Hallo Bay Bear Viewing
ABOUT HALLO BAY BEARS
At the base of Mt. Douglas along the Katmai coastline there is a special place that dozens of Brown Bears call home, Hallo Bay. This is a spectacular area with towering volcanoes, wide open sedge grass meadows, miles of sandy beaches, and streams filled with salmon. Your trip begins with an early arrival at our Beluga Lake office to meet our friendly reservations team for your official check in. Once the paperwork is done and flight manifest is complete, you'll jump into one of our shuttles for a quick ride over to the Homer airport where your pilot/bear guide is waiting for your arrival. After a short safety brief, climb aboard one of our Turbo Beavers or Cessna 206 wheeled planes and get ready for an incredible flight down to Hallo Bay. We’ll depart Homer and fly southwest along the Kenai Mountains to the end of the Kenai Peninsula, then across to the Barren Islands, and over to Afognak Island near Alaska’s largest Island, Kodiak. From there, we’ll jump over the Shelikof Straights and descend into Hallo Bay. Load up those camera cards and fresh batteries! For the next 3 hours, we'll walk on the beach, through the meadows, and along small streams watching and photographing various bear groups doing amazing wild activities in their natural environment. Bears of all sizes and shapes begin early in the season feasting and preparing for the long winter's nap ahead. A high fat and protein diet of clams, sedge grass, and salmon is top priority. Occasionally, a dead Humpback whale will wash up onto the shore providing a feast that lasts nearly the whole summer. The backdrop for your photographs is unlike anything else on earth. Part of the Ring of Fire, snowcapped Mt. Douglas soars into the skyline just beyond the horizon. Return to Homer at the end of your adventure with full camera cards and big smiles. Join us for a day of bear watching in Hallo Bay, Alaska!
What to expect:
- Scenic Flight is approximately 1.5 hours each way
- Beach landings on big tundra tires/bushwheels
- Small group led by pilot/guide
- Largest Bears - Coastal Brown Bears
- Digging clams, eating sedge grass, fish, and berries
- Up close and personalized experience
- Turbo Airplane = more time with the bears!
- Faster, Safer, and Quieter Planes
- Trip Length: 5-6 Hours
- Capacity: Up to 15 Seats
- Trip Price: $995 per person
- (Plus taxes, park fees, fuel surcharge) *3% processing fee will be applied to all credit card payments. Wire transfers and checks accepted.
- Private excursions are available
Why Turbine Airplanes?
Enhanced Power-to-Weight Ratio:
- Optimized Turbine Engine Output: Turbine bush planes typically utilize engines with a superior power-to-weight ratio compared to their piston counterparts. This translates to improved takeoff capabilities, particularly on demanding airstrips found in Alaska, where short or elevated runways are common. The heightened power enables turbine bush planes to efficiently handle substantial loads, making them ideal for transporting cargo and passengers across Alaska's rugged landscapes.
Elevated Reliability and Durability:
- Streamlined Mechanical Design: Turbine engines boast a simpler mechanical structure with fewer moving components, resulting in heightened reliability and reduced maintenance demands. In the remote and challenging conditions of Alaska, where access to maintenance facilities can be limited, the straightforward design of turbine engines becomes a notable advantage. Turbine bush planes exhibit resilience against the rigors of rough landings, harsh weather, and extended use, offering increased overall durability compared to piston engines.
Optimal High-Altitude Performance:
- Consistent Power in Elevated Environments: Turbine engines maintain a steady power output at higher altitudes, making them well-suited for navigating the mountainous terrain prevalent in Alaska. Given that bush planes frequently encounter the need to traverse mountain ranges and glaciers, the capacity to operate effectively at high altitudes is critical. Turbine engines deliver reliable performance in these conditions, ensuring pilots have the necessary power for safe takeoffs and climbs amidst the challenging topography of the Alaskan wilderness.
About Katmai National Park and Preserve
Katmai National Park and Preserve is located in southwest Alaska on the Alaska Peninsula across from Kodiak Island. The Park is most well known for the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, multiple volcanoes, and for its brown bears. The park is named after Mount Katmai, its centerpiece volcano, and spans 4,093,077 acres and nearly 6,400 square miles. Most of the national park is a designated wilderness area. The park headquarters are in nearby King Salmon, about 290 miles southwest of Anchorage. The area was first designated a national monument in 1918 to protect the area around the major 1912 volcanic eruption of Novarupta, which formed the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a 40-square-mile, 100-to-700-foot-deep pyroclastic flow. The park includes as many as 18 individual volcanoes, seven of which have been active since 1900. Initially designated because of its volcanic history, the monument was left undeveloped and largely unvisited until the 1950s. The monument and surrounding lands became appreciated for their wide variety of wildlife, including an abundance of sockeye salmon and the brown bears that feed upon them. After a series of boundary expansions, the present national park and preserve were established in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Katmai occupies the Pacific Ocean side of the Alaska Peninsula, opposite Kodiak Island on the Shelikof Strait. The park's chief features are its coast, the Aleutian Range with a chain of fifteen volcanic mountains across the coastal southeastern part of the park, and a series of large lakes in the flatter western part of the park. The closest significant town to the park is King Salmon, where the park's headquarters is located, about 5 miles down the Naknek River from the park entrance. The park includes McNeil River State Game Sanctuary and Refuge on Kamishak Bay.
Call us today to book your adventure!
