Brown Bear Bay

Overhead view of the lodge and its surrounding areas

Our Premise

Our great experiment takes place just outside Lake Clark National Park in Chinitna Bay, Alaska. Here, we have set out to facilitate a unique perspective into the secret lives of bears by hosting you in the most luxurious bear photography blind in the world.

In the spring of 2024, we built the innovative Brown Bear Bay Suites to provide every comfort you would need to enjoy the private Alaska wilderness whether you are here to work, play, or simply relax.

Our choice to minimize our impact in creating this luxurious vessel for wildlife watching means the bears continue using the trails they’ve gently created over generations of commuting between forests, mountains, rivers, and sedge. These bear trails wrap around and between our buildings, making up-close views of bears in forests and meadows a regular spectacle for our guests.

Join us for the most fantastic, intimate, and unforgettable bear-watching experience in the world. Come seek bearadise.

June Workshops at Brown Bear Bay

Mating Season 2026

Photograph fluffy bears from head to toe while the sedge is short and their winter coats are still full & adorable. Snowcapped peaks, clamming, tree-scratching, and mating.

Intrepid luxury

Designed for photographers, nature lovers, remote workers, and those simply looking to treat themselves to some cozy solitude in the Alaskan wilderness. Rest assured your friends & family will be glad they joined you on your wilderness adventure to Brown Bear Bay.

Private wilderness

Enjoy the private, pristine landscape using every lens in your arsenal without the crowds, curfews, and restrictions that exist on public lands. Outings are shared with fellow guests at the lodge. With only four suites, group size hardly ever exceeds 8 people.

Drone film & photography allowed

Capture breathtaking aerial views of the unbothered bears, pristine wilderness, and towering mountains. The expansive property offers the perfect backdrop for drone photography, letting you explore and document nature from a unique perspective.

24-Hr Blind

View bears from your Suite, the upper
level decks, or through eye-level windows in our Blind before stepping out into bear-world with your guide. Take bear-watching at your own pace; work smarter, not harder. Skipping an outing does not mean skipping the bears.

The Chalet

This Swiss-style log cabin serves as our dining room and lounge: it's the perfect place to read a book by the crackling fire, bask in the summer sun streaming through big picture windows, and to watch bears live their daily lives around the forest trails, wildflower meadows, and pristine rivers.

A Suite Retreat

Each 400 sq ft Suite is equipped with the essentials to keep you comfortable: 24-hour electricity, in-room high-speed WiFi, cozy fireplace, mosquito screened windows for cool cross-breeze on warmer days, and fully equipped en-Suite bathroom with hot & cold water shower, sink, and a flushing toilet.

More Info

Star Wildlife

Brown Bear (Ursus arctus)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Notable Guest-Stars

North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis)
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)

Reasons to Visit

Private Property Privileges: Drones and close viewing are allowed from Brown Bear Bay's private property; the property overlooks a meadow, which is encompassed by pristine wilderness featuring mountains, rivers, forests, and more.

Spectacular Suites: 4 luxurious suites with full power, water, and heating to provide the ultimate comfort between excursions, or the most comfortable vantage point for bear viewing. Upper levels feature a wrap-around porch to enjoy the outdoors without a worry for bear encounters; ground floor level features a photo-lounge, with windows that open at eye-level and ground-level for low-angle photography of bears around camp.

Bear activity on your doorstep: Often as close as 1 meter from the cabins, bears walk through camp as they commute; scratching their backs on the trees to let other bears know they are here. Capture up-close forest footage without stepping outside - we can open the windows and doors to shoot unobstructed. The bears don’t mind.

Epic Scenery: 270º Mountain Views, vibrant green meadow, glacial rivers, and mature forests. Iliamna Volcano's 10,060 ft peak is snow-covered year-round, making for an epic mountain backdrop even in the heart of summer when all other mountains have lost their snow.

Bring All Your Cameras: Private property allows us to do drone and camera-trap work! We budget at least 60 lbs of luggage weight for your flights - no pesky limits that barely allow for that extra lens... or tons of extra batteries.

Salmon Run: Occurs in the river and mudflats in view of the cabins. Once the salmon start running in early july, it’s nonstop action well through August. Monitor the action from camp before venturing over to your favorite bears to film, photograph, or just enjoy.

24-Hour Electricity: Charge all of your electronics. We utilize a combination of solar + generator power to ensure there is never a shortage of juice for your camera!

High-Speed WiFi: In-Room Priority Starlink WiFi; upload photos to the cloud for safe-keeping while enjoying the view of bears from your suite. WiFi also reaches the Chalet (dining cabin).

Cushioned ATVs: 2 Vehicles are available to shuttle groups between the “spit” and the camp to transport luggage and guests on arrival/departure days, or to assist guests with reaching easier access points on the property for bear-viewing. Our passenger trailers are cushioned with 4-inch foam to keep you comfortable as you ride over the single trail that arcs around the sedge meadow.

Guests and photographers enjoying the company of our bears

Clean towels available in all of our rooms

2 Bears bathing themselves in the water at the lodge

Giant snow capped mountain peak in the backdrop of our lodge

Our guests in our ATV ride to discover the nearby sights and bears

Before you book,

Refund/Cancellation Policy

Code of Conduct

Buffering your trip

FAQs:

What is the maximum occupancy per Suite?

I want to be the bear guide on the property

Do you have Tour Leader accommodations?

Can I book out the whole lodge?

How to Buffer your trip

1. Anchorage
For those traveling to Anchorage on this day; plan to arrive to Anchorage (ANC) airport and overnight. Most hotels have free shuttles to the hotel at any point in the night.
Overnight in Anchorage.

2. Arrive to Homer
Travel down to Homer (HOM). (See: Transportation: Anchorage <> Homer) Explore Homer (See: Homer Day Trips)
Overnight Homer (See: Hotels in Homer)

3. Homer
Standby for Early Flight if Necessary (you will be notified the night before if this is possible/necessary).
Overnight Homer

4. Homer - Brown Bear Bay (BBB)
NWT or Airline team will meet you at your hotel in Homer to transfer you and your luggage to the Airline HQ for Check-in. Weigh luggage and passengers; fill water bottles; last rest-stop before flying out to the lodge and jumping into action! Fly dressed to encounter any weather; with your camera easy to reach in case bears are present when you land. Transfer to Lodge in ATV + Open Trailer where you will be greeted by the Brown Bear Bay Team. Overnight BBB

5-8 BBB
Guided bear viewing from inside and outside the cabins.
Overnight BBB

9. BBB - Homer
Check-Out of Rooms, Pack, and Transfer to Glacier Spit to await flight. Private Charter Flight to Homer. Transfer from Airfield to Hotel or drop-off point in Homer.
Overnight Homer

10. Homer
Buffer day in case flight is delayed one day.
Overnight Homer

11. Leave Homer
Fly, bus, drive, transfer to your next destination.