Katmai National Park & Preserve
A landscape is alive underneath our feet, filled with creatures that remind us what it is to be wild. Katmai was established in 1918 to protect the volcanically devastated region surrounding Novarupta and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Today, Katmai National Park and Preserve also protects 9,000 years of human history and important habitat for salmon and thousands of brown bears.
Unlike most national parks in the United States, Katmai is almost exclusively accessed by plane or boat. Directions from the Park Service ↗
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Katmai National Park and Preserve | Daily · All Day |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Brooks Camp Campground ↗ | 32 sites | |
| $18 a night · This campground is open all year. The electric fence surrounding the campground is only maintained from June 1 to September 18. · 60 reservable | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. How park camping works
Visitor centers
- King Salmon Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Located next door to the King Salmon Airport, the King Salmon Visitor Center provides information on the many federal public lands of Southwest Alaska, particularly those in the Bristol Bay area.
- Brooks Camp Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Brooks Camp Visitor Center, open June 1 – September 29, is the point of entry for all visitors to Brooks Camp. A park ranger is on duty to provide information, campground check-in, mandatory bear etiquette and safety talks, and backcountry planning.
- Robert F. Griggs Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Robert F. Griggs Visitor Center overlooks the famous Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes and is the starting point of the Ukak Falls Trail. The posted hours are estimated because the visitor center is only open during ranger-led Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes tours.
Explore
Things to do
- Float the Savonoski Loop4-10 Days
The Savonoski Loop is an 80 mile paddle through the scenic backcountry of Katmai National Park. Paddlers need intermediate canoeing or kayaking skills, and experience traveling in wilderness and in bear country.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become A Katmai Jr. Ranger30-90 Minutes
Take your stewardship to the next level by earning your Junior Ranger Badge.
Opens on the Park Service site - Become a Not-So-Junior Ranger at Katmai
Become a Not-So-Junior Ranger Journeys at Katmai: An Activity Book for Not-So-Junior Rangers is geared toward young adults and adults.
Opens on the Park Service site - Explore Katmai by Air
Katmai National Park and Preserve spans over four million acres of remote, wild, and spectacular country and there's no better way to see it than from the window of a small airplane.
Opens on the Park Service site - Boating in Katmai National Park and Preserve
Katmai contains hundreds of miles of rivers and streams, many large lakes, and countless small ponds. These waterways were used by Native Alaskans long before contact with Russian and European explorers.
Opens on the Park Service site - Watch Bears at Brooks Camp
Brooks Camp is renowned for its remarkable bear viewing opportunities.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 9Hide
- Take a Guided Tour to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes7 Hours
Join a ranger-guided tour to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Experience the raw power of nature and learn about the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike to Dumpling Overlook
Dumpling Overlook offers expansive panoramic views of Naknek Lake, Brooks River, and Lake Brooks. Visitors also have the option to continue beyond the maintained trail to the summit.
Opens on the Park Service site - Watch the Katmai Bearcam
Follow the brown bears of Brooks River from anywhere with an internet connection with our live bearcam.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
- Riffles BearCam ↗
- Brooks Falls Low ↗
- Dumpling Mountain Cam ↗
- Naknek River Cam ↗
- Brooks Falls Bearcam ↗
- River Watch Cam ↗
Camera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
News
- Fat Bear Week 2026 ↗2026-09-11
Fat Bear Week Voting Returns Sept. 22 as Katmai’s Bears Bulk Up for Winter
- Aircraft Removed Following Aug. 6 Accident in Katmai National Park and Preserve ↗2026-08-12
Cleanup following an Aug. 6 floatplane accident in Katmai National Park and Preserve has been completed. The aircraft was successfully removed from the site Aug. 11, and no injuries were reported in the accident.
- Bear Pin Logo Design Winner ↗2026-07-23
A design by Fred Anderson of Naknek, Alaska, won the annual Brooks Camp bear pin logo contest in Katmai National Park.
- Park and Community Poetry Workshops ↗2026-07-16
Poet Jodie Hollander is leading three free poetry workshops and readings in Katmai National Park and Naknek from July 26 to 31, 2026.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for Katmai National Park & Preserve and Alaska
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 175 birds, 42 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican kestrel · Bald eagle · Boreal owl · Golden eagle · Great gray owl · Great horned owl · Merlin · Northern harrier · Northern hawk owl · Northern saw-whet owl · Osprey · Peregrin falcon · Rough-legged hawk · Sharp-shinned hawk · Short-eared owl · Snowy Owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican wigeon · Barrow's goldeneye · Bufflehead · Canada goose · Common goldeneye · Common loon · Common merganser · Double-crested cormorant · Eurasian wigeon · Greater scaup · Greater white-fronted goose · Green-winged teal · Harlequin duck · Hooded merganser · Horned grebe · Lesser scaup · Long-tailed duck · Northern pintail · Pacific loon · Pelagic cormorant · Red-breasted merganser · Red-faced cormorant · Red-necked grebe · Red-throated loon · Ring-necked duck · Sandhill crane · Snow goose · Tufted duck · Tundra swan
Shorebirds & seabirdsAleutian tern · American golden-plover · Arctic tern · Baird's sandpiper · Black oystercatcher · Black turnstone · Black-bellied plover · Bonaparte's gull · Common murre · Dunlin · Fork-tailed storm-petrel · Glaucus gull · Glaucus-winged gull · Greater yellowlegs · Herring gull · Horned puffin · Hudsonian godwit · Least sandpiper · Lesser yellowlegs · Long-tailed jaeger · Marbled godwit · Mew gull · Pacific golden-plover · Parakeet auklet · Parasitic jaeger · Pectoral sandpiper · Red-necked phalarope · Rhinocerus auklet · Rock sandpiper · Ruddy turnstone · Sabine's gull · Semipalmated plover · Short-billed dowitcher · Short-tailed shearwater · Solitary sandpiper · Spotted sandpiper · Thick-billed murre · Tufted puffin · Western sandpiper · Wilson's snipe
Gamebirds & dovesPigeon guillemot · Rock dove · Rock ptarmigan · Spruce grouse · White-tailed ptarmigan · Willow ptarmigan
WoodpeckersAmerican Three-toed Woodpecker · Black-backed woodpecker · Downy woodpecker · Hairy woodpecker · Northern flicker · Three-toed woodpecker
Also on the checklistAlder flycatcher · American dipper · American pipit · American robin · American tree sparrow · Ancient murrelet · Arctic warbler · Bank swallow · Belted kingfisher · Black scoter · Black-billed magpie · Black-capped chickadee · Black-legged kittiwake · Blackpoll warbler · Bohemian wagwing · Boreal chickadee · Brant · Brown creeper · Canadian jay · Canvasback · Cliff swallow · Common eider · Common raven · Common redpoll · Dark-eyed junco · Eastern yellow wagtail · European starling · Fox sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned kinglet · Golden-crowned sparrow · Gray-cheeked thrush · Gray-crowned rosy-finch · Gyrfalcon · Hermit thrush · Hoary redpoll · Horned lark · King eider · Lapland longspur · Lincoln's sparrow · Mallard · Marbled murrelet · Mckay's bunting · Northern goshawk · Northern shirke · Northern shoveler · Northern waterthrush · Northwestern crow · Olive-sided flycatcher · Orange-crowned warbler · Pacific wren · Pine grosbeak · Pine siskin · Red crossbill · Red-breasted nuthatch · Redhead · Ruby-crowned kinglet · Rusty blackbird · Savannah sparrow · Say's phoebe · Snow bunting · Song sparrow · Steller's eider · Surf scoter · Surfbird · Swainson's thrush · Tree swallow · Varied thrush · Violet-green swallow · Wandering tattler · Whimbrel · White-crowned sparrow · White-winged crossbill · White-winged scoter · Wilson's warbler · Yellow warbler · Yellow-rumped warbler · kittlitz's murrelet
Small mammalsAmerican beaver · Arctic ground squirrel · Arctic hare · Brown lemming · Dusky shrew · Hoary marmot · Masked shrew · Meadow jumping mouse · Meadow vole · Muskrat · Northern bog lemming · Northern collared lemming · Northern redback vole · Porcupine · Pygmy shrew · Red squirrel · Snowshoe hare · Tundra shrew · Tundra vole · tiny shrew
Marine mammalsEastern Sea Otter · Harbor porpoise · Harbor seal · Humpback whale · Killer whale · Northern fur seal · Northern sea lion
PredatorsAmerican marten · Brown bear · Canada lynx · Coyote · Ermine · Gray wolf · Least weasel · Mink · Northern river otter · Red fox · Wolverine · black bear
Hoofed mammalsCaribou · Moose
BatsLittle brown bat
Activities
Activity guides for this park Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 18 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
Located between the stormy north Pacific Ocean and the even stormier Bering Sea, the Katmai region is often a battleground between weather systems. When you visit, be prepared to encounter all types of weather. On average, wet and cool conditions predominate in spring, summer, and fall. Winters are drier and colder.
Questions people ask
Does Katmai charge an entrance fee?
No. Katmai is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Katmai open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Katmai?
Yes. The Park Service lists 1 campground in Katmai: Brooks Camp. 1 takes reservations through Recreation.gov.
Source: Campgrounds
Which Katmai campgrounds have showers, hookups, or a dump station?
Showers: Brooks Camp.
Source: Campgrounds
How busy is Katmai?
34,479 recreation visits in 2025, number 292 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
What is the weather like at Katmai?
Located between the stormy north Pacific Ocean and the even stormier Bering Sea, the Katmai region is often a battleground between weather systems. When you visit, be prepared to encounter all types of weather.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
