Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

Only 100 miles southwest from Anchorage, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve holds some of Alaska's finest scenery: an awesome array of mountains, glaciers, granite spires, thundering waterfalls, waved-washed coastline, and the shimmering turquoise waters of its namesake lake. With close proximity to Anchorage and Homer, and less than 20,000 visitors a year, this park is an undiscovered jewel.

Best time to visit: June through September
Entry fee: Free
Visitor Centers: Port Alsworth Visitor Center
Things to do: Bear viewing, fishing, hiking, birding, camping and backpacking, boating, hunting
Types of wildlife: Brown and black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, harbor seals, beluga whales, Steller sea lions, peregrine falcons, and more. 
Lodging: Camping, wilderness lodges

Things to Do

Visitors to the park are usually a mix of anglers, river runners, wildlife enthusiasts, and experienced backpackers. Many activities such as backcountry hiking, camping, birding, kayaking, and rafting require careful planning and time commitment in this vast wilderness. Because of the park's proximity to Alaska's largest city, many visitors interested in fishing, flightseeing, or bear viewing can visit the park for just for a day on a float plane.

Bear Viewing

Bear viewing is a highlight of Lake Clark National Park, with dense populations of brown bears gathering along the coastline, lakes, and creeks to feed on salmon and clams. Guided day tours from Anchorage, Kenai, and Homer take visitors into the park by small plane to spend time watching these magnificent animals. The best times for bear viewing are June through September.

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Photo Credit: Travel Alaska, Chris McLennan

Float Trips & Fishing

Within the park are three designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers — Chilikadrotna, Tlikakila, and Mulchatna Rivers — that have long been havens for rafters and paddlers in inflatable canoes and kayaks. Lake Clark's watershed is one of the world's most important producers of Bristol Bay red salmon, contributing a third of the annual harvest, making the park a popular spot for sportfishing. The rivers and lakes feature outstanding fishing for salmon, Dolly Varden, rainbow and lake trout, Arctic char, northern pike, and Arctic grayling.

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Hiking

Backcountry Routes

There are no roads and few trails in Lake Clark, but the park is home to the 50-mile historic Telaquana Route, the park's best cross-country hiking route. First used by Dena'ina Athabascans and later by fur trappers and miners, the route begins on Lake Clark's north shore, near the Athabascan village of Kijik, and ends near Telaquana Lake. In between, you pass through boreal forests, ford glacial rivers, and cross the fragile alpine tundra along the western flank of the Alaska Range. In addition to the Telaquana Route, there are several other backcountry hiking routes that explore the park's remote lakes, rivers, and mountains.

Established Trails

The only established trails within the park are day hikes near Lake Clark. The Tanalian Trails are a network of seven miles of trails that explore the Tanalian River, Tanalian Lake, and Tanalian Mountain in Port Alsworth. Accessible only by boat or float plane drop-off, the three mile (one way) Portage Creek Trail starts on the north shore of Lake Clark near the Joe Thompson Public Use Cabin. 

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Wildlife Viewing

Lake Clark is home to a wide variety of subarctic wildlife species. Land mammals include brown and black bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and wolves. Harbor seals, beluga whales, Steller sea lions, and sea otters are seen along the coast. 

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Photo Credit: Lake Clark Lodge

Landscape

The 5,625-square-mile park stretches from the shores of Cook Inlet, across the Chigmit Mountains, to tundra-covered hills in Southwest Alaska. The centerpiece of the park is spectacular Lake Clark, a 42-mile-long turquoise body of water ringed in by mountains. The Chigmit Mountain Range, where the Alaska Range merges into the Aleutian Range, is home to Mount Iliamna at 10,016 feet and Mount Redoubt at 10,197 feet — two active volcanoes that erupted in 1990, sending ash all the way to Anchorage.

On either side of the mountains, the valley, lake, and foothill areas reflect a glacially altered terrain. Boreal forest covers the lower sections of the southwest part of the park, with white and black spruce making up most of the coniferous trees. The farther north and west regions are primarily tundra.

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History

Qizhjeh Vena, meaning ‘a place where people gathered’ in Dena’ina Athabascan, is the original name of Lake Clark. The Athabascan people known as Dena’ina have lived in the Lake Clark region for thousands of years. The land and water supports, shapes, and sustains their culture. The park contains numerous sites with ancient and historic remains, many of which are on the National Register of Historic Places — including the famous cabin built by Richard Proenneke in the late 1960s.

Facilities, Camping, & Places to Stay in Lake Clark National Park

Port Alsworth on Lake Clark's southeastern shore serves as the main entry point into the park, accessible only by plane. Within the small village is lodging, meals, raft rentals, a privately-owned campground, and the Port Alsworth Ranger Station, with displays and videos on the park and a limited selection of maps and books for sale.

Wilderness Lodges & Camping

Lake Clark has several remote lodges, most of which are accessible from Port Alsworth or Iliamna, for those looking for a comfortable multi-day escape into the wilderness. Catering to anglers, wildlife enthusiasts, and those looking for a quiet retreat into the wilderness, these all-inclusive lodges provide comfortable accommodations, meals, transportation, and excursions like fishing, bear viewing, boating, and photography.

There is one primitive camping area at Hope Creek and two public use cabins on Lake Clark.

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Photo Credit: Lake Clark Lodge

How to Get to Lake Clark National Park

Access to Lake Clark is by small charter aircraft on a one-hour flight from Anchorage, Kenai, or Homer. Small planes that take visitors on day trips into the park land on lakes, gravel bars, or beaches to spend the day fishing or bear viewing. Most remote lodges are accessed by air taxi from Port Alsworth, which rests on the south shore of Lake Clark, or Iliamna, a small community on the northwest shore of Lake Iliamna.

For more information, visit the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve website.