NAT HAB’S ALASKA BEAR CAMP – Campground Reviews (Lake Clark National Park and Preserve)

I really don’t know where to start. My husband and my 3 day, 2 night stay at Bear Camp was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. People overuse the words like “amazing” and “awesome” these days, but in this case, they are completely appropriate. In the spirit of full disclosure, my husband and I both adore bears (we symbolically adopted the ones at our local zoo). Our trip started when Tom, Great Alaska’s driver picked us up from our hotel for a 2.5-3 hour, stunningly beautiful drive to the lodge. He has travelled everywhere, so if you luck out and get him as your driver, ask him to tell you stories about his adventures. He stopped at a couple of observation areas so that we could take photos in front of mountains, lakes, etc. We also

dropped by a small café with locally-produced ice cream and coffee in case anyone needed a bathroom break. Once we arrived at the lodge, we had a surprisingly delicious, healthy lunch and a brief orientation. We took a small Cessna plane ride (again, with glorious scenery) to the island where Bear Camp is located. I was far more nervous about the small plane than the bears, but it was a perfectly peaceful ride. The pilot was very skilled. I’ll talk about the accommodations at Bear Camp first, because that’s one thing I was wondering about before going. The lodgings are really more like cabins than tents. They have a solid door, they’re heated, and they’re build on wooden platforms. They even have a small toilet in a zipped-off, separated area of the tent. I would call this more “glam-ping” than “camping.” There are two, twin beds (that were surprisingly comfortable) inside with a huge, cozy, down comforter and a towel hung over the end of the bed (so you need not pack one). While they are currently building one, there was no shower when we were there. It is, after all, Bear CAMP. There are two porta-potties (sp?) with a type of sink in between that you activate by stepping on a small bladder repeatedly, which makes water come through the spigot. We never needed it, but if you wish, the guides bring you a large bowl of warm water each morning for whatever you wish to use it for. They also bring you coffee to your cabin in the morning. 🙂 The food is FANTASTIC. Mark, the new chef, has worked all over the world, including up-scale, downtown Manhattan restaurants. He also has a ton of incredible stories about his travels. Ask him lots of questions. We had everything from fresh eggs, latkes, hash browns, elk meatloaf, sweet and sour chicken, to s’mores. Now on to the bears…it was incredible to see them in their natural habitat, behaving how they’re supposed to. Safety is of the utmost importance to all the guides, and any time you leave the camp (which is surrounded by an electrified fence), you’re accompanied by an armed guide/bear expert. I was never remotely nervous. The guides do their absolute best to impact the environment and the bears as little as possible. I genuinely respected and appreciated that, and it seems that some of the other tour companies aren’t as conscientious. You get to be on the bears’ turf, and you try not to mess up their house. :). The guides obviously love the animals and their jobs. They are incredibly knowledgable, and I learned SO MUCH while I was there. By law (and common sense), you’re not allowed to approach the bears and get closer than 50 yards to them. However, if you sit super quietly, they might come closer to you, and that’s completely legal. One day when we were there, a bear mosied within about 10 feet of us, stuck his bear nose in the air to check us out, and then just wandered away. It was incredible. The guides asked us each day what WE wanted to do. We never felt pressured to wake up earlier than we wanted or do anything we didn’t want to. They said we were on “bear time,” and bears never rush. Caprice, Chantelle, and Scott were the guides while we were there, and they were all truly remarkable. My husband, Tim, and I always felt like they truly wanted to make our time there special and comfortable. We tipped them well when we left. I think, traditionally, you tip your guide $30/day. We felt like we had three guides, so we tipped accordingly (There’s a tipping envelope in the cabin). Obviously, tipping is always optional, but they were so completely exceptional that we wanted to. I even just mailed them a small care package with small things we chatted about over the course of our stay. This was absolutely the trip of a lifetime and worth every single penny. I would go back and live there if I could. Go, go, go!!

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