Katmai National Park & Preserve guide · 1 min read
Paddling the Savonoski Loop
Covering 80 miles of Katmai's backcountry, the Savonoski Loop draws canoeists and kayakers, and Naknek Lake is the way in.
Anyone attempting it should bring intermediate paddling ability in a canoe or kayak, plus a background in wilderness travel and in bear country. People with disabilities should have a great deal of boating experience before attempting this remote route.
Naknek Lake is the park's largest and most reachable lake, with more than 150,000 acres of water. No lake sitting completely inside an American national park is bigger. Bay of Islands, Brooks Camp, Fure's Cabin and Iliuk Arm are all popular spots on the lake. At Brooks Camp, the concessioner Katmailand rents out canoes and kayaks.
Rafters tend to head for American Creek, Moraine Creek, or Funnel Creek, where the water runs fast. Park rangers have rafted American Creek too.
The park's water network runs for hundreds of miles through rivers and streams, joined by large lakes and many small ponds. Alaska Natives traveled these routes long before Russian and European explorers arrived. They still serve as fairly direct paths into the wilderness today.
Away from the Brooks Camp area, the rest of the park's more than 4 million acres of wilderness holds backcountry trips that depend mostly on your own skills. The park is home to more than 2,000 brown bears, and paddlers on the Savonoski Loop need experience in bear country.
