Brooks Lodge Review and Katmai Bear Viewing Guide

Bear, Bear, Bears. Oh my! Katmai National Park is the BEST National Park to see Brown Bears. The park is home to more than 3,000 bears. While brown bears can be found throughout the park, one of the best and most consistent viewing sites is Brooks Falls and the surronding area. During the salmon run, bears congregate at the falls. 25 Alaskan Brown Bears have been seen fishing at the falls. The bear viewing is so popular that there is a seasonal webcam for viewers to watch at home.

One of the best ways to see the falls and avoid some of the summer crowds is to stay at Brooks Lodge. Brooks Lodge is a simple Alaskan wilderness lodge located at the base of the Brooks River. It is a short walk from the lodge to the Brooks Falls viewing platforms. Getting to both the lodge and the falls requires a bit of planning and can be a little confusing. Here is what you need to know to plan a trip to Brooks Lodge.

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What is Brooks Lodge and why is it special?

Brooks Lodge is a 16-room Alaska wilderness lodge. The lodge is located at the mouth of the Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve. Katmai National Park is located on the Katmai Peninsula across from Kodiak Island. While the park was originally created as a National Monument to protect the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, the park is best known for Brooks Falls, salmon fishing, and Alaskan Brown Bears.

The iconic photo of an Alaska Brown Bear standing at the top of the waterfall waiting for a salmon to jump into their mouth is taken at Brooks Falls. Brooks Falls is about 0.5 miles upriver from Brooks Lodge. It’s about a 1.2-mile walk along the park’s maintained path from the Lodge to the Falls viewing platform. Staying at Brooks Lodge allows visitors to sleep indoors while being close to some of the best Alaskan Brown Bear viewing.

When is the Best Time to Visit Brooks Lodge?

The Brooks Lodge is only open from June to September. There is a reason for this. This is the best time of the year to view bears in the area. Each month offers a slightly different experience in Brooks Camp.

• June – Bear viewing will be slow as food is scarce until the salmon run starts. The bears are a thin from the long winter. They will be seen eating grass and sedge in the area. Bear sightings will increase towards the end of the month as bears move into the region to wait for salmon to arrive.

• July – The salmon run will arrive, and the bears will congregate by the river to hunt for salmon. Bear sightings will peak in mid to late July.

• August – Bear sightings near Brooks Camp will decrease as the salmon fishing is more difficult. Around late August, bear sightings in Brooks Camp will start to increase.

• September – As the salmon start to die, the bears return to the river to fish again. The bears will be spread out along the river, eating salmon. They will be in the final stages of putting on their winter weight and getting ready for Fat Bear Week.

How to Get to Brooks Lodge?

There are NO roads from Anchorage to Katmai National Park. There are only two roads in Katmai National Park and Preserve. The first is the road from King Salmon, Alaska, to the Katmai Lake Camp boat launch. The second is from Brooks Camp to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. These two roads are not connected.

Unless you are looking to do a 40+ mile bushwacking backpacking trip along the Naknek Lake, the only options for getting to Brooks Camp and Brooks Lodge are by floatplane or water taxi.

Before we talk about getting to Brooks Lodge, we have to talk about getting to King Salmon. King Salmon is a small town located on the Naknek River. King Salmon is not connected to the Alaska Road System, so you can’t drive from Anchorage. The only way to get King Salmon is to fly. The flight from Anchorage to King Salmon is about an hour.

You can either book your flight to King Salmon separately or let your Katmai transportation provider book it for you. I booked my flights to King Salmon and Katmai separately. I wanted to make the most of my time in Katmai, so I planned to stay in King Salmon the night before and after my Brooks Lodge visit. So I could fly out on the earliest flight of the day and come back on the last flight.

If booking flights separately, Alaska Airlines and Aleutian Airways offer daily flights from Anchorage to King Salmon. The Alaska Airlines flights run about $460 if booked a couple of months in advance, and I recommend using Alaska Airlines if you can.

Floatplane to Brooks Lodge

Katmai Air is owned by the same parent company as Brooks Lodge and can arrange round-trip air transportation to Brooks Lodge from Anchorage and King Salmon as part of your lodge reservation. No matter how you book your transportation to King Salmon, Katmai Air will pick you up at either your King Salmon hotel or the King Salmon Airport.

The flight from Anchorage is usually via charter flight, but on occasion, they use scheduled Alaska or Aleutian Airways. Once in King Salmon, it’s about a 20-minute flight to Brooks Camp.

As of November 2025, the King Salmon to Brooks Camp flight is $500 per person for a round trip. Anchorage to Brooks Camp is $1489 per person for a round trip. This includes 50 lbs of luggage per person, including your checked and carry-on bags. Extra luggage is $1 per pound.

Water Taxi to Brooks Lodge

Katmai Water Taxi offers service from King Salmon to Brooks Camp via water taxi. Water taxis depart King Salmon every two hours from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. Water taxis depart Brooks Camp every two hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. The boat trip will take you on a scenic ride across Naknek Lake. The trip takes about an hour.

Katmai Water Taxi is under new ownership, which is amazing to hear, as the previous owner left a lot to be desired among Alaskan tour operators.

As of November 2025, the ferry costs $350 per person for a round trip. There is no luggage weight limit for the ferry. They no longer offer round-trip from Anchorage, but including Alaska Airlines flight, a round-trip ticket from Anchorage to Brooks is about $810.

When should I start planning my trip to Brooks Lodge?

If you are planning to stay at Brooks Lodge, ideally, start planning your visit in December two years before you’d like to visit.  So if you want to visit in Summer 2027, you will start planning in December 2025.  If you have some flexibility, you can plan your visit with less lead time, but you’ll be limited to cancellations. I planned my trip in under six months. A friend of a friend has space in her room and invited me along.

When is the best time to visit Brooks Lodge?

While Katmai National Park is technically open year-round, the park is really only set up for visitation between mid-May and mid-September. Brooks Lodge is only open during this time.

Brooks Falls visitation (both human and bear) is based around the salmon runs. he salmon of Brooks River typcially has two peaks. One large peak in early to mid-July and a slightly smaller peak in early September. These are the most popular times for visitors and the bears.

• Early June – A few bears will arrive in the area and be seen on the lake shores and eating grass.
• Mid-June – The first samon start to arrive in Brooks. More bears will start to arrive and a few bears will be seen around the Falls and Ripples hoping to get lucky.
• Late June – Even more bears and fish will arrive.
• Early July – Bears will be wondering around the area and some will start activily fishing the falls as the fish start appearing in larger numbers and its possible the salmon run will peak during this time.
• Mid-July – The salmon run peaks and the bears will activily fish the falls.
• Late July & August – The bear activity at the falls will be reduced as the salmon finish their lifecyle and float listlessly in the river. During this time, the bears are more likely to catching fish in the lower river.
• Early to mid-September – The second salmon run occus and the bears will be seen fishing at the falls again.

The salmon run peak varies for year to year based on a number of factors such as water temperature and flow, tides, and a number of other environmental factors. Brooks River Salmon run peaks between July 4 and July 16**.

** This caculation is based the the salmon counts from the Naknek River. It is estimated that it takes salmon about 5 days to travel from the Naknek counting station to Brooks Falls.

How to Make a Brooks Lodge Reservation

Brooks Lodge Lottery

Brooks Lodge is a small lodge with 16 rooms and a very short season. As such, there is a huge demand for rooms, and there isn’t enough space to accommodate everyone who’d like to stay at Brooks Falls. To give everyone an equal opportunity to stay at the lodge, they hold a lottery for the overnight accommodations

From December 1 to December 30 of each year, they accept applications for overnight accommodations for the summer after next. My 2021 reservation was applied for in December 2019. On January 6, they start drawing numbers and reaching out for reservation dates.

Due to high demand, Brooks Lodge holds a lottery for overnight accommodations.  The Brooks Lodge Lottery is held in January for the following year. Applications are accepted from December 1 to December 30. Lottery winners are contacted between January 3 and February 7 with reservations options within their desired dates (or with space available for people drawn later in the lottery). Once all the dates are filled, they start drawing for waitlist spots.

• Summer 2026 – Lottery is closed
• Summer 2027 – Applications open December 2025
• Summer 2028 – Applications open December 2026
• Summer 2029 – Applications open December 2027
• Summer 2030 – Applications open December 2028

Odds of getting a room vary by month, length of stay, and lottery entrants. The most popular dates are approx. June 25 – August 5 and August 25 – September 17ish.

After February 7, all lottery participatns will be contacted with their waitlist status and will be notified in groups of 50 of cancellations until April 15. After April 15, any cancellations will be available to the public by phone or email.

Important Things to Know about the Brooks Lodge Lottery

• Each person is allowed 1 application.
• Each party is allowed ONE July or September reservation. Any other applications from party members for July will be cancelled if one or more names is found to be the same on a July booking. Standard cancellation polices will apply.
• If planning to visit Brooks Falls in July or September, you are limited to 3 nights. Any reservation including a night in July or September is limited to 3 nights. So if you are staying July 31, August 1, 2, you are limited to 3 nights. There are NO limits for June or August.
• A 50% deposit based on the previous year’s rate is due within 7 days of receiving a reservation. The remaining balance, including any rate increase, is due 90 days before the reservation date.
• Parties are limited to 20 people and 5 rooms.
• Parties are limited to 2 double occupancy rooms. If you’d like more than 2 rooms, you must have 3 people per room.
• Requests for specific rooms or room types are not accepted.

Options if you didn’t win the lottery

Call and Check on a Regular Basis

If you didn’t get a reservation during the lottery drawing or started planning your trip after the lottery drawing happened, your only option is to call and check for cancellations. 

A lot can happen in the 18-21 months between the time in the lottery and the dates of the reservation.  So cancellations do happen.  If you really want to stay overnight, call and check a couple of times a month and see if anything opens up during your desired period.  This method works best if you are flexible on your dates.  I met someone who called on May 23, 2021, who got reservations on June 25, 2021, so it doesn’t hurt to call at any point and see what is open.

Look for Someone with Cabin Space

These cabins are expensive and not everyone has friends who want to go and can afford to go to Brooks Lodge and spend a few nights. If you keep an eye on the Bears of Brooks Falls, Alaska Facebook group, or an ear to the ground, you may find someone looking to fill a cabin.  This is what happened to me.

The Brooks Lodge Reservation holder heard from a friend I didn’t get camping permits and reached out.  She then found two more women to come with us on the FB group.  It worked out great.  We were all happy to be there and beyond sleeping and naps, none of us spent any time in the cabin.  We have now beent to Katmai as a group twice. Once in 2021 and again in 2023. We haven’t gotten reservations again since but we try every year.

Camp at Brooks Camp

If you can’t get a reservation at Brooks Lodge but still want to stay in the area, your only option is to camp. There is a small campground in Brooks Camp. The Brooks campground works a little differently than other National Park Campgrounds. Space in this campground is reserved per person. There are 60 slots in the campground and the campground is open from May to October. Campers are limited to 7 nights in July and 14 days per calendar year. Groups are limited to 6 people.

Reservations can be made on January 5 at 8 am AKST for the following summer. The cost is $12 per night between June 1 and September 17. Camping is $6 per night for the rest of the season.

Other Places to Stay in Katmai National Park

There are 7 other wilderness lodges or camps located in Katmai National Park. These lodges focus on multi-day all-inclusive trips that include guided activities. Katmai’s other lodges are sort of split into two groups. One group focus on multi-day fishing and the other focuses on wildlife viewing.

The fishing-focused lodges are Grosvenor Lodge, Kulik Lodge, Enchanted Lake Lodge, and Royal Wolf Lodge. Many of these lodges offer day trip options to visit Brooks Falls or other wildlife areas.

The wildlife-focused lodges and camps are Hallo Bay Wilderness Camp and Katmai Wilderness Lodge. The Battle River Wilderness Retreat has a foot in each group.

How Much Does it Cost to Stay At Brooks Lodge?

There are a couple of things to consider when pricing out a stay at Brooks Lodge. You need to consider the room cost, transportation. to Brooks, and your food costs.

Brooks Lodge is not cheap. It’s a remote location with only a handful of cabins so the operating costs are high and the room costs are proportionally high. For 2025, the nightly rate is $1,150 a room plus a 6% bed tax. So it is $1,219 total per night.  Each room can sleep up to 4. 

• At 4 people it’s $304.75 per person per night.
• At 3 people it’s $406.33 per person per night.
• At 2 people it’s $609.50 per person per night. 

Brooks Lodge serves 3 hearty meals a day. Dinning is done buffet style with a selection of entrees and side dishes. Meals are not included in the room price and can be purchased à la carte.

Brooks Lodge Review

Brooks Lodge Room Review

My first visit was in 2021. My second visit was in 2023 where I spent time in both the lodge and the campground and I’ve added some additional thoughts.

Brooks Lodge is a remote backcountry lodge in Alaska, and the rooms reflect that. You are paying a premium price for the location, not the room. The rooms are either free-standing cabins or attached cabins. No matter which type of cabin you are assigned, the rooms are laid out the same. Each room has two sets of bunk beds, a small desk, a toilet room, and a standing shower. The room is about the size of a standard college dorm room.

In 2021, we were assigned cabin 21. It was a free-standing cabin located by the main lodge facing Lake Naknek. We didn’t have a lake view, but it was nice being close to the lodge and the bridge across the river. In 2023, we had room 34 in the Skytel which the attached cabins. The rooms were vertuailly idenical.

With four individuals, four sets of bags, and four backpacks, the room was tight. When all four of us were in the room and getting ready for bed or our day, there was some juggling that happened, but we managed without stepping all over each other. We kept our bags under the bed when not in use and on our beds when we were getting things out of them.

The beds were reasonably firm which I loved. The bed came with a sheet and two blankets. I was plenty comfortable with just the sheet and one blanket. My only complaint with the bed situation was that it squeaked when I moved. Temperatures were mild when we were there but the cabins have heat if needed.

The room had three outlets and six plugs in the room which by modern electronic standards wasn’t enough. Two of us brought multi-plug outlets to help keep up with the number of devices we needed to power.

Overall, it was a reasonably comfortable and functional room. Staying at the Brooks Lodge isn’t about the room. Other than sleeping, napping, and showering, I didn’t spend any time hanging out in the room. I was there to see bears and I spent most of my time on the platforms seeing the bears.

Brooks Lodge Food Review

Between the cost of meals, having to be at the lodge at a specific time for meals, and the fact that I was perfectly fine eating granola bars for breakfast and lunch, I decided to only eat dinner at the lodge. My groupmates did each lunch and breakfast at various points during our visit.

If I had to describe the food it was elevated cafeteria food. The food was better than your standard cafeteria but $40 ($43 in 2025) for dinner was A LOT. Each meal was three courses including a soup and salad, entree, and dessert. Both the vegetables in the salads and side dishes were fresh and cooked well. The beef and pork entrees were a little on the dry side. The chicken entree I had was great and had a good flavor. The Oreo cheesecake was delicious while the funfetti cake was dry with great icing.

I didn’t see what the buffet served for lunch but the breakfast looked good. When I go back to camp in Katmai, I’ll probably bring my camp stove and cook most of my dinners.

For 2023, I stayed in both the lodge and the campground. Given I was spending 10 day in Brooks, I had to pack my food carefully and brought freeze dried meals for breakfast and dinner. Everything was freeze-dried or just add water so all I need was hot water. While I was staying in the lodge, oen of my roommates brought a collpsable kettle so we could heat water in the room and while camping I used my campstove. I didn’t eat any of the lodge food on my second trip. My roommates said the quality hadn’t really changed from our previous visit.

Bear Saftey in Brooks Camp

Bear Saftey is taken very seriously in Katmai National Park. With over 3,000 of the world’s largest brown bears, there is always a possibility of a negative human-bear interaction. Upon arrival to Brooks Camp, all visitors are sent through Bear School. Bear School is the dos and don’t when dealing with bears in Brooks Camp.

• Remain at least 50 yards from any bear at all times.
• If a bear approaches on a trail, get off the trail and give the bear the right of way.
• Do NOT run.
• Hike in groups and make noise when walking.
• Don’t leave gear unattended.
• All food must be stored and consumed within designated areas.
• Fishing must be terminated within 50 years of any bear. No lures in the water.

Most visitors to Brooks Camp do NOT carry bear spray. This will be unusual for people used to hiking in grizzly country, but it is the norm in Brooks Camp. Most visitors arrive by plane and bear spray isn’t typically allowed on planes. Brooks Camp bear safety relies on humans have predictable and standard behaviors so that the bears know that we are a harmless part of their everyday life in the Brooks area. On an extremely rare occasion, a subadult (aka dumb teenage) or unknown bear will get a little too curious with visitors and NPS will have to haze said bear.

Katmai National Park was established in 1918. In its more than 100 year history, there have only been 2 documented human deaths in the park due to a bear attack. Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed in October 2003 while backcountry camping in Kaflia Bay. Chronicled in the documentary Grizzly Man, Treadwell was an amateur “naturalist” who over 13 summers in Katmai developed an inflated sense of brotherhood with the bears. He regularly ignored NPS rules, regulations, and safety recommendations. Treadwell is solely responsible for his own death, the death of Huguenard, and the two bears found feeding on the bodies.

Things to do around Brooks Lodge

Bear Watching

The most popular activity in Brooks Camp is bear watching. There are three viewing platforms specifically built for visitors to watch the bears. The bears of Brooks Falls are highly monitored and many bears return year after year. These returning bears are given a number for monitoring and some are given nicknames by researchers or the webcam viewing public. Every year, NPS releases a guide to the Bears of Brook Falls. This guide has the history of each identified bear. It isn’t uncommon to hear visitors on the platform debate which bear they are looking at.

The Brooks Falls platform is a 1.2 miles walk from the lodge. The path is mostly flat.

Recommend reading: The Bears of Brooks Falls: Wildlife and Survival on Alaska’s Brooks River

Hiking

Katmai National Park doesn’t have many established trails. There are less than 5 miles of maintained trail in the park. The only hiking trail in the Brooks area is Dumpling Mountain Trail. Dumpling Mountain is a 1.5-mile trail that runs from Brooks Camp to an overlook on Dumpling Mountain. The trail gains about 800 ft over the 1.5 miles. Hikers are welcome to continue past the overlook. The trail is unmaintained past the overlook.

Hikers are welcome to walk along the park’s road such as Lake Brooks Road or Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Road.

Historical Sites

A short 0.1-mile walk from Brooks Camp is a reconstructed native dwelling. This semi-subterranean home is one of more than 900 dwelling remains found in the region. This dwelling is part of the Brooks River Archeological District and National Historic Landmark. Rangers typically offer a historical walking tour at 2:00 pm.

Canoe/Kayking

The Brooks Lodge Trading Post rents canoes, single kayaks, and double kayaks. Rental options are by the hour or by day. You can either do a short canoe or kayak trip or plan a multiday adventure. If you are an experienced paddler, there is the 80 mile Savonoski Loop.

Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Tour

On June 6, 1912, Novarupta violently erupted. The eruption collapsed the summit of Mount Katmai. Surronding villages were abandoned and the landscape was forever changed. In the wake of the eruption, a spectacular ash-covered landscape was found. This landscape was named the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. In an effort to protect this region, Katmai National Monument was created in 1918 and then later elevated to a National Park in 1980.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is about 23 miles from Brooks Camp and is connected by a gravel road. Daily bus tours are offered to the Valley and back. The all day tour takes visitors to an overlook and a short hike into the valley. Backpackers can arrange drop-off and pick-up for longer multi-day treks in the region.

Flightseeing

Flightseeing tours offer soaring views of Katmi’s landscape from the steaming volcanoes to the freshwater lakes. Getting up in a plane and seeing the landscape of Katmai is a great way to gain an application of how diverse and vast this national park is.

Fly Fishing

Fly fishing is a popular activity in Katmai National Park. There are several lodges dedicated to fishing. If you aren’t a hardcore fisherperson, Brooks Lodge can arrange half-day and full-day fishing trips in the Brooks River or flyouts to other fishing spots. Most Brooks River fishing is for Rainbow Trout or Sockeye Salmon. Other species such as arctic char, dolly varden, arctic grayling, lake trout, and other salmon species can be found in the park as well.

Frequently Asked Questions about Brooks Lodge?

Can I bring my own food to Brooks Lodge?

Yes, you can. Due to the unique situation with the bears, food consumption is limited to hard-sided buildings or the electric fence areas. The Brooks Lodge website states that food cannot be kept in the room. When I asked about storing my food bag during my stay, they said it was fine in my room as long as there was no cooked food in it.

Am I guaranteed to see Alaska Brown Bears at Brooks Lodge?

No, but odds are good that you will see an Alaskan Brown Bear. Bears are regularly seen from June to September. The vast majority of visitors see a bear while in Brooks Camp.

Can I drive to Brooks Lodge?

No, you cannon drive to Brooks Lodge. There are no roads that connect Anchorage and Katmai National Park.

How long does it take to get to get to Brooks Lodge?

The Katmai Water Taxi takes about 45 minutes to an hour from King Salmon. Floatplane flights from King Salmon take about 20 minutes.

Can I do Laundry at Brooks Lodge?

There are NO laundry facilities in Brooks Lodge.

Is there WiFi available at Brooks Lodge?

The is NO public WiFi at the Brooks Lodge. They have a satellite internet system for official business use only.

How many nights can I stay at Brooks Lodge?

Any reservations containing a night in July and September is limited to 3 nights. There is no limit

Final Thoughts on Staying at Brooks Lodge

Staying at Brooks Lodge should be on your National Park bucket list. A couple of nights at the lodge is the perfect way to spend a few days exploring the Brooks Falls area and gives you the best chance of seeing the Alaskan Brown Bears.

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Pin for Later: The Complete Guide to Brooks Lodge in Katmai National Park