close, head to Brooks River and Brooks Falls.

Katmai National Park also contains the ancestral homeland of the Dena’ina, Yup’ik, and Sugpiat-Alutiqu/Aleut people. These tribal communites lived off the abundant natural resources in the area. The volcanic eruption forced many of the communities out in 1912, however, many descendants of the native people still call areas within Katmai home.

KATMAI NATIONAL PARK FACTS

Katmai is the habitat for one of the world’s largest concentration of brown bears

LOCATION: Alaska
CLOSEST CITY: King Salmon, AK
ANNUAL VISITORS: 36,000
57th most visited U.S. National Park (out of 63)
BECAME A NATIONAL PARK: 1980
TOP THINGS TO SEE & DO: View the brown bears & visit the Valley of 10,000 Smokes

Day 3 – Moving to Katmai

It is time to see the bears! Our float plane left Lake Clark mid-morning and landed in Naknek Lake in Katmai National Park about an hour later. During our flight, I saw a moose and a bear in the tundra below!

Upon landing in Naknek Lake, which is where Brooks Lodge is located, we could see many bears along the shoreline!

Shore of Naknek Lake (see the bear in the photo of the National Park sign?! | Katmai National Park

The first order of business for everyone when arriving at Brooks Lodge is to go to “Bear School”. This is located just a short walk from the shore and is mandatory. We watched a video and listened to a ranger talk, which lasted about 15 minutes.

Essentially, the bears that live here are used to humans and have learned that they are non-threatening, which is why as of this writing there have been no incidences here. The bear are also well fed due to the plentiful salmon, the draw for them to come here. However it is very important to pay attention as to what to do here in bear country. You will likely be implementing several of these tactics to stay safe while here.

Once we completed the course, we were given a commemorative pin.

Bear Viewing

We spent the rest of the day viewing bears, both from the river, and then walking the trail to the viewing platforms on the Brooks River. Staying at Brooks Lodge is the closest you can stay to the Brooks Falls. There is a lot of information on how to stay here, which we have outlined in the article below:

Below is a full guide on how to stay at Brooks Lodge and lots of information on viewing the bears here:

Brooks Lodge in Katmai National Park: All You Need to Know

Here are just a few of the many, many photos of bears from the viewing platforms at Brooks River:

Bears at Brooks Falls | Katmai National Park

Day 4 – A Fishing Excursion

On our first full day in Katmai, we headed out to the bear viewing platforms after breakfast. Watching the bears never gets old!

Brooks Falls | Katmai National Park

Along the trail we encountered a large brown bear. She was walking the path towards us as we headed to the viewing platforms. We did exactly what we were taught in “Bear School”, and slowly and quietly moved off trail into the bush. We stood among matted down grass where the bear sleep. It was such a crazy experience to watch her slowly meander down the trail past us, looking at us out of the corner of her eye.

I had my zoom lens attached so this is at 100mm | Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park

No sooner were we back on the trail, than a mom and two cubs were walking towards us. Once again, we moved off into the bushes. The mother moved slowly past us, much the same as the previous bear. Her two cubs were much more interested in us, however! They stopped, stood up, looked at us and thankfully moved on. The last thing we wanted is curious cubs coming in to check us out up close, worrying mom!

We finally got back on the trail and to the viewing platform, happily closing the gate behind us!

After a bit of viewing, we headed back to grab lunch before our fishing excursion. This was booked right through Brooks Lodge, so we met our guide right in Brooks Camp to get suited up into waders and get our gear and head out to the falls!

We followed our guide back onto the same trail we had just been on, but instead of going up to the viewing platform, we headed onto the path down to the river. Note: This is the same path bears use, so I was keeping my eyes peeled! Our guide was so calm and did have bear spray in his holster so that made me feel a bit better.

Into the River

We soon moved into the river, with the fast-moving water moving past our ankles. The bottom of the river was covered in rocks so it made it a little tricky to get good footing!

In the Brooks River right at the viewing platforms | Katmai National Park

We continuously moved around the river, making our way downstream. Our guide was fantastic and Mike learned a lot while I was in my element photographing the bears.

A broad view of what fishing in Brooks River looks like! | Katmai National Park

Mike in his element fly fishing the Brooks River with our guide | Katmai National Park

While in the river, we were constantly surrounded by bears. As they would move closer, we quietly moved away. Admittedly, my heart was racing much of the time but I was thankful for our calm and cool guide! This excursion was so worth it. Below I’ll share just a few favorite photos, but it is hard to narrow them down!

Photographing bears from the Brooks River was an epic experience | Katmai National Park

Day 5 – Visiting the Valley of 10,000 Smokes

The Valley of 10,000 Smokes makes for a great day trip in Katmai National Park. As the site of the 1912 Novarupta volcanic eruption, today we can witness this “living laboratory”, by hiking to get close up views of the walls of ash and view the vast landscape.

We had a beautiful day in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes and share our full experience in the guide below:

One Great Day in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes

About the Valley of 10,000 Smokes

The area of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes sits on one of the world’s most active volcanic areas, the Pacific Ring of Fire. The Novarupta Volcano’s eruption caused a dramatic landscape change that we can still see the effects of today.

Our Experience

We met our group at the end of the bridge at Brooks Camp at 8:45 a.m. Normally, a bus takes you out to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes but on the day we did the tour the bus was being serviced. Instead, our group had two vans driving us out the 23 mile journey to the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.

The vans

The ride took us about two hours to traverse the 23 miles from Brooks Camp to the ranger station atop the valley.

Arrival at the Ranger Station

Once we arrived at the ranger station at the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, we headed out to the back deck, where we took in the vast views. While out here, the park ranger gave a fantastic history lesson on the eruption.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

After the talk, we headed inside and enjoyed our lunch, prepared by Brooks Lodge. The lunch consisted of a sandwich, fruit, and chips with water, coffee, tea, and cider available as well. When everyone was done eating, all but one person in the group headed out for a guided hike down to the falls.

The Falls

The hike took us on a narrow trail through high grasses.

Much of the trail looks like this

We continued on the downhill trail, arriving at Ukak Falls. The falls are the beautiful result of the Ukak River pushing through the valley of ash and pumice.

The Falls

Along the river are high walls of ash, a direct result from the eruption. Down here you really get a fantastic visual perspective on how deep the ash is.

The massive walls of ash

From here, we hiked back up and took a left at the sign to reach the confluence.

Trail sign marking the Falls and the Confluence

The Confluence

Just a short jaunt down the Confluence Trail brings you to a vast view of the valley. The golden ash walls and merging of the Knife River and Windy Creek create a spectacular scene.

Above photo: The Confluence of the two rivers is visible; Bottom photo: A beautiful scene

While here, be sure to check out the remnants of fumaroles!

Remnants of fumaroles

These many fumaroles were once smoking, helping to give the valley its name – The Valley of 10,000 Smokes!

After visiting the falls and the confluence, we hiked the narrow trail through thick grasses back to the ranger station. The hike back is all uphill. There are sections of stairs in some areas, although most is on a dirt trail.

On our last night in Katmai, we spent more time at the viewing platforms before heading back to Brooks Camp after our Valley of 10,000 Smokes Tour. When we arrived back at Brooks Camp, we caught the most beautiful sunset.

Sunset at Brooks Camp | Katmai National Park

This was a spectacular way to end our time in this part of Alaska.

Days 6 and 7- Back to Anchorage

Back in Anchorage, we opted to spend two nights here, so we had the afternoon on our first day back (a Saturday) and the whole next day (Sunday) before flying out back home (on Monday). We spent two nights back at the Anchorage Marriott and also rented a car for the rest of our time here.

We had been to Anchorage on a previous trip and really enjoyed our time at Alyeska Resort, located about 40 miles from Anchorage. The drive here on Highway One along the Turnagain Arm makes for a beautiful drive.

At the resort, we took the tram to the top, hiked a little, and enjoyed a cocktail while taking in the beautiful views.

Alyeska Resort

On our way back to Anchorage, we stopped at Potter’s Marsh, a great place for bird-viewing as well moose, who are known to frequent the area!

Potter’s Marsh

We also caught a movie at Bear Tooth TheatrePub & Grill. Relaxing with food and drink while watching the latest Superman movie was a great way to relax after our active days prior.

Bear Tooth TheatrePub | Anchorage

Visiting both Lake Clark and Katmai National Parks were some of our most epic travel experiences to date. From visiting the historic Proenneke Cabin in Lake Clark to viewing brown bears in the wild at Katmai, it was an unforgettable experience and absolutely worth the time it takes to reach these remote destinations!