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Lake Clark National Park and Katmai National Park are unmatched when it comes to a true wilderness experience, as they are only accessible by air. Both parks have an array of sites to take in, from the volcanic peaks and mountains topped with glaciers, bear watching on the ocean coastlines and at Brooks Falls, Dick Proenneke’s cabin, the Valley of 10,000 Smokes, countless scenic lakes and rivers, and a host of abundant wildlife. This area is the meeting place for the Arctic/Interior, Aleutian, and Coastal/ Pacific rainforest climates and these ecosystems mix together here to provide a great place to see characteristics from all over Alaska in one place. Our bear viewing and scenic trips are staged from Stonewood Lodge in Lake Clark with daily outings to the most pristine locations. Our limited group size makes it personable and allows ample time for photography opportunities and exploration. With the different avenues of transportation throughout the trip—floatplane and wheelplane, boat, and by foot—you will have unique perspectives in experiencing this incredible area. This trip is highly recommended if you are looking for a total Alaskan adventure and to travel to places very few have ever seen. We have no doubt it will be some of the most memorable highlights of your life!

Alaska Bears

Alaska Brown Bears View June through September Brown bears are mainly located in the coastal regions of southern Alaska. The bears living in Alaska Peninsula can be tremendous in size ranging in weight from 800 to 1,200 pounds. Their diet mainly consists of clams, sedge grass and salmon during the annual summer runs. The bears will congregate in the streams during the peak of the Salmon seasons creating great opportunities for photography and wildlife viewing.  It is this steady diet of seemingly endless Salmon which allows these bears to attain huge sizes, some of the biggest in the world. The best places to view the Brown Bears are in Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks, both which are only accessible by plane or boat.

The Kodiak Bears is also a brown bear and called a “Kodiak” bear simply because they live on Kodiak Island. Bears located on this island have been historically some of the largest brown bears in the state.

Alaska Grizzly Bears View June through September While Grizzly Bears once roamed in the states of California, Colorado and other Western states, they are most densely populated in Alaska. Most people don’t realize that the grizzly and the brown bear are one species.  While the bears on the coast are simply called brown bears, the inland brown bears are called Grizzly Bears. The word “grizzly” means “grizzled”; that is, golden and grey tips of the hair. This is where the bear gets it’s name, from the lighter fur coloring created from the bleaching of the hair in the sun. Because the Grizzly has to forage more for food it doesn’t grow as large as the coastal brown bears which have easy access to Salmon and clams along the beaches. Therefore the Grizzlies can be a more solitary animal and become more aggressive in defending its territory.  One of the best locations to view these bears in along the roads in Denali National Park.

Alaska Polar Bears View in September & October Polar bears live in the Northern tip of Alaska along shores and islands of the Arctic Ocean. In winter they cross the frozen ice bridges further out into the ocean to hunt seals. Polar bears have been spotted on sea ice hundreds of miles from shore. In the summer when the warm weather causes the sea ice to melt, polar bears move back toward shore. The bears main diet seals. They often hunt the seals by resting silently at a seal’s breathing hole waiting for a seal in the water to surface. Once the seal comes up, the bear will spring and sink its jagged teeth into the seal’s head. A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice or stalking prey on the large ice sheets. Whale meat is also a welcome meal to these massive creatures. The bears will feed off of the while carcasses which the Inupiat Eskimos hunt in the fall.

Alaska Black Bears View June through September Black bears are a solitary animal most of the year only pairing up briefly during the mating season. Cubs remain with their mother for about a year, protecting them from adult male bears. Black bears swim well and often climb trees to feed on buds and fruit. They have a keen sense of smell, acute hearing, but poor eyesight. They can be seen at any hour of the day, but are most active at night. Black bears are omnivorous with their diet consisting mostly of vegetable matter followed by a small percentage of carrion, insects and small mammals. They have few enemies, but the one they keep their distance from Grizzlies and Brown Bears. The Glacier bear is a sub–species of the black bear. They have been spotted in various locations in Alaska, but most frequently in the Southeast region of the state. Also know as the “Blue Bear,” this bears coloring is silver-blue or gray.

Tour Locations Click on the markers for descriptions.

All of these Bear & Park trips are staged from out Stonewood Lodge, a remote wilderness lodge in Lake Clark National Park. The area is not accessible by vehicle, only by aircraft. We are southwest of Anchorage within the Chigmit Mountains and at the edge of the Aleutian Mountain Range.

The lodge gives us access to both Lake Clark National Park and Katmai National Park creating the perfect launching point to experience the best these parks have to offer.

To view the Polar Bears guests get an amazing experience of traveling to the tip of Alaska to Dead Horse and then to Barter Island. They can also opt to include a stop at in Denali National park to view the Grizzlies and additional wildlife.