Alaska- Hallo Bay summer salmon run

General tour description

Hallo Bay is located within Katmai National Park on Alaska's southwestern coast and is a true paradise for a wildlife photographer. The bears in Hallo Bay are extremely tolerant and indifferent to people's presence which offers fantastic photo opportunities. One of the reasons for the bears' unique tolerance of people and confidence is that the bears in Hallo Bay have for a long time been protected from hunting, so they see no threat in man. Guided groups on regularly basis also visit Hallo Bay during the season and has then become accustomed to the presence of people, many bear individuals have become so-called positively habituated. A unique co-existence of bear and man has been developed during the about 30-40 years of bear viewing in the area. This has created the rare opportunity to be able to sit and photograph and study the bears up close when they are hunting in the rivers for salmon. Bears can sometimes actually pass only a few meters away from where you sit. Sometimes you can get the ultimate proof of confidence by having a female bear lie down and nurse her cubs right next to where we sit! It is an incredible and magical experience to get the chance of experiencing the world of the bears.

Brown bear running through water, creating splash, with blurred coastline in background.

The scenery of Hallo Bay is also one of the most spectacular along the coast with its sea line, beaches, grasslands, mountains and glaciers. In addition to bears, one also have the chance to photograph and view more of Hallo Bay's rich wildlife. A wolf pack usually resides in Hallo Bay and if you are lucky you can get a chance to photograph wolves who, just like the bears, hunt salmon.. Fearless foxes sometimes also show up, it is not uncommon to be joined by them at the camp when eating breakfast. There is also a rich bird life in the area, waders, duck birds, and birds of prey such as bald eagles, peregrine falcons, northern harriers and merlins. Hallo Bay is difficult to reach and is only accessible by chartered sea planes or boat, therefore there are usually not that many visitors at the same time. We always travel in small groups of 6-7 participants. Instead of staying overnight at a lodge or on a boat, we stay in a tent camp with a relative close walking distance to the hot spots in the area. By this way we do not miss a second of action that would otherwise easily be missed when being transported back and forth or while at a lodge or on a boat. Many well-known professional photographers and filmmakers have visited Hallo Bay like BBC and National Geographic. This is your chance of getting the perfect bear picture!.

  • Day 1. All participants are meet on Kodiak Island where the tour is started. The first night is spent at a hotel at Kodiak Island.
    Day 2-8. Today our sea plane will fly us out to Hallo Bay. The small sea planes are quite weather dependent for flying, the weather can sometimes be too tough to fly and one then have to be prepared to wait a day or two before we can fly out. Once up in the air, the flight takes about 1 hour. During clear weather you will get a fantastic view over a fantastic wilderness landscape with towering mountains, glaciers and grassy plains. When we arrive in Hallo Bay, we pitch our tent camp a few kilometers away from the salmon rivers where bears are usually active. During the days that follows, we will be able to photograph / view bears at a uniquely close range as they catch salmon in the rivers. Salmon migrate into the rivers to spawn and the rivers can sometimes almost boil with salmon. In addition to salmon fishing bears, one might also get opportunities to photograph bears looking for clams on the beaches, bears moving on the large grassy plains, bear cubs playing, and more much. By staying in the same area for several days, we have the opportunity to photograph and witness many different behaviors. After a few days you also learn to recognize certain individuals, which usually makes the whole viewing even more interesting. Besides bears, you also have a great chance to see and sometimes even photograph wolves. You can often hear them howl in the early mornings and also see tracks of them along the beach. The bird life in the area is rich; powerful bald eagles along the rivers, hunting and pergrine falcons can sometimes also be seen hunting birds across the plains. Out in the sea you can often see sea otters lying on their backs and knocking sea urchins with stones on their stomachs, the heads of seals poping up from time to time, sometimes you can even get to see whales in the distance out in the ocean. The days that follow we will continue to view and photograph bears in Hallo Bay. During our stay we will discover most of the Hallo Bay area.
    Day 8. Our seaplane picks us up sometime during the day to take us back to Kodiak Island. Again, the pickup is weather dependent, if the weather is bad we may have to wait a day or alternatively be picked up a day earlier. We will spend a night one at a hotel on Kodiak Island at our return.

    Buffer days: We recommend having one or two days as a buffer before continuing flights from Kodiak and international flight home to insure against delays due to bad weather.

 

Travel information

Date : 2026
8-16 Aug

Cost $ 5500 excl. international flight ticket and local flight to Kodiak Island.

Special requirements: As a participant one need to have average good condition. We can hike from about 5-20 km each day, however, it is in terrain that is easy to hike that goes along trails and on beach.

What is included in the cost of the trip: All guiding, air charter, special equipment, all meals in the field, any other meals at restaurants participants pay for themselves. Two nights in hotel included. One night on the arrival to Kodiak Island as well as one night in connection with the day we return from the field. Sometimes the weather can prevent us from flying out on the planned day, any extra hotel nights due to bad weather, participants pay for themselves.

General information: The weather on Alaska's southwestern coast can sometimes be challenging with wind and rain. The itinerary is therefore dependent on the weather condition, so in severe weather conditions the itinerary might have to be changed. Clothing and personal equipment: Fully rainproof and windproof shell garments. It can sometimes rain hard, which is why it is especially important to have proper shell clothing. Sleeping bag and sleeping mat. Rain cover for camera and equipment. Further information will be given when booking the trip

Booking of the trip: If you are interested of booking the trip you fill in the booking form and you will then be contacted with information on how to proceed. A deposit is made to reserve a spot.

A brown bear wading through water in front of a mountain range with snow, during sunset or sunrise.
A brown bear lying on dark sandy ground with mountains and cloudy sky in the background.
Group of five hikers walking through a shallow river in a mountainous landscape with snow-capped peaks and a glacier in the background.
Two bears walking on a sandy beach near water, with green hills or mountains in the background and snow-capped peaks in the distance.
A photographer kneeling with a camera on a tripod, capturing a brown bear in a grassy field with mountains in the background.
A silhouette of a bear standing in the water at sunset with a mountain in the background.
Silhouette of a bear standing on a beach during sunset, with the ocean and clouds in the background.
Three bears wading in water at sunset with mountains in the background.
A brown bear standing in a shallow body of water with mountains and snow in the background.
A wolf standing on a wet, sandy surface with a fish in its mouth.
A brown bear running through shallow water with mountains in the background.
A large grizzly bear walking through red and green foliage in a forested area.
A brown bear walking through shallow water, creating splashes as it moves
A wolf standing on a fallen tree in a grassy field with mountains and snow-capped peaks in the background.
A brown bear walking through a shallow river with splashing water, surrounded by green trees and a forested landscape in the background.
Three bear cubs playfighting on the ground with a larger bear lying on its back.
Two photographers with cameras on tripods taking pictures of a brown bear walking on a muddy riverbank in a grassy field with mountains in the background.
A brown bear standing in a body of water with mountains and glaciers in the background.
Snow-capped mountains with cloudy sky reflected in a calm, shallow body of water, with dark pebbled shoreline in foreground.
A brown bear standing in shallow water with snow-capped mountains in the background under a clear blue sky.

 

Intrested to join? Fill in the form to receive more information