Lake Clark sits off Cook Inlet southwest Anchorage, Alaska, which sits on Knik Arm off the northern end of Cook Inlet. Cook Inlet branches off into the Turnagain Arm on its northern end. Cook Inlet merges with Chugach Passage, Kennedy Entrance, Shelikof Strait, and Stevenson Entrance on its southern end.
Alaskan captains and bush pilots offer access to Lake Clark by small aircraft or boat charter. Visitors can book a one-hour flight from Anchorage, Homer, or Kenai. Lodges and commercial operators offer boat charters or rentals to visitors to Lake Clark.
What Is so Special About Lake Clark?
Lake Clark is part of the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve (LCNPP). The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation added Lake Clark, along with seven other Alaskan parks, to the national park system in 1980. Lake Clark is remote, rugged, and wild.
Lake Clark and the LCNPP are so special because they are so exceptionally pristine, with little human destruction to the wilderness that is the shining star of southern Alaska. No trails, no cabins, and no RV parks greet adventurers. It is only you, yours, and the wild outdoors.
In 2021, the entire park saw a little over 18,000 visitors.Air and water taxis transport robust and sturdy anglers, backcountry hikers, hunters, kayakers, photographers, and wildlife watchers to the imperial beauty of sections of the Alaska Range and the Aleutian Range comprising over four million acres.
Visitors to LCNPP can experience rarely seen alpine meadows, glaciers, lakes, wild rivers, active volcanoes, and waterfalls teeming with habitats of fish and wildlife like black, brown, and grizzly bears, caribou, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, foxes, lynxes, moose, Dall sheep, and wolves.
“Leave No Trace” policies rule in this primitive camping only national park. Touring Lake Clark and the LCNPP requires advanced backcountry skills. If backcountry men and women get stranded in any type of pickle, aide could be days in rescuing them. Weather is severe and uncooperative and comes with LCNPP territory for exploration and emergency assistance.
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act designated Lake Clark to protect the watershed vital to preserving and perpetuating the red salmon (aka sockeye) fishery in Bristol Bay. The Bristol Bay lies at the south end of the Bering Sea nesting above Alaska’s easternmost southern arm, the Alaska Peninsula.
Fishing on Lake Clark
In 2019, the Bering Sea warmed up and fueled the 2019 salmon boom in Northwest Alaska that stretched far to the east along the Arctic Coast. This salmon phenomenon rolled north from the Aleutian Islands and down the two coasts of the Bering Sea. Then it swept east into Canada. It possibly rode a current west to Russia, but there are no reports from Russia.
Only red salmon end up in Lake Clark. Five species of salmon navigate the lakes and rivers of the LCNPP. Even more pescatarian delights such as burbot, Arctic char, Dolly Varden, Arctic grayling, northern pike, and lake and rainbow trout hang out in Lake Clark.
Peak months for fishing the red salmon runs are July and August at Lake Clark, but salmon season runs through October. The entire fishing season at Lake Clark runs steady from May through October. The State of Alaska requires state fishing licenses, tags, and compliance with Alaska fishing regulations.
LCNPP is bear country. Anglers are warned to watch out. Splashing fish attracts bears contending with anglers for their dinners versus adventures. The National Park Service and the State of Alaska manage the fishery in Lake Clark. There are no trails, and visitors can take a boat, rent a boat, charter a bush pilot, and backcountry hike to Lake Clark to fish.
Lake Clark Water Level
Port Alsworth on Lake Clark represents the primary inhabited region in the LCNPP. Dena’ina Athabascan people mainly populate the five other settlements near the park and preserve. So how deep is Lake Clark? Lake Clark is a natural glacial lake that an ancient, 10,000-year-old glacier dug out 870-feet deep.
Lake Clark sits at an elevation of 254 feet. It covers 128 square miles with a maximum depth of 870 feet, and an average depth of 334 feet, is 41-miles long, and ranges from one to four miles wide. The Dena’ina people call the Lake Clark region their ancestral home. Lake Clark’s ancient name is Qizhjeh, the “place people gather’.
The Dena’ina people mainly live around Lake Clark in the villages of Nondalton and Port Alsworth and privately owned cabins. They use the resources of Lake Clark today like they did shortly after the last Ice Age. Lake Clark boasted a population of 334 as of the 2020 census.
Can You Swim in Lake Clark?
Lake Clark is the largest lake in the LCNPP on the southwest corner of the park. Much of the traffic to Lake Clark is from airplanes, and the mountains pose a danger to aircraft. The 1,050-foot-high Lake Clark Pass allows the planes a main route to the lake between Anchorage and western Alaska through the mountains at low elevation. Lake Clark’s water is frigid year-round.
Yes, you can swim in Lake Clark, but most people prefer to paddle and boat on Lake Clark, even in the summertime. The LCNPP river and lake temperatures may rise to a water temperature of about 68° in August and drops to 32° or lower in February.
Camping in Lake Clark National Forest
The National Park Service (NPS) alerts visitors who want to camp at Lake Clark or the LNCPP that they must have knowledge of advanced backcountry hiking and camping skills—and experience in survival skills and life-saving measures, like CPR and AED and much, much more. One of the most asked questions is, “Can you stay in Lake Clark?”
Yes, travelers can camp anywhere they like at Lake Clark and the LCNPP. Rugged and wondrous terrain greets campers. Tulchina Adventures guides rustic camping in Port Alsworth. Port Alsworth, on Lake Clark, is the hub of the LCNPP. This outfitter offers expertise and local knowledge to backcountry campers. Visitors can also find crucial information at the LCNPP Visitor’s Center in Port Alsworth.
There are a few designated primitive camping areas near Hope Creek on Upper Twin Lake just west of the Proenneke Historic Site. The NPS requires campers to follow certain procedures. Adhering to the “Leave No Trace” policy, bear safety, and food storage requirements are crucial to camper’s excellent and safe experiences.
Tulchina Adventures rents cabins on the shores of Lake Clark in 40 acres of old growth forest. Importantly, this outfit provides mosquito proof tent platforms. Mosquitoes grow surprisingly large in the North Country, which comprises Alaska, the Canadian Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
To explore Lake Clark, visitors can rent air and water taxis and book drop off and pick up kayak rental services and equipment/gear supplies. Campers can take advantage of the local knowledge on survival skills and practices. Packing in and packing out of remote area camping requires strength and expertise.
How Do You Get to Lake Clark Alaska?
Before visitors can arrive at Lake Clark, they must plan to go to Anchorage, Homer, or Kenai. From those cities, travelers can make arrangements to explore Lake Clark and the LCNPP.
Can You Drive into Lake Clark National Park?
From the Lake Clark National Park and Preserve: “The park has no highway access. Scheduled flights carry visitors from Anchorage to Iliamna and Port Alsworth. Chartered flights are available from Anchorage, Kenai, or Homer.” From Port Alsworth, visitors can arrange for water taxis.
LCNPP Survival and Safety Skills
Bear Safety Tips
Salmon provide 40% of a bear’s diet in the LCNPP. Visitors commonly see 20 bears a day there. From early season sedges (grass-like plants) to early fall berries, bears find a plethora of food in the LCNPP. When a bear stands on its hind legs, it is not threatening you. This is an information gathering pose. The following bear safety tips come from the NPS:
- Stay Alert: Use your eyes, ears and even your nose to detect the presence of a bear. The sooner you are aware of a bear, the more time you have to react appropriately.
- Be Visible, Make Noise: Bears don’t like to be surprised. A surprise encounter with a bear is dangerous. Avoid surprises by traveling in open areas with good visibility. Make noise as you walk, particularly in if visibility is poor — talk, clap or even sing. Be extra alert in windy conditions or near noisy streams that mask your sound.
- Safety in Numbers: The larger your group is, the less risk of a bear attacking. Group members should stay within a few feet of each other, particularly if visibility is poor. Scattered groups do not provide the protection of cohesive groups.
- Avoid Bears: If possible, change your course to avoid bears that you’ve detected, or move slowly away from them. Never approach a bear, even from a boat or kayak; approaching a bear can cause undue stress and provoke an attack.
- Store Food Properly: Keep all food and scented items under your immediate control, at all times. While camping, keep a clean camp and store food appropriately. Do not allow a bear to get your food. It will only encourage the bear and make the problem worse for the next person.
- Report Bear Encounters — If you have an encounter with a bear, report it to a park ranger as soon as possible. This will alert others and enable park staff to respond appropriately to the situation, if necessary.
What Should You Do in a Bear Encounter?
- If you encounter a bear, immediately ask yourself: does the bear see you?
- If it seems like it does not notice you, or is moving steadily along a route away from you, simply move quietly away from the bear and the encounter is over. Shouting at a bear that is not aware of you will startle it and may incite it to charge.
- If it seems to have noticed you, analyze whether it appears defensive or not. Bear encounters often happen very quickly, but the bear will likely be showing cues that communicate its intentions.
During Any Bear Encounter
- Remain calm and do not run.
- If you are traveling or camping in a group, use your group size to your advantage by staying close to one another.
- Keep your food under your direct control. Allowing a bear to get your food only encourages it and makes the problem worse for the next people.
- If you are wearing a pack, keep it on. It can protect your back and prevents the bear from destroying your items or eating your food.
- If you are fishing, prevent the bear from taking your catch.
Food Storage Requirements
Food storage requirements at LCNPP protect humans and wildlife. The NPS’ intention is to prevent especially bears, but also other wildlife, from obtaining food unnaturally, which impedes wildlife from becoming habituated to human feeding and human garbage.
LCNPP offers BRCs (bear resistant containers) for temporary use by campers for free. The NPS does not require storing clean and odor free items in BRCs. Dishes and cooking equipment must be stored securely. The following regulations are requirements, not requests, from the NPS.
The LCNPP does not approve ice chests, coolers, tents, dry bags, stuff sacks, plastic packing boxes, totes, action packers, etc., and unmodified kayaks as BRCs. Visitors will find the free BRCs at the park’s visitor center in Port Alsworth.
From the Superintendent’s Compendium (State of Alaska and the CFR):
(1) Definition: A bear resistant container (BRC) means an item constructed to prevent access by a bear. BRC’s include:
- Items approved by the Department of Interior and Agriculture’s Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee.
- Additional items listed by the State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation, with the concurrence of the Superintendent;
- Items or methods approved by the Superintendent.
(2) In designated areas, food and beverages, food and beverage containers, garbage, and harvested fish must be stored in:
- An approved bear resistant contain (BRC) OR
- A hard-sided building OR
- A lockable and hard-sided section of a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft OR
- Cached a minimum of 100 feet from camp and suspending at least 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet horizontally from a post, tree trunk or other object on a line or branch that will not support a bear’s weight.
The Superintendent may, upon request, waive or modify food storage requirements in circumstances where compliance with these requirements is not possible, overly burdensome, and is consistent with public safety and wildlife conservation interests.
(3) This provision does not apply to:
- Legally taken game.
- Areas not designated in paragraph (2).
- Food that is being transported, consumed, or prepared for consumption.
- Clean dishes and cooking equipment free of food odors.
- Bait being used for trapping and hunting under the provisions of state and federal law.
Lake Clark Survival Skills
From the NPS: “A visit to Lake Clark National Park and Preserve carries some inherent risk. Adventures in this remote and isolated area demand self-sufficiency. Preparation can make the difference between the adventure of a lifetime and tragedy. Remember, help may be days away.”
Have a Trip Plan
- Alaskan terrain is complex, often challenging, and ever-changing.
- Always add more days than you may need, especially in the case that you or your scheduled pick-up does not arrive due to weather or high river levels.
Backpacking:
- Food and Gear Prep
- Prepare for Inclement Weather
- Backcountry Electronics:
- Batteries for electronic devices often lose charge in the cold (even in summer), so bring a battery back-up or more batteries than you think you will need.
Save River Crossings:
- Knowing how to cross rivers safely is an essential skill to master for wilderness travel in national parks like Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.
- Never underestimate the danger associated with stream crossings. Alaskan waters are extremely cold, even when the air temperature is warm.
Aviation Safety:
On every trip, passengers should learn more about the weather, pilot, plan and your plan.
