Don't know your budget or how much time you want to spend viewing bears, but we (family of four with 11 & 13 year old boys)just returned from a three night stay at Hallo Bay camp in Katmai. You will definitely see a lot of bears in a very wild/natural setting. We stayed 8/10 - 8/13 while the salmon were running so the bears were fishing the whole time. In early July you'll probably view them grazing in the sedge. The whole thing was an unforgettable experience. Don't expect luxury - this is a place that wants to make minimal impact on the surroundings. We also saw several grizzly bears in Denali Park, but not the same as spending hours watching them entertain us.

Dave, tell us about your accommodationat Hallo Bay camp in Katmai. May I ask how much did you pay for four people for three nights? Was transportation included? How did you get there?

Their website (www.hallobay.com) has many pictures and pricing. It wasn't cheap, but to us worth it. We did the three day camp based tour. Accomodations were nice platform tents with cots/sleeping bags and a kerosene stove. They have clean chemical toilets and hot showers available morning//evening. It is about an hour flight from Homer and the plane lands on the beach in front of the camp. Their website is very close to what you will see and experience. We unfortunately did not see wolves, but they were around. They have a new large comfortable galley not seen on the site though.

I sent two river guides down one of my favorite fishing streams and they did an overnight.... about a 50 mile float.

Keep in mind that I work in Denali along with these guides. But, when they returned, they told me that their trip was better than anything they had seen in the park. Fact. Also keep in mind, most everything for us here in the park is free. Yet, they, like me, would now rather get away from the industrial side of Alaska tourism and back into the real thing.

They saw 11 bears on their trip, and one in particular that epitomized Alaska for them. A giant brownie chasing a salmon up a shallow stream with an eagle circling directly above.

These are the things I see every year without boarding a plane, or paying for much more than food and gas. True, to the tourist, there would be the cost of the employee, but, it is far cheaper than one thinks to have a real Alaskan experience. Which by the way is defined by the lack of comfort as opposed to the 5 star accomodations.

Bears live among smelly fish and biting mosquitoes.

Come and see!

Personally I feel that we all have our own ways traveling and seeing places, people or animals including bear watching. Cheerful had a great time at the Brooks Fall. Dave and his family had an unmatched experience at the Hallo Bay camp. MileKing took a trip with Bald Mountain. My husband and I took already five trips with Emerald Air Service. Every time we had a very original and unforgettable visit with brown bears. The bears are not the same, they also act differently. EACH time! Perhaps these are animals seen by other people who took many photos of them. But there is never the same bear fishing the same way year after year after year. Cheerful describes this so well. Every year we returned home with hundred or more photos and there are never two pictures alike. I guess you have to be there to understand how meaningful every single moment becomes. This is one of the reasons why we love to go back to Alaska year after year. Every year we add new places to our itinerary but we also return to the same familiar spots. It is never the same. I can hardly wait until 2004 when we return for another inspiring bear watching trip.

ummmm.... yes, the same bear will fish the same way time after time, year after year. Right up until it is pushed from it's chosen spot by the next generation.

That you think you saw something unique is fine, but each has it's technique... which it learned when young and is acclimated to.

My point here is that, and you can search the web and countless books showing the illustrations, there is very little varience in the behavior, techniques, approach, and habits of any given bear.

There are trails in the ROCK near Wrangell where bears, over the centuries, have walked the same narrow path. Heel to toe. Surely the could walk elsewhere. But, from their youth, they learn, and then repeat.

No, this does not mean that they are all so predictable. But, after living up here in Alaska for nearly than 25 years, and probably seeing more bears than most people, I can tell you that I would not spend MY money at Brooks or McNeil. Especially when there are less seen bears a whole lot closer to the road.

But, as someone suggested, to each their own.

Cool it, akvisnet!!!! Let us enjoy Alaska. Don't tramp our dreams. To some of us money is not as important as seeing bears.

As someone suggested, to each their own.
You are trying very hard to tell us that what we did by visiting Brooks Falls is wrong. You see we don't live in Alaska so we can't wait for 25 years to see a bear. We met some Alaskans who never saw during their 32 years in Alaska as many bears as we did in one day.

I made a visit to Brooks Falls last year in July. I didn't find it to be over rated at all. It was everything I hoped for and more.I won't soon foget my time there.
Yes,we did see some Bears at the Falls fishing for Salmon, which was great.There were a lot of bears in the area; not just at the falls.We spent a lot of time observing them and I felt as though we were getting just a small glimpse into there day to day struggle to survive.
We observed a mother with two cubs upstream. The mother mostly was looking for food and trying to avoid the males. Since the males will kill the cubs.The mother let her guard down and began playing with her cubs in the water.I felt very privileged to get to witness this special time she was having with her young.

I guess the bottom line is that any of the above Bear viewing trips mentioned in the above posts are very worth the time and money it takes to do them.You won't regret doing it.

Sorry incog... Even I suggested to each their own.

Each year thousands upon thousands of visitors crash into Alaska and, I love it. Nothing makes me happier than showing off my state. But, for the sake of these forums, and my own conscience, I like to remind people that Alaska is a huge place and that some of the best is yet to be seen. This occasionally involves saving money, but can also cost more depending on the locale. Ultimately, my only real hope is to be able to advise people from my travels that there is an Alaska that is more genuine than most (not all) of what appears in the glamour ads of high priced publications.

Bear viewing is one of those type of things. As are glacier cruises, flightseeing operations, etc. I am saying only that often there are options that you will never hear of due to the fact that they are not featured in "Discover Alaska," or, have very little commercial activity. The latter being more to the point. That the epitome of Alaska is the communion of the individual with a wilderness that is vastly greater than themselves. This is something that is harder to find when hearded around like cattle from one "adventure" to the next.

You'll see from my previous postings that I encourage people to slow down. Stop, watch, listen.

Then, maybe on your next visit, you'll attempt something out of the ordinary like visiting Clearwater Creek, Ugak Bay, Goodnews River, etc., etc. Where you won't be one of the many, but one of the few. And much more likely to be sharing Alaska with Alaskans than allowing a tourist to be your guide.

It is an empassioned issue to me, and will continue to be. I am sorry if I sounded like your trip was not of value... I'm sure it was.