Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in Alaska, USA - map, photos and visitor information

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in southwest Alaska offers coastal bear viewing, lake travel, and hiking from Port Alsworth or into remote backcountry. There is no road into the park. Choose the area you want to visit before arranging a flight: a coastal landing, a lake landing, and a stay in Port Alsworth require different travel plans.

Highlights around Lake Clark

• Cook Inlet bear viewing: Chinitna Bay and Silver Salmon Creek provide opportunities to watch brown bears feeding along the coast. Use established viewing areas and follow local guidance.
• Tanalian Falls: Reach a waterfall on foot from Port Alsworth, with other walks in the Tanalian trail network available for longer outings.
• Upper Twin Lake: Visit Richard Proenneke’s historic cabin during its summer opening season. Reaching it normally requires a separate floatplane trip.
• Lake Clark cabin stays: The Priest Rock and Joe Thompson public use cabins offer rustic overnight bases reached by boat or floatplane.

Know before you go

Fees, hours, and seasonal access

Prepare for delays and bear country

Leave an itinerary with someone who can report an overdue return. Park staff do not monitor your progress. Carry satellite communication, extra food and fuel, and equipment for an unplanned overnight stay. There is no cell phone service in the park, and weather can delay pickup for several days.

Stay together while viewing bears. Do not crowd them, block their movement, or occupy feeding areas. Follow the designated approach to viewing sites. Store food and garbage using an approved method for your location; ordinary coolers and dry bags do not qualify as bear-resistant containers.

Coastal campers must use an active bear-resistant electric fence from May 1 through November 1 when camping within half a mile of the Cook Inlet coastline. The park’s current compendium defines the applicable restrictions.

Protect feeding areas and private land

Respect meadow closures and restrictions on eating near bear-viewing areas. Confirm the seasonal dates of the Chinitna Bay picnic restriction before your visit.

Keep pets leashed; NPS recommends leaving them at home. Respect private cabins, camps, and Native Corporation land. Carry out trash. Within half a mile of the Cook Inlet coast, use an approved toilet or pack out solid human waste and sanitary products. Other designated areas also have waste-removal rules.

Reservations and permits

Ordinary recreational visits, backpacking, and bear viewing do not require an NPS entry reservation or recreation permit. Groups larger than 15 need a permit. Fishing requires compliance with Alaska licensing and fishing rules.

Reserve the two public use cabins through the linked Recreation.gov booking pages. Each allows a maximum of five consecutive nights and 21 nights per calendar year. Arrange transport separately. Private lodges and guided trips have their own booking terms.

Maps, location, and access

The park lies across Cook Inlet from Homer and southwest of Anchorage. Small aircraft are the main means of access. Flights on wheels can use suitable runways or beaches; inland lakes generally need floatplanes in summer. Do not assume nearby points on a map can share the same aircraft itinerary. The NPS transport guide lists authorized providers by landing type and departure community.

Boat trips to the coast depend on weather and tides and are arranged individually. In Port Alsworth, expect to walk unless your provider arranges local transport. Follow local instructions around the active airstrips.

Use the official map resources to check land ownership and obtain topographic maps. The general park brochure map is not a navigation map.

Nearby parks

These regional options require separate transport; neither has a road connection to Lake Clark.

• Katmai National Park and Preserve: South of Lake Clark, Katmai is reached mainly by aircraft or boat, often through King Salmon.
• Kachemak Bay State Park: Across the bay from Homer, this park has boat and aircraft access, including water taxis from Homer.

Choose a hike or a separate fly-in visit

For walks from Port Alsworth, the NPS day-hike guide gives these round-trip distances:

• Tanalian Falls: About 4 miles through birch and spruce woodland.
• Kontrashibuna Lake: About 5.5 miles, continuing beyond the falls.
• Tanalian Mountain: About 8.6 miles on a steep, demanding route. Allow at least eight hours.

Beyond maintained trails, hiking requires route-finding skills and judgment about river crossings. High water can make a planned crossing impossible. Guided bear viewing, fishing, and lake trips provide other ways to visit, but each depends on local conditions and suitable transport.

At Upper Twin Lake, the Proenneke cabin is a historic site, not overnight accommodation. Hope Creek has a primitive camping area across the creek; a crossing may be unsafe during high water. Confirm cabin access before booking a flight solely for an interior visit.

Facilities, lodging, and accessibility

Port Alsworth has the park visitor center and private visitor services, but no grocery store. Bring your meals unless you have confirmed food arrangements with a lodge. Private lodging and a privately operated campground are available; remote backcountry areas have few facilities. There is no drive-in visitor parking to use as an access plan.

Priest Rock accommodates up to six people and Joe Thompson up to three. Both have wooden bunks, a wood stove, and an outhouse, but no electricity or running water. Bring bedding, cooking equipment, and drinking water or a treatment method. At the Proenneke site, use the provided pit toilet; Hope Creek also has a toilet facility. Do not assume such facilities exist elsewhere along a route.

The Port Alsworth Visitor Center has a wheelchair ramp and Braille brochures. Beach wheelchairs can be reserved at Port Alsworth, Silver Salmon Creek, and Chinitna Bay. Discuss aircraft boarding and field conditions with your provider, as accessible equipment at a destination does not guarantee an accessible journey.

About Lake Clark

Dena’ina homeland and park designation

Qizhjeh Vena, or Lake Clark, is part of the Dena’ina Athabascan homeland. Subsistence traditions continue in the region. Congress established the national park and preserve on December 2, 1980, protecting a landscape shaped by glaciers and volcanic activity alongside its cultural connections.

Wildlife across coast and mountains

Brown bears concentrate along the Cook Inlet coast, while black bears occur through much of the park below its highest elevations. Moose use wet areas below timberline, and Dall sheep occupy higher mountain terrain. Salmon connect ocean and freshwater habitats and support the wider ecosystem. Wildlife sightings depend on location and season.

Contact Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

For visitor information, call 907-644-3626 or use the email form on the official contact page. The visitor center is at 1 Park Place, Port Alsworth, AK 99653; its mailing address is PO Box 227. The Anchorage administrative office is separate from the park and is not a visitor entrance.