How to Get from King Salmon to Brooks Falls
How to Get from King Salmon to Brooks Falls
I’m Steven, and I run Katmai B&B here in King Salmon. I moved up to fish and live in Alaska, and I’ve spent the years since helping visitors get out to Katmai and Brooks Falls. There are no roads into Katmai, so getting there is a short chain of flights and a crossing. Once you see it laid out, it’s simple. Here’s the whole thing. (For the full trip start to finish, see my complete Brooks Falls guide.)
First, Anchorage to King Salmon
The nearest commercial airport to Katmai is King Salmon, about 280 miles southwest of Anchorage. You fly Alaska Airlines from Anchorage to King Salmon, roughly an hour, around $500 round trip depending on the date. Because of the flight schedule, most visitors spend a night in Anchorage on each end of the trip.
Then, King Salmon to Brooks Camp
There’s no road from King Salmon to Brooks either, so the last leg is by air or by water. You have two ways across.
Float plane. Around 25 minutes, roughly $500 round trip per person with Katmai Air, the main seat-fare operator. Flights run regularly through the day in season.
Water taxi. About 45 to 60 minutes across Naknek Lake, around $475 round trip per person, on a set schedule in season (roughly late June through mid-September).
Both answer to the weather. The float plane won’t go in poor visibility, a low ceiling, or extreme wind; the water taxi gets shut down by dense fog and wind. The useful part is they don’t always quit on the same day, which is the whole reason it helps to have both available.
A couple of charter-only air operators also fly the route, but they charter by the trip rather than by the seat, so they make sense mostly for custom or remote trips rather than a standard Brooks day. For most visitors, the seat-fare float plane or the water taxi is the way.
Doing it with us
Here’s the part that makes a King Salmon basecamp actually work. When you go out to the falls with us, you don’t have to choose between the float plane and the water taxi, or gamble on the one you booked being able to fly. We run both and pick the right one based on the day’s weather, so a fogged-in morning doesn’t cost you the trip. That’s how we get guests to Brooks about 99% of the time. A full day out there usually runs 8 to 12 hours, which gives you real time at the falls plus a buffer before and after the day-tripper crowds.
If you want to see parts of Katmai beyond Brooks, we can coordinate charters out to the more remote corners of the park too. Those are priced by the trip rather than by the seat, and they’re a completely different perspective on the place.
Where to stay while you do it
You base in King Salmon and go out to the falls each day, because the only lodging inside the park is Brooks Lodge, and it’s booked by a lottery most people can’t get. We run Katmai B&B right on the Naknek River, with breakfast, the daily transfers, and trip-planning help all included. For a full rundown of the lodging options in town, see my where-to-stay in King Salmon guide.
Ready to plan it?
My complete Brooks Falls guide covers the whole trip, and the trip-cost worksheet will price your dates. If you’d rather have the whole chain handled, that’s what we do. Plan your trip, or give us a call at (833) 252-8262.
Steven, Katmai B&B
Planning a trip to see the bears yourself?
Before you book anything, watch my free training. It's the stuff I wish everyone knew first, whether they come with us or plan it on their own. Watch it here →
