Brooks Falls Bear Viewing Platform — Attraction in Alaska

Incredible place. If you love watching wild animals in their own home i.e. the wild... then this is one of the best experiences you can get. We couldn't get enough of it. The idea is to patiently and quietly wait, and let the magic happen on its own, as these amazing creatures come out and do their thing.

Pro tip: Go back again several times during the day - it's a different experience every time, and sunrise and sunset are a bonus!

And please, a request if you're going to visit- Wild animals are super sensitive about sounds and human noises. Please show some respect for the animals, the hard working rangers, and others: Please be quiet and enjoy silently!

The bears don't want to hear about your "Saturday night drinking party"... just like you wouldn't want anyone ruining yours. This is a rare magical place, let's keep it that way.

And Katmai park rangers, you all are simply incredible! A...

Awesome viewing and photography experience. Currently (2025) limited to 30m at a time if there is a queue, which is common for most normal hours, but if you are staying the night then you can go before/after the daytrippers for no lines.

Also good to know: More Salmon in the run actually means less bears at the falls since they don't need to compete as much at the chokepoint. There were an absurd amount of sockeye in this year's run so the bears were a little more spread out than prior years.

On a photography note, 300 - 600mm is good for most areas at the falls.

If you do go, please be respectful to the bears space. The place does seem quite crowded during day-tripper hours, and we want to be undisruptive and undistracting as...

One would be hard pressed to find another location anywhere in the world capable of providing the near-perfect viewing experience of bears in their natural habitat that Brooks Falls Bear Viewing offers. The waters of Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska are teeming with salmon, and salmon constantly leap upward into the air before landing and submerging themselves underwater once again. In the accompanying photo below, one particular bear, anxious, aggressive, and hoping to find the optimal angle for snagging some of the leaping salmon, reached out a bit too far and lost his footing. Splashing into the pool below unharmed, he eventually climbed back into his fishing spot to await the next chance at a salmon that should...