Katmai National Park – First Encounter | Bears, Brooks Falls & the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes

visited Katmai National Park & Preserve in Alaska for the very first time — and this is what we found. From the Katmai Air seaplane flight into Brooks Camp to Bear School, the Brooks Falls viewing platform, the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, and the Ukak Falls Trail, this episode follows three days in one of the wildest places in the National Park System. Katmai isn't accessible by road. Getting there requires a flight to King Salmon and a floatplane to Brooks Camp — and what you find when you arrive is a park that operates entirely on the bears' terms. In July, brown bears gather at Brooks Falls to catch sockeye salmon mid-jump. We watched from the viewing platform multiple times, encountered bears on the trail, and had our departure flight delayed while one cleared the beach. We also rode the bus out to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes — the ash-covered landscape left by the 1912 Novarupta eruption, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century — and hiked the Ukak Falls Trail into the valley floor. In this video… 00:00 – Opening 00:08 – The Seaplane Flight In 01:50 – Brooks Camp Lodge 02:17 – Brooks Falls Platform 04:14 – Day Two – Early Morning Walk to the Platform 04:48 – Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes 06:39 – Late Evening – Back at the Platform 07:20 – Departure – One Last Encounter 07:48 – Closing Thoughts Read Ranger PamPaw’s Guide to Katmai National Park and Preserve - https://tezelsontheroad.com/ranger-pa... For Further Exploration…. https://www.nps.gov/katm/index.htm — Official NPS Katmai National Park & Preserve page https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisi... — NPS Brooks Falls information https://www.nps.gov/katm/learn/nature... — NPS Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisi... — NPS Bear Viewing at Katmai https://www.nps.gov/katm/planyourvisi... — NPS Ukak Falls Trail https://www.katmaiair.com — Katmai Air (Brooks Camp seaplane service) First Encounters is a YouTube series documenting first-time visits to National Park System sites. We're not trying to see everything — just enough to understand why a place matters. Become a Ranger PamPaw Member and support the trail! Your membership helps keep the cameras rolling and the boots on the ground. Choose the level that's right for you: 🟤 Trail Friend — Jump in and join the community https://tezelsontheroad.com/product/t... 🟢 Park Steward — Go deeper and give back https://tezelsontheroad.com/product/p... ⭐ Ranger Circle — Our highest level of trail support https://tezelsontheroad.com/product/r... 🔔 Subscribe for more park stories and first visits. tezelsontheroad.com