Five-Day Alaska Itinerary for Lake Clark and Katmai National Park

Less than 50,000 people visited Lake Clark and Katmai National Park in 2023. These two remote Alaskan gems are two of the six least visited National Parks in America and offer visitors the ability to get off the grid, see untouched wilderness, and spend days fishing, bear watching, hiking, or canoeing.

In the Alaska wild, the world is truly your oyster.

In August 2024, my fiancee, Jaimie, and I spent five days at Lake Clark Resort, exploring new sights, meeting new people, and enjoying disconnecting (mostly) from the modern world. It was an unforgettable experience.

Bucketlist gets thrown around a lot, but I think this constitutes it.

Below is our five-day itinerary with Lake Clark Resort, during which we adventured around Lake Clark National Park and Katmai National Park, saw bears, and walked in areas few other visit.

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How I Spent Five Days in Lake Clark National Park

Day 1 – Arriving in Alaska and Flight into Lake Clark

Jaimie and I flew up from Seattle in the morning and skedaddled to Merrill Field Airport, where Lake Clark Air operates. It’s a 20-minute drive from Ted Stevens International Airport, and it was really easy with Uber/Lyft.

The flight to Lake Clark was unbelievably gorgeous. We saw multiple volcanos, Mt. Iliamni and Mt. Redoubt, a dozen glaciers, and so many jagged, snowy peaks that I was stunned. Eventually, we entered a cloud, and our views disappeared.

Once we landed, we checked in, met some staff, and had time to relax before heading up for dinner.

Day 2 – Bear Watching in Katmai Preserve

This was by far our best day of bear-watching! We headed east into the Katmai Preserve to Crosswind, a locally known place with extraordinary bear-viewing potential. We spotted at least two dozen bears in the area as we reached the creek. We had hit the jackpot!

After spotting the bears, our 45-minute flight ended with us landing on a small lake and taxiing up to the shore, where a half-dozen other planes were already docked.

We walked a half-mile to the creek from here, and the bear action began! We initially settled into a little nook on the shore, and moments later, a coastal brown bear walked less than 15 feet in front of us. It briefly looked at us and continued on its way, hunting for salmon in the creek.

About 30 minutes later, a mom and three cubs stole the show! They meandered down from above and settled right on the shore. A photo group had been there before they arrived, some 15-20 yards away, and we eventually joined them. Being that close to a family of brown bears was surreal. (They paid us almost no notice and slept for most of the time.)

Throughout the day, we constantly had eight bears in sight. From gobbling down fish to wrestling or sleeping, the bears were exquisite, and it’s a day I won’t forget!

Day 3 – Canoeing and Hiking around Port Alsworth

All flights were grounded due to rain and low clouds. While we were initially bummed, it gave us a chance to explore around the area, get out on the water, and hike.

We ended up canoeing three miles on Lake Clark. Thanks to some light rain, we were the only ones out there, soaking up the views and tranquility.

Once we docked the canoe, we headed over to the Lake Clark Visitor Center. After chatting and looking around for twenty minutes, we continued our hike to Tanalian Falls. It was a lovely walk in the forest. You gain a decent amount, but it is gradual, and we never had to stop for a breather.

Overall, we walked 6.5 miles over 4 hours, including lunch and sitting by the falls.

Day 4 – Brooks Falls at Katmai National Park

The following morning, the skies had cleared up, and Jaimie and I headed to Brooks Falls.

This was a 75-minute flight from Port Alsworth, giving us our first views of the official Katmai National Park landscape. While it didn’t affect me, the bumpy turbulence had Jaimie off her game, but that thankfully subsided once we landed.

You can read about it in the article linked above, but I’ll provide some highlights!

• We got our photo with the Katmai National Park sign
• Took the mandated 10-minute bear safety class
• Headed out to the Brooks Falls Viewing Platform to see some bears
• I saw between 5 and 7 bears, as they’re mostly elsewhere this time of the year (See a live cam.)
• Flew over Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and the Katmai Caldera

We knew the bears would be low compared to A) our first day of bear watching and B) what Brooks Falls is like during prime season. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, even if I didn’t get the ‘bear-catching-fish‘ photo I wanted.

Day 5 – Bears and Flightseeing on the Katmai Coast

Instead of flying out at 9:30 a.m., the friendly folks at Lake Clark Resort bumped our departing flight to the evening, giving us a full day of epic flightseeing and bears along the Katmai Coast. (Due to our rainy day.) This was an unbelievable day of photography, seeing genuinely wild parts of Alaska, and watching bears roam without anyone else around.

This was our best weather day, too, and our pilot, Carlon, showed us as much as possible. It was freaking amazing!

We headed south towards Katmai National Park and found ourselves in a sea of glaciers and jagged peaks. We skirted past the outer reaches of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes before circling over braided rivers and shorelines, looking for bears.

We only saw one from the air, and when we landed to stretch our legs, we were too far away to reach it. Thirty minutes later, we were back in the air, flying over the gorgeous coastline and water that could have resembled the Caribbean. We spotted at least half a dozen bears over Hallo Bay, but our plane couldn’t land.

Soon after, we did find a beach where we could land and enjoyed spending time with three bears and no other souls. (Until a couple who were camping nearby showed up.)

The craziest part was when a bear pushed a fish onto shore and, 15 yards away, chomped its head off. Jaimie said she could hear bones break!

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay as long as we wanted as the tide was rising, and if it came too high, we’d be stuck. But we did land one more time and ended up having a cute fox come up to us. It was completely unexpected but was an incredible final piece to the adventure puzzle.

Here are some of the highlights:

• Flew over Mount Katmai and the lake which has formed in its crater, which had been high on my list
• Landed on a beach to see bears fish with no one else in sight
• Flew over or near a dozen glaciers
• Saw multiple volcanoes
• Saw bears from the air at Hallo Bay (couldn’t land, unfortunately)

What to know about Lake Clark Resort

Where is it located?

Lake Clark Resort is located in a small town (some 200 people) southwest of Anchorage, Alaska. It sits on physical Lake Clark, though technically, it’s on a bay, so the water is less choppy, and there is wind protection.

If the weather cooperates, it’s an hour-long flight from Anchorage to Port Alsworth. The flight is one of the most scenic I’ve ever been on, with volcanoes, glaciers, and lakes visible on both sides. (Though I will say the windows to the planes to and from the resort did not allow for good photography. The planes to and from different spots once you’re there were great.)

What is included with your stay?

Staying at Lake Clark Resort is not inexpensive, but it’s what you would expect for a remote part of Alaska, where most of the income is earned in about 3-4 months. But you have plenty of amenities, and visiting an area like this is worth it.

Costs

There are options from $1,250 per person for two nights, but no flightseeing/bear watching, to longer extended stays that could cost a couple $55,000. You can browse their packages here. (Note: You can customize your stay, too.)

Lodging

Lake Clark Resort has ten cabins (more are on the way), and their suites can accommodate up to four people, though we only saw couples. (They also have standard cabins, but I’m not sure what the difference is, except they don’t have a second-story loft area.) You also have a lovely porch to sit on, though there are benches throughout the resort to sit on and soak in the sun if you want.

We stayed in a suite which had:

• Table and chairs in the main area
• Couch
• Queen bed and two bunk beds
• Shower, sink, toilet
• Heating and electricity
• Small fridge, coffee maker, sink with running water
• Upstairs reading nook
• Porch with chairs

Meals

You get three delicious meals a day there! The sit-down meals are breakfast and dinner, at 7:30 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, and then they pack you a sandwich lunch for your adventures. Our four dinners consisted of cod, ribs, chicken, and pork chops.

They note this on the website, but they do not serve alcohol, and it is not allowed in the dining area. We did bring a bottle of wine and enjoyed it in our cabin.

Wi-Fi

There is Wi-Fi in the lodge where you can connect, and it was pretty fast, all things considered. But down in your cabins, you will not have service. This is a nice way to not be on your devices and enjoy the views, read, and talk.

What is there to do in the area?

There are things to do, but it’s somewhat limited. It’s partly because most of the area in Port Alsworth is private property, so you can’t wander through people’s property. The second is you’re on a lake, which is a barrier in itself. However, I’m probably making it sound way worse than it is.

There are hikes out of town, and you can rent kayaks and canoes at the resort for free.

Hiking

The hikes to know are below. Note that if you look at AllTrails, they start the mileage from the trailhead. You’ll have to walk from the resort, adding another .75-1.0 miles round trip. I’ve adjusted the distance below.

• Tanalian Falls: Most popular, easy to moderate, 5.5-6.5 miles round trip, 700 feet of gain
• Mount Tanalian: Hard, 10 miles, 3,700 feet of gain. Only do it on a clear day for the views.
• Beaver Pond Loop: Easy, 4 miles, 500 feet of gain (the north trail might be muddy/narrow)
• Konrtrashibuna Lake: Moderate, 7-9 miles, depending on where you stop, about 1+ mile beyond Tanalian Falls, and mostly flat. If you want to technically get into Lake Clark National Park, you need to hike to the lake.
• Visitor Center: This is a flat walk from the resort. You have to cross two runways. Please keep your eyes and ears out and cross quickly. I would estimate it to be a 1.3-mile round-trip walk.

We walked over to the Visitor Center, checked it out for 20 minutes, and then kept hiking up to Tanalian Falls. The trail is in great condition, though there are not many views along the way. I clocked the entire trip at 6.5 miles, and it took us around 3.5 hours.

Canoes and Kayaks

Lake Clark Resort offers free canoes and kayaks. You’re free to go where you please, but the bay is an active runway with floatplanes landing there, so you need to keep an eye out as you paddle.

We took the canoe out and did a three-mile round trip on the day that got rained out. We went out of the bay, hooked a left, and headed down the shoreline of Lake Clark. The turquoise color of the lake was pristine, and we enjoyed being the only ones on the lake!

What other activities could we have done?

Our trip had a bear/photography focus, which is not what everyone would want to do. And that’s okay! Alaska is geared for all individuals who enjoy the outdoors. Here are other options to do and see:

• Pan for gold
• Fire and Ice Tour (this one sounds rad!)
• Cook Inlet Coastal Tour
• Boat Tour of Lake Clark
• Alaska Peninsula Coastal Tour (maybe see walrus’)
• Fishing (catch and release)
• Rafting
• Tundra/Wildlife Sightseeing Tour
• Twin Lakes Adventure

Things to keep in mind when visiting Alaska

Weather can be unpredictable

Weather can change quickly in Alaska. So, if you’re hiking or out on the water, come prepared with rain gear and the ability to get to shelter or safety in case of a severe storm. This also applies to trips and activities. Your tour could be canceled or pushed back a day due to winds or rain. This ties into the following point.

Keep some flexibility

Not everyone can have broad flexibility, but if you have the ability to move things around, it will help if the weather interferes. We talked to a couple at the lodge who left a day open for just that reason. Thankfully, they got what they wanted and then had a day to hike.

But for us, if we hadn’t been able to push our flight back 8 hours, we would have missed an incredible day touring Alaska.

Final Thoughts on our Five Day Lake Clark Itinerary

Seeing a new part of Alaska that is so rugged and remote was a dream come true. I crossed off so many things I wanted to do, such as seeing Katmai NP, getting up close and personal with bears, and exploring off-the-beaten-path destinations. Alaska continues to wow me, and this trip solidified it as America’s most unique and beautiful state.

Lake Clark Resort was a gracious host and provided a fantastic five-day stay in Lake Clark. However you choose to explore Alaska, you will have an amazing time, and I hope you pick a trip to this phenomenal area!

Until next time, adventurers, stay safe.

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