Lake Clark National Park

About 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, across Cook Inlet, Lake Clark National Park is reached by small plane from Anchorage. Its coast is brown bear country. At places like Silver Salmon Creek and Chinitna Bay, bears graze sedge meadows, dig clams, and fish for salmon, watched at beach level in small groups with no platforms between you and them. Active volcanoes steam across the water, and the season runs June through September, with the best bear viewing from June into early August.