Day Tripping to Lake Clark National Park from Anchorage

Posted On October 1, 2024

Last Updated on December 12, 2024

Whether you’re on a quest to visit all of the US National Parks and got stuck on the remote Alaska ones, or you’re just looking for an incredible off the beaten track bear viewing and epic wilderness adventure, this article is for you.

I’m the host of the Alaska Uncovered Podcast as well as a tour director in Alaska and a former full time Alaskan. I’ve been on lots of tours and to many amazing places and I only share the very best here on my website with you. This is one of those truly special tours for those who like to get away from it all and just be in a place, especially if you like to spend time with wildlife.

If you like to move at a fast pace and check as many boxes in as short a time as possible, then this experience is not going to be for you – this is for people who want to go deeper, animal lovers, national park lovers and those who really want to experience what’s unique about the places they travel.

I was hosted on this incredible day trip to Lake Clark National Park for bear viewing with Rust’s Flying Service (affiliate link) and I’m thrilled to share the experience with you.

Listen instead of read on the Alaska Uncovered Podcast

A brown bear on the beach next to a float plane with mountains and fall trees behind.

Which is better for bear viewing – Lake Clark National Park or Katmai National Park?

I’ve been lucky enough to see brown bears in Katmai and Lake Clark and in my opinion if you are doing a day trip from Anchorage Lake Clark is a better bear viewing experience because

  • Lake Clark is a shorter flight from Anchorage with less weather that can cancel or delay your flight
  • Katmai feels very crowded if you are there for a day trip – you may wait in line for up to an hour or more to go out onto the viewing platform and your time there is limited
  • The landscape in the area immediately around Brooks Falls is not as pretty as Lake Clark (this is relative of course – all of Alaska is beautiful!)
  • You get to go to a place few visitors make it to – way off the beaten path
  • On this day trip to Lake Clark you get way more time on the ground to experience the park from the safety of a pontoon boat and without anything resembling a crowd.
The head of a brown bear splashing into a lake.
The time on the ground in the park gives you the chance to observe bears for hours, including their behaviors, like grabbing fish out of the water.

Where is Lake Clark National Park?

Google maps image of the location of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, relative to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.
The small lake outlined in red dots is Crescent Lake where this tour lands for bear viewing inside Lake Clark National Park. Map credit: Google Maps

Lake Clark National Park is located about 100 miles Southwest of Anchorage and west of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska’s remote and roadless wilderness.

The only access to the park is by small plane. In this article I’m describing a day trip from Anchorage to Crescent Lake in Lake Clark National Park by floatplane.

What to expect on the flight to Crescent Lake in Lake Clark National Park

The flight with Rust’s from Lake Hood Floatplane base in Anchorage to Crescent Lake in Lake Clark National Park can take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. The difference depends on the type of floatplane you’re in, some are faster than others and you won’t know this in advance.

A red floatplane from Rust's Flying Service at the edge of Crescent Lake. Passengers are getting ready to board on the plank going to the float.
Getting ready to board the plane to return to Anchorage

When you arrive at the office, you’ll be able to store luggage if you want to and use the restroom as well as step on the scale along with your gear. This is part of flying in small planes in Alaska. Next you’ll meet your pilot and learn about the flight plane and safety features of the plane.

The interior of a floatplane seen from above through a fisheye lense. There are 8 seats for passengers plus the pilot and copilot seat.
Inside Rust’s Cessna 208 Caravan, one of the models of floatplane they operate.

You’ll be flying from Anchorage along the Cook Inlet and then over or through the mountains of the park to land on the remote lake.

A few other questions I frequently get about floatplane flightseeing:

  • Will my feet get wet? No. You’ll be able to step from a dock or beach onto the float and then on a couple steps that are more than a ladder but less than stairs. At a beach a wooden plank is usually used to bridge from the float to the beach.
  • Will it be bumpy? Though there may be a few bumps on takeoffs and landings as well as a few short sections here and there, tours are usually quite smooth most of the time
  • What if it rains? Try not to worry about the weather. A flightseeing tour will not operate if weather makes it unsafe or you just can’t see anything. Rain by itself is generally not a problem for views or safety (these photos and videos were taken on a gray and mostly rainy day)
  • Is it loud? You’ll have a headset to wear for hearing protection and also so you can hear and talk to your pilot. You can also listen to the radio communication between planes
  • Why do I have to get weighed? In small planes the exact weight of the passengers, pilot and gear is more important than in a bigger plane where there’s more wiggle room. This is part of flying in Alaska!
  • Can I choose my seat? All seats on a flightseeing plane are amazing with great views. It doesn’t matter which side you are on. The pilot will assign seats based on a variety of factors (including who sits in the front seat)
A red airplane wing of a small plane on an overcast day with mountains with fresh snow below
Even on a cloudy day you may not see the highest peaks but there are plenty of mountains to see along the way to Crescent Lake.

What to expect once you arrive at Crescent Lake in Lake Clark National Park

What I absolutely love most about this tour is the amount of time you get on the ground inside Lake Clark National Park. This is really unique in day trip tours. Due to bear activity, this is not a place you can wander around on your own, but you’ll still have an amazing day.

One thing to keep in mind is that opportunities to use the restroom are limited and restrooms are outhouses. They do have a sink for you to wash your hands which is pretty great. There are not restrooms on the plane or in the pontoon boat. There are at the lodge where you’ll land and take off as well as eat lunch. If frequent restroom breaks are a concern for you, I recommend talking about this with your guide when you arrive to make sure they give you enough breaks at the lodge to meet your needs.

When you arrive at Redoubt Mountain Lodge on the shores of Crescent Lake, the staff there will help you get out of the plane and on to the beach. There’s an outhouse to use. They’ll also outfit you with rubber rain gear – I recommend taking advantage of this even if it’s not raining as the rain gear really helps cut the wind. I wore it over my own rain coat at one point for warmth and it was great.

A snow and glacier capped volcano peaking out of the clouds on a mostly cloudy day with a tree in the foreground.
Redoubt Mountain, one of Lake Clark National Park’s active volcanoes, peaking out of the clouds.

Most of the day you’ll spend on a pontoon boat looking for bears and checking out the amazing mountains that surround the lake. On my tour, we spent about an hour and a half in the boat before lunch and about three hours in the boat after lunch. The exact timing on this depends on the day, the weather, where the bears are, etc so I recommend lots of flexibility around timing to make the most of your day. You can always ask your guide about what to expect.

A pontoon boat at the edge of a lake tied to the shore with a wooden step for guests to get on board. Mountains with fresh snow are in the background on an overcast day
Our pontoon boat getting ready to head out to look for bears!

Lunch is served around noon in the Bear Den of Redoubt Mountain Lodge. We had a delicious salmon lunch along with rice and salad a brownies and plenty of hot drinks in the cozy log building.

A log building with seating on the porch and a firepit in the foreground. There is an outhouse and another cabin behind the building and several golden birch trees are around the buildings.
The Bear Den at Redoubt Mountain Lodge where a delicious lunch is served (outhouses to the right).

Our group spent about an hour enjoying lunch, taking a restroom break, stretching our legs and walking around the immediate beach area at the lodge. If you have any dietary restrictions make sure to let them know ahead of time as this is a super remote location. On my tour there was a vegetarian and a gluten free traveler and they were both accommodated (with advance notice). This is not a place you can wander off by yourself!

On the day I went we saw 31 bears (!) including several sets of cubs, a bald eagle, trumpeter swans, lots of salmon and we explored the entire length of the lake. Keep in mind that these details will vary based on the day and weather and salmon runs – our guide said 31 bears is a lot. Wildlife sightings are never guaranteed, but you can be pretty confident of seeing bears on this tour.

A bear and two cubs at the mouth of a creek with golden fall shrubs and another bear looking on from across the creek. High mountains with fresh snow are in the background
The river entering Crescent Lake at it’s head – opposite end of the lake from the lodge.

What is the best month to see bears in Lake Clark National Park?

September. September also has the benefit of gorgeous fall colors.

Two brown bears, a mother and cub, sitting on the beach next to a river facing away from the camera. There are evergreen trees and golden fall birch trees along the river and a mountainside in the background.
These colors in September are just amazing and make the bears somehow even better (photo on September 24, 2024).

The bears are present starting at the end of July and in August, but our guide said that there are definitely the most bears in September as they feast on the end of the Sockeye salmon run.

Note – This is only for Crescent Lake in Lake Clark National Park. Coastal Brown Bears in Coastal Alaska follow salmon runs and the bears are present in different areas at different times.

How far ahead do I need to plan to visit Lake Clark?

This day trip operated by Rust’s only operates for a couple months of the year – late July through late September (when the bears at at Crescent Lake) and bear viewing tours are small and fill quickly. I recommend booking this tour in October or November before you want to go. However, if you’re planning your trip later, as soon as you know your dates, book it right away.

If you are planning to stay at a remote lodge in the Lake Clark area, you need to book that at least a year in advance unless you get very lucky with a cancellation.

Is this tour wheelchair accessible?

No. However, if you have limited mobility and can get into and out of the plane and boat with help the staff will do everything possible to make it work for you. If you have limited mobility I recommend contacting them before booking to talk it through – this is my strong recommendation for any flightseeing tour in Alaska.

You will need to be able to step from the dock up three ladder rungs to get into and out of the plane and be able to get across a short, narrow wooden board at the beach at the lake. There are also a couple of steps to get into and out of the pontoon boat.

What is the weather like in Lake Clark National Park?

Like much of Alaska, the weather in Lake Clark National Park is very unpredictable and changes rapidly, sometimes from hour to hour.

Regardless of the weather in Anchorage or the forecast, you need to be prepared for sun, rain, cold, warmth and wind.

Weather does sometimes interfere with floatplane operations, however your tour operator will worry about this. Don’t assume your flight will be canceled if it’s raining – the day I went to Lake Clark is was a rainy day in Anchorage and it wasn’t a problem.

What to bring for a day trip to Lake Clark National Park from Anchorage

A person in a red rain jacket and black rain pants smiling on the deck of a pontoon boat with mountains in the background.
This is what I wore on the pontoon boat – my shoes are waterproof and I put on one of the yellow rain slickers over the whole outfit when it got windy and cold for a few minutes.

My packing list for Alaska will serve you well here. Specifically for this day trip to Lake Clark from Anchorage, you’ll be outside in weather that could be quite warm OR could be quite cold and windy. Lots of rain is also a possibility so you really need to be ready for anything! Make sure to bring:

  • Rain gear – Rain jacket and rain pants and waterproof footwear. Rain is always a possibility here and even if it doesn’t rain these items are super helpful in cutting the wind and keeping you warm (it did not rain while I was in the park and I wore my rain gear the whole time because of the wind)
  • Sun protection – if the sun is out it can get intense, so make sure you have sunglasses, sunscreen and some lighter layers no matter what the weather is like when you’re leaving Anchorage.
  • Back up battery for your phone or camera – You’ll be taking around a bajillion pictures so you want to make sure you don’t run out of memory or power! Also, put your phone in airplane mode which will preserve the battery in this remote location without cell service.
  • Any medications that you need to take – timing is flexible on this tour and you don’t know exactly what time you’ll return, so make sure to bring any medications you need.
  • If you have binoculars, definitely bring them. I never remember my binoculars and I still had a great time.

Why is it so expensive to visit Lake Clark National Park

Often I’ve found that my clients and guests on my tours are shocked to find out how expensive it is to visit remote areas of Alaska, especially National Parks. This particular trip costs around $1200 per person and while I believe it offers and incredible value and a unique once in a lifetime experience, there’s no question this is a lot of money for a day.

One thing I love about this tour is that it’s many hours of bear viewing and a wonderful lunch making for a day that moves at a slow pace and allows you to fully experience what Alaska has to offer with amazing guides and pilots. This is what makes it a good value from my perspective.

A few reasons include:

  • Tours that have a very short season are always expensive – some tours will be canceled due to weather but you still have to pay your people! You need great people even for a short season whether it’s to guide guests on the pontoon boats at the lake, or fly them from Anchorage.
  • Operating in remote areas is expensive – getting food to the lodge for lunch, fuel to fly the floatplane, housing staff in remote locations
  • Flying is expensive – planes must be kept in perfect condition and well maintained with skilled and experienced pilots – especially flying to remote lakes in Alaska’s wilderness!
  • Demand is extremely high – way more people want to go to these places than small tour operators can accommodate in a season
A mountainside with yellow birch trees in fall and a river in the foreground with two brown bears sitting on the beach. Text reads Lake Clark National Park Bear Viewing in Alaska

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Jennie Flaming
Hi! I'm Jennie. I’m a fourth generation Seattleite. I lived in Alaska for many years and I still spend lots of time there every year visiting friends and working as a tour director. I've been a guide for many years in both Alaska and Washington, contribute to the Milepost and host the Alaska Uncovered Podcast about Alaska Travel as well as the Washington State Hiking Podcast. I love to share the places I love with visitors, newcomers and my fellow locals. I’m so glad to have you here!