Johns Kodiakbears.com Guide To All Things Kodiak

We will be happy to help you plan your next adventure. Kodiakbears.com is our site. The city of Kodiak sits on Kodiak Island, which at 3,670 square miles and more than 100 miles long is Alaska's largest island and the second-largest island in the United States. Known as the Emerald Isle, Kodiak’s verdant landscape and abundant outdoor opportunities make it a popular choice for nature enthusiasts.

The islands of the Kodiak Archipelago and Aleutian Range are Alaska’s own emerald isles, and the history of the native Alutiiq and Yupik peoples is shaped by their connection to land and sea. Like the Inside Passage, the weather in Southwest Alaska is heavily influenced by ocean currents and maritime conditions. Winds and waves shape the landscape, and rain showers support lush vegetation.Summer temperatures in this region rarely rise above 60°F during the day, while winter temperatures hover around 30°F in winter due to the temperate influence of the North Pacific current.Bring a windbreaker.

Kodiak rivals any other place in Alaska for viewing the world's largest mammals. Whale migration to northern waters begins in April with the gray whales passing through and continues in June when whale watchers spot fin, minke, humpback and sei with fins and humpbacks commonly encountered through November. Local charter boats are available for whale watching and other marine wildlife tours. You can also spot whales from many cliff sides or beaches on Kodiak Island including Miller Point at Ft. Abercrombie State Park while Surfer Beach and Fossil Beach in Pasagshak are also good whale spotting

Fun to explore on road system: White Sands Beach in Monashka Bay. Best beach for family includes Termination Point hiking trail, Locals enjoy picnicking, walking and bird watching.(12 miles north of Kodiak City) Fossil Beach-Best Beauty Look for fossil in the rock, whales, and bison. Surfer’s Beach People come from all over Alaska to this 3-mile beach in Pasagshak.

The Road System streams and lakes provide fishing opportunities for salmon, Dolly Varden, rainbow trout and steelhead. Major waterways include the following streams: Buskin, Saltery, Pasagshak, Olds and American rivers, Roslyn, Salonie, Monashka, Pillar and Chiniak creeks. Anglers will find the road system streams a delight with no raging currents or 50-yard casts, just clear riffles alternating with deep pools and gravelly banks. However, some streams have abrupt and brushy banks.

Kodiak is home to several species of terrestrial mammals ranging in size from the little brown bat to the famous Kodiak brown bear. The Kodiak brown bear is the only large mammal that is native to the island. Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goats and reindeer have been successfully introduced to Kodiak. Roosevelt elk were successfully transplanted to Afognak Island, where they now constitute a healthy population that occasionally has members that swim across to Kodiak Island. Smaller animals found in the parks include fox, rabbit, muskrat, squirrel and beaver.

This is Kodiak’s most popular mountain, and for good reason: It’s a challenge, the views are stunning, and it feels like a true mountain climb—there’s a 2,073-foot elevation gain in just a few miles. A well-trod trail leads up the ridge, which you can access from the end of the airport runway. Follow an old gravel road to the northeast ridge, where a trail breaks on your left. The first part runs through the brush, but you’ll break into open alpine terrain quickly. Wildflowers coat the valleys and cling to rocky outcrops, and views of the coves and bays below are gorgeous.

Visit our web site kodiakbears.com Brown bears are Kodiak’s wildlife superstars. A unique subspecies, Kodiak’s Ursus arctos middendorffi are the largest brown bears in the world. A large male Kodiak bear might stand five feet high at the shoulder while still on all fours. On hind legs, it can reach 10 feet tall. And Kodiak has more brown bears per square mile than virtually anywhere. Sounds hard to miss, doesn’t it?

Kodiak Island is -- without exaggeration -- an angler’s paradise. Every single salmon species that swim the Northern Pacific make their way to Kodiak. Runs of red, silver, and king salmon are often impressive. Seas that surround Kodiak produce excellent catches of halibut, rockfish, and lingcod. Stocked island lakes offer up opportunities for both rainbow trout and landlocked coho salmon. Dolly Varden are abundant. Steelhead and trophy rainbow trout can be remotely reached. This rich assortment of fishing opportunities awaits any angler who plans and journeys to Alaska’s “Emerald Isle.”

kodiakairservice.com You can rest easy knowing that Willy the pilot has over 27 years of safely flying passengers. As most of this flying time has been in Kodiak, he is very familiar with the many hidden and special places that visitors seldom see. So sit back, relax and let them show you the Alaska that most people only dream about. (907) 654-9956 flykodiakair@gmail.com

kodiakislandexpeditions.com Jen Culbertson is the owner of Kodiak Island Expeditions. Jens former career as an Alaskan park ranger makes her uniquely qualified to be your guide. She passionate about sharing her knowledge of Alaska's natural resources and well versed in safely navigating the backcountry. Her husband Willy, the owner of Kodiak Air Service, will be the pilot for our adventures. Together, we have over 50 years experience working in Alaska's backcountry. (907) 512-6380 kodiakexpeditions@gmail.com

Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak is an Air Station of the United States Coast Guard located in Kodiak, Alaska. The largest in the service's Pacific Area, with a crew of 85 officers and 517 enlisted personnel. The largest Coast Guard Base based on acreage being 23,000 acres.[1] It is a tenant command of Base Support Unit Kodiak, and shares its airfield with Kodiak Airport. The station operates MH-60 Jayhawk and MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, and the HC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft.

I feel as if I wanted to go back, to Kodiak. Almost as if I could return there to live. So secluded, so remote, so peaceful; such a mingling of the domestic, the pastoral, the sylvan, with the wild and the rugged; such emerald heights, such flowery vales, such blue arms and recesses of the sea, and such a vast green solitude stretching away to the west, and to the north and to the south. Bewitching Kodiak! The spell of thy summer freshness and placidity is still upon me.” John Burroughs 1899

The Kodiak Crab Festival is produced annually by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce for the benefit of the residents of Kodiak, Alaska. Crab Fest is a time for the community to celebrate the abundent resources that we receive from the sea. The festival is held Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, ending on Memorial Day.

ComFish Alaska is Alaska’s Premier Commercial Fisheries Trade Show and is both the largest and longest running in Alaska. Over the course of three days, ComFish Alaska brings together every aspect of commercial fishing, from equipment, technology, and gear exhibitors to government agencies and nonprofits. Forums on relevant topics are organized every year for the purpose of sharing ideas and fishing information with the public and throughout the fishing industry. Everyone in the Alaska Fishing Industry belongs HERE!

Heading southwest out of town and then curving towards the north, this relatively short road offers access to salmon streams, wildlife habitat, hiking, winter recreation, the Coast Guard golf course, and a protected bay that’s great for sea kayaking and beachcombing. Much of the road is above treeline, so you’ll have great views and panoramic photo opportunities, as well as easy hikes to the alpine. The road cuts north from Rezanof Drive just after Buskin River and Beach at Buskin River Bridge #7. Wet your line at this famous salmon stream, with sockeye salmon crowding the river.

One of the float plane landing sites near downtown, Trident Basin, is a great place to watch planes coming and going from remote villages, hunting camps, or fishing lodges. Alaska is a land lacking roads, so businesses and individuals get around by plane, and this state has more private planes than any other. Residents and visitors rely on these machines for daily life, whether it’s a hunting trip out of town, or a stop here to go shopping.

For an isolated town on an island accessed only by ferry or plane, Kodiak has a surprisingly good road system with access to beaches, mountains, state parks, and historic sites. That road system is in good shape—and growing: The Alaska Aerospace Corporation’s launch site 40 miles south of town has resulted in the paving of even the more remote roads. However, big rains and harsh winters mean road conditions can change, and there are some stretches of dirt, so make sure to inquire for updates.

The large parking area opens to trails in the summer and snowmobiling and ski terrain in the winter. The popular trail to Pyramid Mountain starts here; this is the highest mountain close to town. If you tackle this hike, you’re in for a climb, but a large portion of the trail is in the alpine, with beautiful flowers and tundra. You’ll be climbing 2,400 feet in elevation in just two miles. The steep trail begins at the right from the large gravel parking lot and runs straight up the mountain through brush and grass. Bears use this trail too so heads up! The trail is easy to follow.

Over the past decade, I’ve connected with audiences throughout the world by means of my outdoor related media pursuits. I was the host of a nationally syndicated radio show, have made several television appearances, and I’ve written ten books and countless articles for a wide variety of magazines and other periodicals on topics including hunting and fishing, outdoor skills, nature & wildlife photography, and Christian spirituality…as I also served as a minister for many years. My work has won awards, been featured by prestigious conservation organizations such as National Geographic.

This is the end of the road, and outside intrepid surfers and beachcombers, you won’t find many people here. The road maintenance ends and it’s tough to get here, but if you make it, you’ll find great beachcombing and fossil hunting. The beach is at the mouth of a small river, which drains Twin Lakes. And the fossils are in cliffs located at the left side of the beach. Accessible only at low tide, the cliff face has fossilized remnants of ocean creatures.

Take the left fork in the road after the bridge and follow it down to the Trident Basin floatplane harbor. Park your car there and walk back up the road a little way until you see a small turnout on the south side of the road. The trail begins here. This is an unimproved trail, and although rough and a bit muddy in places, it is well worth the effort. Keep left at the fork in the trail after about 1/3 mile. Cross a wide rocky beach and continue along cliffs through meadows to the south cape. Return on the same path. During summer the meadows are full of wildflowers and nice bay view!

Drive over Anton Larsen Pass and down the other side until you come to the Red Cloud River Bridge. Park in the turnout to the right just beyond the bridge. Cross the road and walk past the cottonwood trees where you'll find a faint trail leading through tall grass toward the mountains. This trail can be hard to follow as it meanders through wet areas, thick vegetation and up salmonberry slopes before it reaches the rich subalpine meadows and eventually leads into a bowl-shaped glacial cirque at the base of the mountain.

Open from May to September, this is the only golf course on the island. This nine-hole course features a full service pro shop and driving range; it’s operated by the U.S. Coast Guard but open to public. The course opens early and closes “two hours before sunset,” which means you’ll have the opportunity for some late rounds during summer solstice!