A few weeks ago I wrapped up my latest visit to Alaska, where I led the latest iteration of my Alaska Brown Bears tour. We switched things up this year, planning the visit to Lake Clark National Park for earlier in the season. Past trips have fallen in mid-September, but I opted for late July/early August this time.
It made for longer days, and also presented us with some additional photo opportunities not found in early fall. My group (eight of them, which filled our private lodge!) enjoyed some excellent clamming sessions, multiple visits with sows and cubs of the year, and a visit to an island dotted with puffins and other seabirds. It was a great experience!
As always, you can jump straight to the photo archive to view the full gallery. Or check out the preview of some of the highlights below.
Lake Clark National Park is one of the best places in the world to see wild brown bears.
This was my first time visiting in July, which meant we had longer days, nicer weather, and more opportunities to catch bears in the open during their clamming sessions.
Usually, Mom kept the treasure to herself, but the cubs stayed close to catch any fallen scraps.
We were fortunate to have two different bear families with new cubs. The little ones provided hours of entertainment throughout the week.
Something I haven’t had much luck with in the past here is sunrise. We had a couple of brief moments of color this time.
Even without dramatic colors, the cloud cover made for some cool patterns.
This was my first time photographing Horned Puffins.
It’s such a fun, colorful character… instant Top Ten Bird!
These cubs got a better view of a passing boat.
Our time with these bear families included a couple of nursing sessions.
After nursing, these two kicked off a prolonged battle.
The expressions on their faces during the tussle were fantastic.
Though there were no serious melees, the older bears occasionally got into it too.
A brown bear walks past our lodge.
In the past, I’ve been here too late for the salmon run. This time, I was just a bit too early. We saw this bear make the first fishing attempt of the season, to no avail, on our final evening.
View the full Alaska 2023 gallery in the archive (113 images)
Interested in joining a future Alaska brown bear tour? I’m planning outings for 2025 and 2026, and the two trips will be a little different (different locations and different times of year). Learn more and get on the waiting list.
