Search Results for: Brooks Lodge

This Natural History Tour is an Optional Add-on to Your Stay at Brooks

Operates June 5th thru September 17th, 2025

This day long natural history bus tour meets each morning at lower viewing platform. A knowledgeable Park Ranger will be your guide, so questions about the region during the tour are encouraged!

The 23 mile drive to Overlook Cabin is broken up with stops for scenic views and wildlife viewing. At Overlook Cabin you’ll have time for lunch and to look over displays and historic photos of the “Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.”

Those interested may hike down with the tour guide to examine the ash and pumice “Valley” floor. The hike is a bit strenuous. We recommend that you dress in layers so you can adjust clothing as exercise and weather dictates. A raincoat and comfortable walking shoes are a must.

2025 Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes Natural History Tour Rates

Full Tour with Sack Lunch	$115.00
Full Tour without Sack Lunch	$100.00
One-way (drop-off or pick-up)	$65.00

About The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

In June of 1912, the eruption of Novarupta Volcano altered the Katmai area forever. Severe earthquakes rocked the area for a week before Novarupta finally exploded with cataclysmic force. Enormous quantities of hot, glowing pumice and ash were ejected from the volcano and nearby fissures. The molten material flowed over the terrain, destroying all life in its path. Trees were snapped off and carbonized by the blasts of hot wind and gas. For several days, ash, pumice, and gas were ejected causing a haze that darkened the sky over most of the Northern Hemisphere.

When it was over, more than 65 square kilometers (40 square miles) of lush green land lay buried beneath volcanic deposits as much as 200 meters (700 feet) deep. At nearby Kodiak Island, it has been said that one could not see the light from a lantern held at arm’s length for nearly two days. Acid rain from the event caused clothes to disintegrate on clotheslines as far as Vancouver, Canada. The eruption was 10 times more forceful than the 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens.

Eventually Novarupta became dormant, but innumerable small holes and cracks developed in the volcanic ash deposits, permitting gas and steam from the heated ground water to escape from the valleys of Knife Creek and the Ukak River.

Unnamed when the 20th century’s most dramatic volcanic episode took place, it was Robert Griggs who gave the valley the name we know today while exploring the volcano’s aftermath for the National Geographic Society in 1916.

“The whole valley as far as the eye could reach was full of hundreds, no thousands – literally, tens of thousands – of smokes curling up from its fissured floor,” Griggs wrote. From then on, the valley became known as the “Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.”

Only one eruption in historic times – Greece’s Santorini in 1500 B.C. – displaced more volcanic matter than Novarupta. The terrible 1883 eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa belched out little more than half as much, yet killed 35,000 people. Vastly isolated, Novarupta killed no one. In fact, as Robert Griggs calculated, if the eruption occurred on Manhattan Island in New York City, residents of Chicago would hear it plainly. The fumes would tarnish brass in Denver. Acid raindrops would burn your skin in Toronto. In Philadelphia the ash would lie nearly as deep as this folder is wide. Manhattan would have no survivors.

Today, you can experience the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes for yourself via our natural history bus tours of the area which depart daily from Brooks Lodge.

Katmailand, Inc. is authorized within Katmai National Park and Preserve to provide transportation and tour services.

Sound like a good time to you? Incorporate this tour into your stay at Brooks by clicking right here.

Reservation Policies

• All reservations are held for 3 days from the day the reservation is placed, while payment is being made.  
• All reservations require a 50% confirmation deposit payment within 3 days of creating the reservation.
• All invoiced bookings with no confirming reservation payment received after the 3 day hold period, are considered no longer reserved and are open to sell.
• Final balance payments are due in full 90 days prior to trip start date.
• Payments can be made via credit card through the payment link on the invoice, or by calling the Anchorage reservations office, or by sending a check made out to Bristol Adventures.

Cancellation, Rescheduling, and Refund Policies

• Brooks Lodge room reservations are considered refundable, less a $100 per room per night fee, as long as space made available by the cancellation is sold to another party.
• Cancelled room reservations resulting in unsold availability are not refundable.
• Changes made to a reservation after a trip has begun are not eligible for refund.
• Flight reservations are refundable, less a $100 per person fee if cancelled at least 30 days prior to the start of the reservation.
• Cancellations made within 30 days from the start of travel are not refundable.
• Day trips will be refunded if we cannot fly due to inclement weather.
• If weather warrants that travel is possible for part of a trip (such as Anchorage to King Salmon) but is questionable to reach the final destination (such as Brooks), passengers may be given the option to cancel the entire trip for a refund OR travel the initial leg of the trip in hopes that weather improves in time to reach the final destination. However, if a passenger opts to fly, any flight leg that is fulfilled is not refundable.
• Same-day cancellations due to inclement weather is only available if offered by our Anchorage office staff.

General Terms and Conditions

Brooks Lodge reserves the right to cancel or alter; scheduled flights, tours, or itineraries as situations or conditions require for safe operations due to weather or other factors beyond our control. Brooks Lodge is not responsible for any expenses incurred for how its schedule or itinerary changes might affect additional travel, lodging, logistics or plans. Because weather can occasionally affect schedules, and because unforeseen situations can necessitate a trip cancellation, Brooks Lodge highly recommends purchasing trip or travel insurance.

To make a reservation call 1-877-751-1275 or 907-243-5448. You can also email us at info@brookslodge.com or request a reservation by clicking right here.

Home to Brooks Lodge, Katmai was declared a national monument in 1918 to preserve the living laboratory of its cataclysmic 1912 volcanic eruption, particularly the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Since then, most surface geothermal features have cooled, but protecting brown bears has become an equally compelling charge. To protect these magnificent animals and varied habitat, the boundaries were extended over the years, and in 1980 the area was designated a national park and preserve.

Katmai looms so vast that the bulk of it eludes all but a few persistent visitors. Other lodges, rivers and streams are accessible by float plane and offer a glimpse of the unseen Katmai, beyond the usual experiences of fishing Brooks River, walking up to Brooks Falls, and riding the bus out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes.

The Bears

Katmai National Park’s awe-inspiring natural powers confront us most visibly in its brown bears. In summer, North America’s largest land predators gather along streams to feast on salmon runs, building weight from this wealth of protein and fat, preparing for the long winter ahead.

Contrary to popular belief, Alaska’s brown bears and grizzlies are now considered one species. In other parts of the world, grizzlies are considered to be those that live 100 miles or more inland. Thus brown bears are often considered to be ‘coastal’ bears and are therefore generally larger than grizzlies thanks to their rich diet of fish. However, Kodiak brown bears are actually considered to be a different subspecies that is geographically isolated on Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska.

Mature male bears in Katmai can weigh up to 900 pounds. Mating occurs from May to mid-July and cubs are born in their respective dens in mid-winter. Up to four cubs may be born at a time, at a mere one pound each. Cubs typically stay with their mother for two years, during which time she does not reproduce. The interval between litters typically lasts at least three years. Brown bears dig a new den each year, entering it in November and emerging in April. Believe it or not, approximately half of their lifetime is spent in their dens!

These awe-inspiring bears symbolize the wildness of Katmai today. However, because each bear is an individual, its important to note that no one can predict exactly how a bear will act in a given situation. Thus, it is important to exercise caution at all times in bear country.

Other Wildlife

Besides brown bear, Katmai National Park provides a protected home to moose, caribou, red fox, wolf, lynx, wolverine, river otter, mink, marten, weasel, porcupine, snowshoe hare, red squirrel, beaver, and numerous birds of prey.

Marine mammals include; sea lions, sea otters, and hair seals. Beluga, killer, and gray whales can also be seen along the coast of the park.

Salmon Runs 

A predictable eruption occurs at Katmai National Park and Preserve annually as salmon burst from the northern Pacific Ocean and into park waters. Sockeye (also known as red) salmon return from the ocean, where they have spent two or three years. Navigating first across the open ocean, and then up rivers, lakes, and streams, they return to the headwater gravel beds of their birth to deposit their own young before dying. Their size, averaging 5 to 7 pounds, varies proportionally to how long they spend feeding at sea.

The salmon run begins here in mid to late June. By July’s end a million fish may have moved from Bristol Bay into the Naknek system of lakes and rivers. Salmon stop feeding upon entering freshwater, and physiological changes lead to the distinctive red color, humped back, and elongated jaw they develop during spawning.

Salmon spawn during August, September, and October. Stream bottoms must have the correct texture of loose gravel for the eggs to develop. The stream must flow freely through winter to aerate the eggs. By spring the young fish that have just hatched, called ‘fry’ or ‘juveniles,’ emerge from the gravels and migrate into the larger lakes, living there two years. The salmon then migrate to sea, returning in two or three years to spawn and begin the cycle once again. Salmon provide food for the brown bears, bald eagles, rainbow trout, and directly or indirectly for the other creatures that forage along these streams. They also have been important to Katmai people for several thousand years, and commercial fishing, outside the park, remains the mainstay of today’s local economy.

The salmon run begins here in mid to late June. By July’s end a million fish may have moved from Bristol Bay into the Naknek system of lakes and rivers. Salmon stop feeding upon entering freshwater, and physiological changes lead to the distinctive red color, humped back, and elongated jaw they develop during spawning.

In our region, sockeye typically spawn during August, September, and October. Stream bottoms must have the correct texture of loose gravel for the eggs to develop. The stream must flow freely through winter to aerate the eggs. By spring the young fish that have just hatched, called ‘fry’ or ‘juveniles’, emerge from the gravels and migrate into the larger lakes, living there two years. The salmon then migrate to sea, returning in two or three years to spawn and begin the cycle once again.

Salmon provide forage for nearly all of the surrounding life in the Katmai area. Brown bears, bald eagles, resident fish species, and many other fauna and flora rely heavily on the nutrients provided by each year’s salmon run. They also have been important to Katmai people for several thousand years and remains the mainstay of today’s local economy.

Additional Resources

• Map of Brooks Camp
• National Park Service
• Explore.org Bear Cam

Interested in experiencing all that Katmai has to offer? Get in touch with us to plan your trip today!