When to Visit Brook falls

Best time for Bear-viewing at Brook Falls in Katmai National Park

This is certainly a loaded question. Brooks Falls is a place unlike any other for bear viewing in Alaska. If your dream is to see bears catch fish on the falls, this is it; there is no alternative. I personally have been to Brooks Falls over 200 times in the past 2 years, being a fishing guide and King Salmon local has provided me with this wonderful opportunity & amazing insight as to when the best time for bear viewing at Brooks Falls takes place.

In short, the answer is Late June through September, but as simple as that may seem, there are a few more factors to consider than just a blanket answer. So I will be covering each month in detail so that you may be able to decide when is the right time to visit for yourself.

Let’s talk about visiting Brooks Falls in June

June presents us with some unique opportunities and challenges as well. There is one basic ground rule that applies to finding bears in all of Alaska: The bears need food. If you can find a bear’s food source, you will almost certainly find bears. Luckily for us, Salmon are pretty easy to find, so regardless of where you choose to see bears in Alaska, pick somewhere that has fish! You might be wondering what that has to do with June at Brooks?

I would recommend that if you are coming to Brooks Falls in June, schedule your visit sometime after June 15th, if possible. The reason that I recommend sometime after June 15th is that this is typically the earliest I have seen sockeye salmon start to arrive. When the salmon make their seasonal appearance, the bears are close behind, arriving at the Brooks River in pursuit of their favorite food!

The upside to visiting in June is that the crowds are relatively small compared to July. You also could be the first one to see a bear for the year!

If you are considering visiting in June, you can fill out our inquiry form here

Visiting in July

July is peak bear viewing season in Katmai; it is also peak everything else, Salmon, float planes, commercial fishing, and peak crowds as well. This is not to say that visiting in July is a bad idea; I just want to be honest about what to expect.

This first week of July is typically when we see the Sockeye salmon start to show up in big numbers, which, as we discussed earlier, is the #1 factor for bears being at the Brooks River.

There are a few important things to note about visiting in July in regards to what to expect as a visitor to the Brooks camp developed area.

First, the use of tripods on the main viewing platform is prohibited.
Secondly, depending on the number of people wanting to spend time on the main viewing platform, they may limit your time to 30 minutes so that others may have a turn. I want to add a special note to this that no one has priority on the platform. You do not need to be a Brooks lodge guest to access the platform.
Lastly, in regard to your time on the main platform, you may re-enter the queue as many times as you have time for while you are at Brooks Camp. We find that even tho you are limited to 30-minute blocks during peak times, alternating from the Main platform, rejoining the queue, and standing at the lower riffles platform should give anyone ample time for bear-viewing at the falls.

If you are considering visiting in July, you can fill out our inquiry form below.

Visiting Brooks Camp in August

August might actually be the best-kept secret about when to visit Brooks Falls; I can’t say this has always been true, but in the last 8 years, we have been regularly visiting Brooks Falls, and August offers what we believe to be the best of what is available at Brooks camp.

In my experience, there is still often 60-70% of the bears still at Brooks Camp in August as there is in July, and by mid-August, about 50% of the crowds or less. Out of the 20 or so times I visited last August (2025), we had unlimited time at the main viewing platform. Although we did share the platform with about 30 other guests, there was some elbow room and no need to leave the platform other than to have some lunch!

Once we start to reach the last 5 days or so of August, the bears start to spread out and spend less time at the falls. That isn’t to say there aren’t bears at the falls; there just aren’t as many because the salmon have stopped jumping and have reached their spawning grounds.

If you are considering visiting in August, you can fill out our inquiry form below.

So what about September

When I visited Brooks last fall in September, I want to say I possibly saw more bears than any other time I have been to Brooks Camp, with one important note. Only a few of the bears I saw were at the Falls. I was there on a fishing trip for myself before closing up for the season, and I saw bears all the way from Brooks Lake to the lower bridge, but very few were at the Falls. It is just an important thing to note; now that being said, if you want to see Big Fat Bears, this is the month!

Some important notes about visiting in September.

Brooks Lodge closes on September 18th, which means no more services, no food, and no lodging.
The NPS services end on September 17th, so there is no visitor center. Only some limited services may continue until the 30th.
Transportation also becomes sparse or non-existent except with us here at Katmai B&B.
Katmai Air ceases seat fares in September when Brooks Lodge closes & Katmai Water Taxi ceases operations in the first half of September.

If you are considering visiting Katmai, you can fill out our inquiry form below.

Well, there you have it: a complete guide on when to visit Brooks Falls

I hope that helps you in planning your visit to Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park; I hope to continue to be your go-to resource for all things Katmai, Brooks Falls, and fishing-related.

An in-depth Guide To the Best time to see bears at Brooks Falls