Why Katmai National Park and Preserve
Katmai National Park and Preserve encompasses over four million acres on the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska, positioned across the Shelikof Strait from Kodiak Island. Most of the park's land is protected as a designated wilderness region. Named after its centerpiece stratovolcano, Mount Katmai, the area features a deeply indented coastline, the rugged Aleutian Range, and expansive inland lakes.
The area was initially designated a national monument in 1918 to protect the landscape affected by the 1912 eruption of Novarupta. That event deposited a 40-square-mile pyroclastic flow forming the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and caused Mount Katmai's peak to collapse into a caldera. The monument was expanded and established as a national park and preserve in 1980. Eighteen individual volcanoes sit within the park boundaries, including Mount Denison, which serves as the highest point.
Katmai contains diverse environments shaped by past glaciation, coastal bays, and active rivers. The park supports 29 mammal species, including moose, gray wolves, lynx, and marine species such as harbor seals and sea otters. Katmai preserves the world's largest protected brown bear population, estimated at roughly 2,200 individuals. Major seasonal runs of sockeye salmon through local waterways like the Naknek River provide a crucial food supply for bears and other local wildlife.
Popular activities in the park include bear watching, hiking, backpacking, camping, backcountry skiing, kayaking, boat trips, and sport fishing. The primary destination for most visitors is Brooks Camp, where elevated viewing platforms at Brooks Falls allow safe observation of brown bears catching salmon, especially in July and September. Visitors can also travel along a road connecting Brooks Camp to Three Forks to view the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.
Katmai experiences a subarctic climate characterized by cool summers averaging around 63 degrees Fahrenheit, cold winters, and frequent rain or drizzle that is heaviest along the Pacific coast. The park is not connected to the main Alaska highway system. Visitors usually arrive via the nearby community of King Salmon, accessing the interior by boat across Naknek Lake. Overnight accommodations are provided at Brooks Camp, Grosvenor Lodge, and private park inholdings.
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