Alaska·United States
Photo: Brocken Inaglory · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Katmai holds one of the densest brown bear populations in the world, and at Brooks Falls they gather to catch sockeye salmon jumping the falls. Viewing platforms put you metres from the action, and the park also covers the ash valley of the 1912 Novarupta eruption and wild coastal bear country.
In season: Jul, Sep · Peak: Jul
Easy boardwalk walks between viewing platforms, with waits for a spot at the falls in July and a compulsory bear-safety talk on arrival. Bears walk the trails and camp, so rangers set strict rules.
Brown bears catching salmon mid-air from the viewing platforms
Ash desert from the 1912 eruption, guided day walk
Bears on the tidal flats, fly-in from Homer
Fly from Anchorage to King Salmon, then take a floatplane to Brooks Camp. Book the lodge or campground far ahead, visit in July or September, and add the bus to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes or a fly-in day to the coast at Hallo Bay.
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The least-visited national park in the United States, a trackless Brooks Range wilderness reached only by bush plane.
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