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Katmai National Park and Preserve – an Introduction
The Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska is really a nice destination to be visited. This national park in U.S comprises different interesting addresses and activities. The visit to the Ten Thousand Smokes Valley or the unique opportunity to view the brown bears and several other interesting options makes the Katmai National Park and Preserve, special in true terms. The U.S national park covers an area of about 19,122 square kilometers, which is somehow as big as Wales. The name of the USA national park has been derived from Mount Katmai, a stratovolcano standing at the center of the park.
Visiting Katmai National Park and Preserve
The Katmai National Park is famous for its brown bear population. It also comprises bulk of salmon in the Brooks River. This fish happen to be a major attraction for both bears and people. There are approximately 2000 bears in Katmai and they come at the Brooks River when the school of salmons is spawning. This provides the individual an opportunity to view the brown bears.
The Brooks Camp is the most developed area in the entire park and the visitors generally accumulate over here. As the Park authorities have absolutely made it sure that the bear should not get any human food or directly confront the humans. So the bear are not afraid of the human beings and are absolutely uninterested about their presence. Therefore it is somehow the best place if you have the desire to watch bears.
Hiking backpacking, camping, backcountry skiing, fishing, kayaking, boat tours, and different interpretive programs are some of the interesting things to do while at Katmai National Park and Preserve. There are at least fourteen active volcanoes within the national park, there are also numerous archaeological sites dispersed here and there and they indicate the history of prehistoric occupations in the region.
Camping: The most developed camping site is located in Brooks Camp It lies in nearness to the shores of Naknek Lake and is about a quarter mile from the Brooks Camp Visitor Center. The standard services and facilities offered in the park are, food cache, gear cache, fuel storage locker, potable water, cooking shelters, outhouse, and fence working on electric. The facilities are offered from June 1 to September 17
Guided Tours: The guided tour of Katmai National Park is often led by the ranger and include, cultural walks, Dumpling Mountain Hike and tour of Valley of Ten Thousand Smoke. The cultural tour takes place from June 1 to September 17. It throws light on the history of human civilization in Katmai along the Brooks River. The hiking trip gives one the chance to explore the natural splendor of the place and a visit to the valley of ten thousand smoke is a unique opportunity to view the volcanic valley, which will indeed be a wonder to your eyes.
Opening Hours
The Katmai National Park and Preserve is open throughout the year. The National Park Service and concession services are offered at Brooks Camp. There is also a bear viewing season in Katmai National Park and Preserve and it commence during the months of July and September.
How to Reach
Air: The headquarter of the Katmai National Park and Preserve is located at King Salmon. There are flights scheduled from Anchorage to King Salmon. There are also floatplanes that fly through the last 33 miles from Homer to Brooks Camp. The summer visitor center and the activity center of the park are located here. One can also arrange for the air charters from different places.
Road: One can drive for the 9 miles from King Salmon to Lake Camp. Thus you can reach the western end of the park lying on the Naknek River.
Water: You can take a boat to Brooks Camp, the Bay of Islands, and different other parts of Naknek Lake and enter the park.
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