In 1965, a military veteran named Wayne Byers was searching for a spot to settle and occurred upon Alaska’s Chinitna Bay, simply south of the ten,016-foot-tall Mt. Iliamna. Byers shortly fell in love with the world’s magnificence and remoteness, to not point out its unbelievable wildlife. Two years later, he took benefit of the state’s homesteading rights to stake his declare on a 17.5-acre parcel of land between the mountain and Cook dinner Inlet. Right here, Byers may spend his days searching and trapping within the winter, and web fishing throughout hotter months.

At present, his former homesteaded property is the location of Nab Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp, a premier bear viewing location that’s as intricately tied with the native material as was Byers himself.

Situated on the ancestral land of the Dena’ina folks, this pristine place is accessible solely through boat or small aircraft and is brimming with bald eagles, moose and dozens (if not lots of) of brown bears. These large creatures are the coastal model of the inside grizzly bear, in addition to the biggest land predators on the continent.

Nat Hab vacationers now have the unique alternative to turn into completely immersed within the brown bears’ every day lives amid Bear Camp’s extraordinary Alaskan backdrop, one in all snow-capped peaks and turquoise waters. As well as, the camp is a coveted probability to mattress down on a property that really encapsulates Alaska’s pioneering spirit.

The Historical past of Homesteading in America

Homesteading is the act of being self-sufficient—of taking a bit of land and nurturing it till it may well maintain you. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act within the U.S. as a manner to assist gasoline westward enlargement. Mainly, anybody over 21 or thought-about the head-of-household—whether or not or not it’s a person, girl, previously enslaved particular person…even immigrants keen to turn into residents—was given a chance to stake 160 acres of land in a U.S. western state or territory. As soon as they lived on and cultivated that land for 5 years, they might then declare possession.

The Homestead Act was already in impact when the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867, however it wasn’t till 1898 that Congress handed particular laws extending homesteading rights to what was then nonetheless referred to as the Alaska Territory. For the following 90 years, homesteaders had been welcome to assert a bit of this wild frontier. Issues had been slow-going at first—the primary 20 or so years noticed solely about 200 candidates—however this system picked up throughout and following World Warfare II and the Vietnam Warfare, with many returning veterans seeking to procure some “game-rich” land for their very own.

Byers’ Homestead

Wayne Byers was one such homesteader, having served within the U.S. Military in the course of the early sixties after which procuring the land on which he’d construct his house. However when his advancing age made the property more durable to maintain, Byers struck up a deal: Bear Camp would lease a small portion of Byers’ land for wildlife viewing, permitting the homesteader to stay dwelling onsite.

Vacationers to Bear Camp would usually get equally as excited to catch sight of Byers—a real Alaska trailblazer—because the bears themselves. His tall tales and tales concerning the native area and historical past enamored friends and made him one thing of a legend. Although Byers handed away in 2014, his legacy stays at Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp.

Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp

Byers all the time had a robust reference to the native Alaskan wildlife and a deep dedication to the land. Bear Camp maintains an identical code of ethics. All through its historical past, the property has received accolades for its dedication to sustainability. Outdoors Journal as soon as named it “North America’s Greatest Bush Camp,” whereas Nationwide Geographic Traveler dubbed Bear Camp one in all “America’s Greatest Adventures.”

Each personal and everlasting, the camp has been particularly designed to attenuate impression on the native wildlife. Photo voltaic panels present the majority of Bear Camp’s vitality wants, whereas its sequence of camouflaged “Climate Port” tents mix in seamlessly with the setting.

(Notice: In 2026, Alaska Bear Camp will debut brand-new handcrafted cabins with birchwood finishes and floor-to-ceiling home windows that body uninterrupted views of the bay. This may provide unprecedented alternatives for wildlife viewing from the consolation of your abode—you may actually watch iconic Alaskan bears from mattress! Every cabin can have twin beds, electrical retailers, a flush rest room, a sink with scorching working water and a propane heater to beat back the coastal chill. A close-by bathhouse will provide scorching showers.)

For the reason that early Eighties, Bear Camp has been an inholding of southwest Alaska’s Lake Clark Nationwide Park, a four-million-acre, roadless coastal wilderness that’s house to steaming volcanoes, hanging glaciers, alpine tundra and turquoise lakes—together with the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. The camp is correct within the coronary heart of the Alaskan wilderness, a spot the place brown bears come to feed on sedge grasses, contemporary berries and spawning salmon, relying on the season.

> The Bears of Lake Clark Nationwide Park

Vacationers attain Bear Camp from Homer through bush aircraft, with supervisor Caprice Stoner, now in her twentieth season, there to greet Nat Hab vacationers upon arrival. Nevertheless, don’t be shocked if some brown bears welcome you right here as effectively. In actual fact, the bears are typically so shut in proximity which you can hear them  “speaking” with each other by means of a sequence of woofs and growls. Fortunately, the camp encompasses a raised viewing platform that’s the perfect spot for taking in these sounds—in addition to the opposite intricacies of those magnificent creatures—with out intruding on their area.

In terms of lodging, Bear Camp’s 10 deluxe, two-bed tent cabins overlooking the sapphire waters of the Cook dinner Inlet present the right in a single day lodging. The camp’s communal eating tent is a superb place for catching up with different vacationers on the day’s bear sightings and adventures, in addition to for charging your iPhones and cameras, and/or poring over a small library of curated Alaska-themed books. In fact, contemporary, domestically sourced meals, together with regional fish and seafood, are additionally par for the course.

> A Nearer Have a look at Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp

Bear camp base owned by Nature Habitat Adventures.

The Significance of Bear Tourism

Seeing and experiencing Alaska’s wildlife first-hand by means of a spot like Bear Camp shouldn’t be solely a good way to contribute to the native financial system, however it supplies a greater understanding of the significance of bears, eagles, moose, and different animals inside the better ecosystem. Right here, it’s simply you and the native wildlife. You’ll study their habits and habitats, in addition to threats and conservation efforts to guard these beloved bruins.

By collaborating in bear tourism, you’ll additionally assist Alaska stay the rugged and wild frontier that has lengthy drawn pioneering souls like Byers and defend the pristine nature of the nation’s least densely populated state.

Two Bears in the water near by Bear camp in Alaska

All pictures © Court docket Whelan

Bunk with brown bears at Nat Hab’s personal Alaska Bear Camp!