Katmai National Park & Preserve

Katmai is Alaska at its wildest, a vast, roadless wilderness on the Alaska Peninsula best known for one extraordinary spectacle: brown bears catching salmon as they leap up Brooks Falls. In summer, dozens of enormous bears gather at the falls to feast on the migrating sockeye, and visitors watch, astonishingly close, from raised viewing platforms.

Bears, salmon and a valley of ash

But there's more to Katmai than bears. The park was created after the colossal 1912 Novarupta eruption, one of the largest of the twentieth century, which buried a river valley in hundreds of feet of ash. The result, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, is a haunting, moonscape expanse still fumed by memory of that cataclysm. Beyond it stretch untouched lakes, tundra, volcanoes and coastline.

Getting here is genuinely remote: there are no roads, so you fly in by floatplane, typically via King Salmon. For a UK family, Katmai is a bucket-list wildlife experience, watching wild brown bears fish is unforgettable, but it takes planning, budget and a sense of adventure. This is not a casual stop; it's a proper Alaskan expedition.

You come to Katmai for one of the greatest wildlife encounters on the planet: wild brown bears, some of the largest on Earth, catching salmon in mid-air at Brooks Falls, watched from viewing platforms just metres away. For a family, it's the kind of scene teenagers usually only see in documentaries, unfolding live in front of them, and it's genuinely unforgettable. Beyond the bears lies the eerie Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a stark reminder of one of the twentieth century's biggest volcanic eruptions, and a sense of true, roadless wilderness that few places retain. Reaching Katmai takes effort, floatplanes, careful planning, a real budget, but that's part of what makes it feel like a genuine expedition rather than a sightseeing trip. For a UK family with a taste for adventure and a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife dream, few experiences anywhere rival standing above those falls.

Once at Brooks Camp, everything is on foot, and distances are small: a short walk on maintained trails and boardwalks links the camp, the lower river platform and the famous Brooks Falls viewing platform, all under close ranger management for bear safety. There are no roads, cars or shuttles here in the conventional sense. The one notable exception is the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, reached by a lengthy guided bus tour along a rough backcountry road from Brooks Camp, a full-day excursion into the ash-buried landscape. Beyond these developed areas, travel means guided flightseeing, boat trips or backcountry expeditions. For a family, the practical reality is simple: you fly in, walk the short, well-managed trails around Brooks Camp, and let floatplanes and the occasional bus tour handle any longer distances.

There is no public transport and no road access to Katmai, this is a fly-in wilderness park. Access is entirely by air: scheduled flights from Anchorage to King Salmon, then a floatplane to Brooks Camp, all booked in advance. On arrival, you move around the small developed area on foot; there are no cars, shuttles or roads to speak of, aside from the guided bus that runs to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. A hire car has no role here at any stage. For a UK family, the takeaway is that Katmai must be arranged as a series of pre-booked flights rather than a self-drive trip, plan the whole air itinerary well ahead.

• Time your visit to the salmon run, bear activity at Brooks Falls peaks in July, with a second flush in September; June and August are quieter.
• Book flights, permits and lodging or camping far in advance, capacity at Brooks Camp is tightly limited and demand is fierce.
• Attend the mandatory bear-safety orientation on arrival, it's required before you can roam Brooks Camp.
• Budget generously, floatplane access from King Salmon makes this one of the pricier US parks to reach.
• Bring waterproofs and warm layers, Alaskan Peninsula weather is cold, wet and changeable even in summer.
• Consider a day trip to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes for a completely different, otherworldly landscape.

Katmai sits on the Alaska Peninsula, where the weather is cool, wet and famously changeable even in summer. Expect temperatures in the low teens Celsius at best during the short June-to-September season, frequent rain, wind and grey skies, and the real possibility of all four seasons in one day. Pack as you would for a cold, wet British hillwalking trip: waterproof jacket and trousers, warm insulating layers, a hat and gloves, and sturdy waterproof footwear for muddy, boggy ground. Sunny, still days do occur but should be treated as a bonus rather than the norm. Fog and low cloud can also delay the floatplanes that are your only way in and out, so build flexibility into your schedule and don't plan tight onward connections.

Katmai is genuinely remote and reaching it is a multi-stage journey. There are no roads in, so everyone routes through Anchorage (ANC), Alaska's main hub and the airport most UK families will connect to via a US gateway such as Seattle. From Anchorage you take a scheduled commercial flight to King Salmon (AKN), a small community on the peninsula, and from there a floatplane or small aircraft completes the hop to Brooks Camp, landing on the water beside the famous falls. Each leg must be booked ahead, and the whole chain is weather-dependent, so allow buffer days. This is one of the more expensive and logistically involved parks to visit, but the payoff, standing above Brooks Falls as bears fish below, is why families make the effort. Treat it as a planned expedition, not a spontaneous detour.