The access point for the Thumb River viewing area is a short five-minute boat ride from the Lodge.

The two viewing areas (among our favorites for bear viewing!) are a short walk from the access point. They are strategically placed on elevated bluffs overlooking the river that affords the best vantage point for bear viewers, while remaining a respectful distance from the bears fishing and foraging below.

The O’Malley River is a short, shallow river between two major salmon spawning lakes, and provides excellent feeding prospects for bears. The river’s bear feeding area is the only part of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge that is closed to the public.

In 2011, the KBBC was granted the only special use permit for bear viewing on the O’Malley, which provides us the exclusive right to share this special place with our guests.
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O’Malley is one of our most challenging bear viewing sites to visit due to rugged, brushy, and uneven trails. Given this, we only access the O'Malley River on good weather days, but the wait is worth it!

Our bear viewing area at the Karluk Lake Outlet is located on a high bluff directly overlooking a series of ancient stone fish weirs constructed by our Alutiiq ancestors. These stone weirs still attract large schools of salmon. Like our ancestors, the bears often catch the fish that are trapped in these ancient weirs. The abundance of salmon in easily accessible waters entices bears from across southwest Kodiak Island to make the journey to the rich headwaters of the Karluk River.
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As with our other viewing locations, the Outlet viewing area is placed a respectful distance away from areas with high bear activity to minimize our impact upon them, while still affording magnificent viewing and photographic opportunities for our clients.

Bears use the shoreline of Karluk Lake as both a travel corridor and a place to catch salmon. Although they have an uncanny ability to disappear into thick grass when they are not on the shore, it is possible to watch them from the lake. Every couple days or so we slowly cruise around the entire lake in the comfort of our catamaran and find bears either on the shore or on the hillsides.

This is also a good time to see birds, deer, and otters, and to learn more about the history of the lake and the people who have used it for millennia.

Plan on having a good telephoto lens to capture images of bears during these trips. You are guaranteed to be warm and dry with plenty of good coffee during your trip.