This Iconic National Park In Alaska Is Home To The Internet's Favorite Wildlife

Volcanic ash and the movement of glaciers formed the landscape of Alaska's fascinating, wild, and beautiful Katmai National Park and Preserve. Walking through rugged, snow-covered mountain peaks of the Alaska wild alone and looking out at the icy blue water would be enough reason to love Katmai, but it's not the land that attracts the attention of millions of people all over the world. It's the bears. More than 2,000 brown bears live in Katmai, and many gather in the same place to hunt for fish throughout the summer.

Explore.org has run livestreams of the areas where the largest numbers of bears fish since 2012. People watch these livestreams, affectionately known as the bear cams, year after year. While Katmai is usually a mysterious and untamable place, through the camera lens, viewers have the rare opportunity to get to know the bears who make this park their home as individuals. They follow their stories to see which bears mate, fight, and, of course, get the fattest off the bounty of fish.

Every year, based on photos taken by park rangers, fans vote for which bear they think has gained the most weight in preparation for hibernation in a light-hearted competition called Fat Bear Week. The bears have made this park beloved; for many, just watching online is not enough. Visiting this park is no easy feat, but for those who love the bears, making the journey to Katmai could be a dream come true.

Alaska has many unbelievably beautiful national parks where you can spot bears, but Katmai is one of the few habitats left unchanged by human interference. Specifically, Brooks River Falls in Katmai National Park may be the single best place to see bears in the world. As salmon flood through the area for breeding, an unprecedented number of bears stand in the water waiting to catch fish after fish after fish, hopefully gaining enough weight to survive the winter and become Fat Bear champion. Sometimes, as many as 50 individual bears gather together in the river at one time — a sight you can behold in few other places.

"​​People watching online can get very attached to the bears by name. Some people travel to Brooks Camp, specifically looking for their bears," former Katmai volunteer interpretive ranger Kelli McMahan stated (via Baylor University). While most fans have to settle for watching the bears through the cams, Katmai National Park has multiple platforms allowing those who make the journey to safely observe the mammals in person. While the bears technically can see you, they remain fixated on hunting the millions of salmon swimming up Brook Falls, so you can still watch them behaving naturally from the platforms.

If you want to make the pilgrimage to Katmai National Park and see the beloved bears of Brooks Falls in person, you need to take an air taxi flight or charter plane (and maybe you can even stop by the stunning Unimak Island, not far from Katmai). To reach Brooks Camp, your actual destination, most people fly from Anchorage to King Salmon, and then hop on a quick flight or a boat ride. After arrival, you'll watch a presentation by a park ranger who will teach you how to stay safe around the many bears. 

Trails will take you from the visitor center to the bear viewing platforms: the Lower River Platform, the Riffles Platform, and the famous Falls Platform. The Falls platform only allows 40 people at a time, but due to the one-hour maximum viewing period, you probably won't have to wait long to watch the bears yourself. You can stay at the nearby Brooks Lodge or make reservations for the campground, but prepare to face stiff competition for these spots during peak bear season — you'll have to compete with everyone else desperate to behold these beloved creatures in person.