Katmai National Park photos
Brown bears play fighting behavior in the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Katmai National Park and Preserve
Katmai attracts photographers, sports fishing enthusiasts, and adventure tourists alike. It remains one of my favorite places to photograph, for the great brown bears and the beautiful vistas along its shores and surrounding mountains. All Katmai National Park photos are available for purchase as stock photography or fine art prints to display in your home or office.
A Wilderness Sanctuary
Katmai National Park and Preserve is a wilderness sanctuary that spans four million acres of wild and rugged country. It is a land of lakes, coastal shores, fish-choked rivers, and volcanic and mountain topography. It is famous for the extraordinary viewing opportunities of the coastal brown bears, which congregate to feed on the abundant spawning salmon. Other activities include hiking and kayaking, backpacking, and camping.
Overview of Naknek lake and the Kejulik mountains from Dumpling mountain, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear walks along the shores of Naknek lake at dawn, Kejulik mountains, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brooks Falls Brown Bears
There is perhaps no greater or more famous bear-viewing destination in the world than the waterfalls along the Brooks River. Platforms allow for safe viewing and photographing of the abundant brown bear population that returns each year during the salmon migration to fill their hungry bellies on the fat and protein-rich food source.
Panorama of brown bears fishing for salmon at Brooks Falls on the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear attempts to grab a red salmon as it jumps the Brooks river falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Tourists view brown bears at Brooks Falls, Katmai National park, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Tourists view bears from the viewing platform along the Brooks River, Brooks Lodge, Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Fishing for salmon and trout
Katmai is also a mecca for fishermen as well. The Brooks River is filled with salmon during the summer migration, and fishermen come from around the world to fish its waters. They share the space with the brown bears; sometimes, it gets a little crowded.
Fly fishing in the Brooks river with the brown bears, Katmai National Park, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Fly fishing for red salmon on the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Red salmon migrate up the Brooks River and leap up the Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear wades in the Brooks River, sunrise over the Brooks River and Naknek Lake, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear walks along the shore of Naknek Lake, Katmai National Park, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear spring cubs walk along the shore of Naknek Lake at sunrise in Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Two small brown bear spring cubs playfight in Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Wildlife of Katmai
While Katmai is famous for its brown bears, other animals make the region home, including moose, wolves, lynx, and many other species of birds and animals.
Brown bear sow and spring cub watch bull moose walk through Brooks river, Naknek Lake, Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Lynx walks along a grassy field in Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Gray wolf in the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Spruce grouse, Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
A red squirrel eats spruce cones at Katmai National Park, Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Valley of 10,000 Smokes
The Valley of 10,000 Smokes is a valley in Katmai with a very odd, lunar feel. The massive volcanic eruption of Novarupta in 1912 filled the area with ash up to 700 feet. The Ukak River has carved its way through the ash remnants leaving steep banks.
Ukak River, Valley of 10,000 smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Ash landscape from the 1912 Novarupta volcano eruption. (Patrick J Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Dwarf fireweed and Ukak River, Valley of 10,000 smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska. Ash landscape from the 1912 Novarupta volcano eruption. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Fossils in rocks, Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, Katmai National Park, Alaska (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Coastal Katmai
Katmai is a vast park whose outer boundaries border the Pacific Ocean along the Alaska Peninsula. The area is rugged and extremely wild, flanked by mountains and beautiful shores.
The landscape of waves washing up along the sandy beach of Katmai National Park, Aleutian mountain range, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Lupine wildflower meadow in Katmai National Park, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. Aleutian mountains in the distance. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Coastal brown bear in a meadow of lupine wildflowers, Katmai National Park, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Savannah sparrow perches on a lupine blossom in a field of wildflowers in Katmai National Park, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Brown bear among the driftwood along the shore of coastal Katmai National Park, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)
Coastal brown bear rolls in a grassy meadow with its feet sticking in the air. Katmai National Park, Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska. (Patrick J. Endres / AlaskaPhotoGraphics.com)