Caught one at the falls, Katmai National Park/Rebecca Latson.
When I first met up with the rest of the participants for my August 2014 photography tour in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, the photo tour leader was extolling the virtues of the 'wild setting' of Lake Clark photography versus the more restrictive access to the bears at Katmai National Park and Preserve. I initially found myself growing a little hot under the collar because I LOVED my Katmai experience (and continue to recommend it to others). After a day or two of photographing the bears in Lake Clark, though, I began to understand that to which the tour leader referred. I also began to wonder which of those two bear photography tours was, in truth, my favorite. Did I even have a favorite? I later realized each tour allowed for different experiences, depending upon what that photographer wanted.
Bears vs Bears
I saw more bears in Katmai, along the Brooks River, than I did in Lake Clark, either along the beach of Cook Inlet or in the fields further inland. However, what I saw (or rather, did not see) in Lake Clark was not always the norm, I was told. In Katmai National Park, the number of bears at the viewing platforms along the Brooks River and Naknek Lake is predicated upon the migration of the salmon. You will see the most bears within Katmai during July and September. Before and after those months, when there aren't so many salmon in the river, the chances may be slim to none to see the bears (given the length of time ordinary people like you and I are normally allowed to stay within the park).
In Lake Clark, during the time I was there (August), I think we saw a total of three adult bears plus two spring cubs (this is not counting the other, non-bear, wildlife such as eagles, a porcupine and various ducks). Had it not been for the sow and her cubs (the stars of the show almost every day), we would have been hurting for bears to photograph. Why did this happen when I have read about the large number of bears along the shores of Cook Inlet, either digging for clams or fishing the surf for salmon? It might have been due to the bumper crop of ripe berries this year. If the berries were as ripe and plentiful in Lake Clark as they were in Denali (and I can attest to that!), then I could see those bears remaining up in the higher elevations of the back country, scooping into their mouths all those bits of juicy, sweet-tart lusciousness.
Got milk! A sow and her spring cubs nursing in Lake Clark National Park/Rebecca Latson.
I was informed by our Alaskan Homestead Lodge bear guide of the plethora of bears in the area during June and July, but the tour company I was with doesn't currently offer a photo tour to Lake Clark at that time because of the mosquitoes (lots of bears, but lots of mosquitoes ' a tradeoff, I suppose). That doesn't mean there probably aren't other bear photo tours to this place during that time, nor does it mean one can't go to Lake Clark on their own, stay at the lodge and hire their own guide; I may just do that very thing in the future, as a matter of fact.
Length of Stay
As far as I am aware, I could have stayed within that particular part of Lake Clark National Park as long as there was available room for me at the Alaskan Homestead Lodge; the photo tour stayed there for five nights (4-1/2 days of bear viewing). In Katmai ' had I not been with the tour - I could have stayed seven nights in July (or 14 nights per calendar year) at the Brooks Camp campground about a third-of-a-mile from Brooks Lodge, as long as I had made a reservation. However, since I was with the tour, we spent a total of three nights (2-1/2 days of bear viewing) at Brooks Lodge; the lodge has a limit as to the number of nights a person can stay during those two peak months of July/September.
Accommodations (and food) are more luxurious at Lake Clark than at Katmai. Of the two or three lodges in that part of the park (near the beach along Cook Inlet), I stayed at the Alaskan Homestead Lodge, which accommodated our viewing times by working their cooking schedule around us. Brooks Lodge in Katmai, on the other hand, had very specific times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Period. It was not a bad thing, except you could not snack in your room at Brooks Lodge. You could only eat (or cook) in designated areas of Brooks Lodge and the campground.
Viewing The Bears
It all comes down to a sense of freedom and setting, I guess. I enjoyed viewing the bears in both national parks, but admit that in Katmai, I had to do battle for space on the viewing platforms with other photographers and non-photographers. If I wanted to avoid the day-trippers and get some decent golden light, I had to skip either breakfast or dinner to do so. The platforms, though, were near to the action, thus affording great close-up portraits without much image cropping. Besides, where else can you get a close-up photo of a bear on a waterfall reaching out, mouth wide open, to catch a jumping salmon?
Safety
I was never afraid and always felt safe standing upon those elevated platforms within Katmai. I also completely trusted our guide, Scott (the 'bear whisperer') and never once felt nervous during the Lake Clark tour, even when the bears were 30 feet away from me and my tripod.
Just 30 feet away from me, Lake Clark National Park/Rebecca Latson.
Getting There
A bush plane can fly to Lake Clark National Park from Anchorage in an hour with the possibility of wildlife photography another hour after arrival, unpacking and orientation. It took the better part of half of a day to get to Katmai National Park (located further south than Lake Clark); their mandatory orientation session lasted about 30 minutes. We probably started our bear viewing sometime around 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. upon arrival after a very quick lunch before the cafeteria shut down.
And The Winner Is:
So, which was my favorite place for bear photography?
Drum Roll ...
Both. For me.
Yeah, I know, what a cop-out, Becky! But truly, I LOVED both of these photo tours for different reasons.
Both Katmai and Lake Clark national parks allowed me the opportunity to observe and photograph these amazing bears at close range. I saw more bears at Katmai. I felt more 'wilderness-y' out at Lake Clark, with no wood & metal railings between me and the bears. I was able to get closer to the bears at Lake Clark, but I saw fewer bears (nobody's fault, there unless I want to blame Mother Nature). In Lake Clark, we did a whole heck of a lot more driving around to search for the bears than at Katmai, where all we had to do was walk the trails to each of the three viewing platforms.
Lack of crowds, quality of accommodations and sumptuous meals: Lake Clark and Alaskan Homestead Lodge win, no comparison, there.
I was impressed by the knowledge of and respect for bears that *both* the Katmai rangers/volunteers and the Alaskan Homestead guides possessed.
Oh, OK. You've twisted my arm. I highly recommend both of these venues and urge you to see both of these places if you are able. I suppose, though, if you only have one chance in your life to do any bear viewing at all, then go to Katmai. All other issues aside, I think you would be guaranteed a greater chance of seeing more than one bear in Katmai during July and September. Yes, you've got crowds to deal with, paper-thin walls within the lodge if you choose to stay there, and rigidly-set meal times ' oh, not to mention frequent closures of trails to the platforms whenever there is a 'bear jam.' However, if you've never been bear viewing before and are willing to put up with all of that, then Katmai is probably the place you should see first. It's not the *only* place you should see but it should perhaps be the *first* place, in my opinion.
Who's that knocking at my door? Katmai National Park/Rebecca Latson.
Each venue offers different incredible experiences and different incredible photo ops and I'd go to either of these again in a heartbeat. So the choice is all yours.
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