A Typical Day at the Lodge
8 AM
Breakfast
Enjoy a morning cup of coffee on your private lakefront deck before being served freshly-made breakfast in our gathering room.
Panoramic lake and mountain views offer a preview of the coming day's adventures.
9 AM Guided
Excursion
Enjoy the scenic wildlife tour aboard our heated catamaran vessel to one of our three primary bear viewing locations.
Locations are situated strategically for unparalleled access to observe the natural habitat.
12 PM
Lunch
Return to the Lodge gathering room for refreshment and lunch.
Talk with your guide about how to tailor your excursions so that you and your small group have the most enjoyable time possible.
1 PM Guided
Excursion
Spend your afternoon with guided excursions for bear viewing via catamaran, hiking on foot, or exploring the wildlife along the lake's edge via kayak.
6 PM
Dinner
After a busy day, enjoy a relaxing dinner in the gathering room. Later, return to your well-appointed cabin to watch the evening sun on your deck, or gather around the campfire and talk about the amazing sights of the day!
8 AM Breakfast

Enjoy a morning cup of coffee on your private lakefront deck before being served freshly-made breakfast in our gathering room.
Panoramic lake and mountain views offer a preview of the coming day's adventures.
9 AM Guided Excursion
Enjoy a morning cup of coffee on your private lakefront deck before being served freshly-made breakfast in our gathering room.
Panoramic lake and mountain views offer a preview of the coming day's adventures.

12 PM Lunch

Return to the Lodge gathering room for refreshment and lunch.
Talk with your guide about how to tailor your excursions so that you and your small group have the most enjoyable time possible.
1 PM Guided Excursion
Spend your afternoon with guided excursions for bear viewing via catamaran, hiking on foot, or exploring the wildlife along the lake's edge via kayak.

6 PM Dinner

FROM THE KODIAK BROWN BEAR CENTER & LODGE on Camp Island, you will embark on a short boat ride to one of our bear viewing locations. Karluk Lake has over 30 miles of shoreline with countless tributaries creating a rich bear feeding ground supplied by a rich concentration of salmon.
After a busy day, enjoy a relaxing dinner in the gathering room. Later, return to your well-appointed cabin to watch the evening sun on your deck, or gather around the campfire and talk about the amazing sights of the day!
Bear Viewing Locations
Each bear viewing location offers you a unique glimpse into the life of the bears and highlights the grandeur of Kodiak Island.
With our highly trained and experienced guides, you will be immersed into the bear’s environment to observe, study, and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for these legendary bears.
We take no more than eight clients at a time to one of our bear viewing locations. This ensures our clients will have the best possible bear viewing experience while minimizing the impact and disturbance to the bears.

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.
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.
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.