Katmai Lodge — Attraction in Alaska

Katmai Lodge created an amazing adventure for us. My husband and I first went to Katmai Lodge 20 years ago for our 20th anniversary. We had a wonderful time and decided to return for our 40th anniversary. Honestly, it was even better this time. ||We are not experienced fishermen but our guide (Tom/Gully) showed us unending encouragement and patience. He didn't even roll his eyes when I couldn't hold onto my fish (slippery dudes) for photos, when my husband hooked his hat, or when we lost yet another lure or got a tangle. I was particularly impressed with his concern and respect for the ecology of the river and the fish. He was selective about which fish we kept--letting all the females go to spawn. The fish we kept were taken care of quickly and as kindly as possible...no fish bullies. We still took home 75 pounds of prime salmon.||It was easy to feel spoiled--all of the gear was provided, the guide enthusiastically celebrated every time we bent the rod, and he took care of all the gory details. He was willing to go the extra miles (yes, plural) including helping aging city folk across rapidly flowing waters and making sure we didn't fall. The river is marvelously remote, and being alone in nature sometimes means that nature "calls". Gully made sure that even that was as modest and comfortable as possible. ||He brought lunch on the boat every day. He always asked us what we wanted to eat but we often let him surprise us. Sometimes it was hot-off-the-grill and sometimes a charcuterie board--and it was always interesting and delicious.||We caught silvers, chum, and trout. He was encouraging in slow times, and celebratory in the bonanza times. He always said "this is YOUR vacation and YOUR boat!" . He was always "on", even when we were relaxing in the lodge. His job was about 18 hours a day, and it made our hours wonderful.||The hospitality of Katmai did not end with the guides! All of the staff was personable and engaging. Bob and Bruce would often sit in the lodge asking about our day (they happen to be the owners). If you had any problems or concerns, they were solved. Charmel is the everything/everywhere person. I swear that she must have a clone or two. She scheduled our visit and takes care of most of the organizational details and she is easy to work with as well. All of the meals are provided and are hearty and delicious. Crystal, Sharon, Nick and Kevin do a superb job--maybe too superb, now we have to go on a diet. Crystal was hilariously funny and made sure that we didn't leave without trying ALL of the desserts. ||The cabins are rustic and comfortable and there is plenty of hot water for nice, hot showers after cold, wet days.||We also enjoyed a couple of "fly outs" trips on the Katmai DeHavilland Otter with real water landings. Bob confidently flew us to Brooks Falls for close up bear viewing we, a real "must do" if the weather cooperates. Bob wants you to have a safe and comfortable flight. Bring a good camera because you will see a lot of bears at Brooks, up close, but safely. We also took an optional, amazing, and unforgettable flyout to go trout fishing up in the tundra, where there were bears and trout in abundance. Gully knew exactly how to behave around the bears and, while they were numerous and fairly close, they were never threatening. They bears have a lot to eat already.||If I could find one negative, it would be that the wilds of Alaska have lots of tiny bugs that can be annoying. So we covered up and wore bug repellant, but mostly we learned to appreciate that a little rain and a mild wind chase the bugs away. They were our friends as well. ||This was an amazing journey and adventure. The natural beauty, the wildness (yet with comfort), the quiet, the wildlife, the abundance of salmon, and the attitude of the staff make a Katmai Lodge vacation truly and experience of a lifetime, no exaggeration. We are coming again...

Katmai Lodge created an amazing adventure for us. My husband and I first went to Katmai Lodge 20 years ago for our 20th anniversary. We had a wonderful time and decided to return for our 40th anniversary. Honestly, it was even better this time. ||We are not experienced fishermen but our guide (Tom/Gully) showed us unending encouragement and patience. He didn't even roll his eyes when I couldn't hold onto my fish (slippery dudes) for photos, when my husband hooked his hat, or when we lost yet another lure or got a tangle. I was particularly impressed with his concern and respect for the ecology of the river and the fish. He was selective about which fish we kept--letting all the females go to spawn. The fish we kept were taken care of quickly and as kindly as possible...no fish bullies. We still took home 75 pounds of prime salmon.||It was easy to feel spoiled--all of the gear was provided, the guide enthusiastically celebrated every time we bent the rod, and he took care of all the gory details. He was willing to go the extra miles (yes, plural) including helping aging city folk across rapidly flowing waters and making sure we didn't fall. The river is marvelously remote, and being alone in nature sometimes means that nature "calls". Gully made sure that even that was as modest and comfortable as possible. ||He brought lunch on the boat every day. He always asked us what we wanted to eat but we often let him surprise us. Sometimes it was hot-off-the-grill and sometimes a charcuterie board--and it was always interesting and delicious.||We caught silvers, chum, and trout. He was encouraging in slow times, and celebratory in the bonanza times. He always said "this is YOUR vacation and YOUR boat!" . He was always "on", even when we were relaxing in the lodge. His job was about 18 hours a day, and it made our hours wonderful.||The hospitality of Katmai did not end with the guides! All of the staff was personable and engaging. Bob and Bruce would often sit in the lodge asking about our day (they happen to be the owners). If you had any problems or concerns, they were solved. Charmel is the everything/everywhere person. I swear that she must have a clone or two. She scheduled our visit and takes care of most of the organizational details and she is easy to work with as well. All of the meals are provided and are hearty and delicious. Crystal, Sharon, Nick and Kevin do a superb job--maybe too superb, now we have to go on a diet. Crystal was hilariously funny and made sure that we didn't leave without trying ALL of the desserts. ||The cabins are rustic and comfortable and there is plenty of hot water for nice, hot showers after cold, wet days.||We also enjoyed a couple of "fly outs" trips on the Katmai DeHavilland Otter with real water landings. Bob confidently flew us to Brooks Falls for close up bear viewing we, a real "must do" if the weather cooperates. Bob wants you to have a safe and comfortable flight. Bring a good camera because you will see a lot of bears at Brooks, up close, but safely. We also took an optional, amazing, and unforgettable flyout to go trout fishing up in the tundra, where there were bears and trout in abundance. Gully knew exactly how to behave around the bears and, while they were numerous and fairly close, they were never threatening. They bears have a lot to eat already.||If I could find one negative, it would be that the wilds of Alaska have lots of tiny bugs that can be annoying. So we covered up and wore bug repellant, but mostly we learned to appreciate that a little rain and a mild wind chase the bugs away. They were our friends as well. ||This was an amazing journey and adventure. The natural beauty, the wildness (yet with comfort), the quiet, the wildlife, the abundance of salmon, and the attitude of the staff make a Katmai Lodge vacation truly and experience of a lifetime, no exaggeration. We are coming again...

My family of 3, including my fish/fishing obsessed 7 year old son, stayed for their 3 day Wildlife Package, which includes one day fly out to Brooks Falls and one day of fishing, as well as a day exploring. It was an absolutely FANTASTIC experience. I can’t say enough great things about this place. ||The price felt like a great value considering that the charter flights, food, beer/wine are all included. The food was down home—think prime rib—and abundant. There was a 2 hour pre-dinner cocktail time when folks would hang out, eat snacks, and enjoy some beverages. And there was fish talk of course. We were with the nicest group of people. As a woman, I was seriously outnumbered on the guest side. I think there was one other woman there during our 3 night stay, but I felt very much at home and welcomed. ||Guest rooms were large, comfortable, and had good river views. ||To a number, the staff was warm and welcoming, but special kudos to our fishing guide Matt. We enjoy fishing casually, but had never been fly fishing before. He helped up learned to fly fish quickly, was just incredible with our son, and was just generally a great person to hang out with for the day. We caught our limit of sockeye (10 per person) and Matt prepared a bonus one as a barbeque lunch on the river. We climbed up on a bluff after fishing for the most amazing tundra and river views. On the river we saw brown bear, moose, and a fox. ||Our flyout to Brooks Falls using the camp’s float plane exceeded my very high expectations. Weather was a bit dicey with fog and low clouds, so we hung out playing games and shooting archery in the morning and were underway by late morning. Because we were close to the Brooks area, we were one of the few floatplanes able to get in that day—weather made it inaccessible from Homer or Anchorage so we had a less crowded experience and were able to have two sessions on the Brooks Falls platform (which is limited to 45 minute sessions). There are other viewing platforms further from the falls you can stay at while waiting that have good views too.||Make sure you build in some extra time on your itinerary the day of your fly out. There was rain/weather on our departure day—the charter flight couldn’t come in to the camp’s dirt airstrip, so we had a classic Alaska bush place experience of lots of waiting followed by rushing out to use the floatplane to fly to King Salmon airport where the charter flight would land and fly us to Anchorage. We got to Anchorage just before 6pm, despite the "scheduled" departure time of 10:30.||Prior to our stay, I had some hesitation staying a a "fishing lodge" as someone who doesn't consider herself a hard core fisher, but I am so happy that we ended up at Katmai Lodge and can't recommend it...