Trip Overview

The trip starts in Anchorage, Alaska. We’ll convene there on the first day, and spend the night in a local hotel. Over dinner the first night, we’ll discuss logistics for the following day, and get to know one another of a good meal. The following morning, we’ll board a small plane and make the scenic flight over Cook Inlet, passing near glaciated volcanoes, and down into the interior of Katmai National Park.

Katmai is vast, something that’s hard to internalize until you experience it from the air. As we fly over miles of forest, lakes, and mountains, you’ll understand both the scale and photographic potential of the place.

We’ll land at the new Katmai Sky Lodge, which is situated on the shore of an isolated lake. The lodge is comfortable, but not luxurious. There is good food, and most importantly, is equipped with a float plane that will carry us each day out to remote bear-infested salmon streams and lakes.

The first day, in the evening, we’ll probably make the short hop over to the famous Brooks Falls where we can have a soft entry into bear country. We’ll go through “bear school” and then head up to the falls to catch the evening light and watch the action long after the busy tourist hours. We’ll have a picnic dinner, and then return to the lodge for desert before turning in for the night.

With three full days, we’ll get to explore several remote areas of the park. Scattered around the vast area of Katmai are numerous, little-visited bear viewing areas. Places where we can be on the ground with the bears, at eye level to watch them fishing, and grazing on sedges. With expert bear guides, you can be safe, while experiencing these incredible animals up close.

Each day we’ll head out after breakfast with a packed lunch and spend the day out photographing bears, and the dramatic, wild landscape of Katmai. In the late afternoon, we’ll return to the lodge for dinner, and some time to relax before repeating the next day.

On the final morning, we’ll board a plane for the return flight to Anchorage, where we will spend one more night.

The last day is set aside for an independent departure, or join me on an extension to the coastal town of Seward. We’ll have two full days in Seward. One of those days we’ll spend on a privately chartered boat, where we can head out to photograph marine wildlife, and the dramatic landscape of Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park. We’ll eat some great food, and enjoy a relaxed couple of days of photography before heading back to Anchorage.

Due to limited housing at the Katmai Sky Lodge, there is no option for single accommodation on this trip. If you are traveling alone, I will do my best set you up with a compatible roommate. Single rooms are available for the nights in Anchorage and Seward. This restriction may change by 2026 as the lodge increases it’s capacity, but at this moment, all rooms will be shared.