Located on the Alaska Peninsula, Katmai National Park and Preserve is best known as one of the premier bear-watching locations in the world. Brown bears are drawn to the Brooks Falls. From nearby platforms, you can watch these majestic animals in their habitat. But the park is more than just the bears. The park is full of mountains, lakes and forests. The park is great for hiking (although there are very few maintained trails) as well as camping, kayaking and canoeing. If you’re going to fish, you can find abundant salmon and trout in the summer.

Established as a national park in 1980, the park is one of the lesser visited in the system. To get there, you’ll need to fly to King Salmon, which can only be reached by air. Then, you’ll need to take an air taxi into the park. Visiting in the summer is really the only option. It’s when you’ll find good weather and long days. Also, the park’s bears hibernate in the winter, so you’ll miss out on that unless you visit July through September. The viewing platforms near Brooks Lodge can get crowded occasionally in the high season.