Last updated: March 5, 2025
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
July 31
Meet your guide in King Salmon for an evening pre-trip meeting.
August 1
We will board a de Havilland Beaver floatplane for a beautiful 2 hour flight down the peninsula over countless lakes and into Aniakchak Crater. The plane will land us on a bright green lake right in the heart of the caldera. We will unload, set up a comfortable base camp, and get to exploring!
Or, if the weather is not cooperative we will kill time in King Salmon for the day and hope to fly-out the following day. The weather dictates everything we do.
August 2 - 4
We can do as much or as little as we want each day. Your guides will be available to lead hikes, interpret geology and natural history or simply suggest and facilitate your adventure.
We’ll have a wind worthy and comfortable camp, so if the wind howls, we have a place to relax and eat. But mostly we’ll be exploring the caldera on foot, investigating geothermal features, climbing high for views and scanning for wildlife. There is no end to the adventures.
August 5
After days of anticipation we don drysuits, load rafts, and start the journey to the coast.
If conditions are favorable the first couple of miles of boating in the caldera are relaxed and scenic. Once we get to “The Gates” we will stop and scout the rapids before maneuvering through this Class IV technical rapid where the Aniakchak River pours out of the crater and plummets towards the Pacific.
The most challenging rapids are about a 1/2 mile long and once through we enjoy a day of splashy and fun rafting through a lovely valley.
August 6 - 7
Two more days of boating will bring us to Aniakchak Bay. Along the way we may see bears fishing along the river which supports all 5 species of pacific salmon. We may also see other wildlife like moose, porcupine, ptarmigan, red fox, caribou, or wolves. Each bend brings new surprises and the scenery is unbeatable.
If the wind isn’t against us there will be lots of time to fish, hike, watch animals, and laze around. If the wind is against us we may have some longer days on the water and have to paddle hard to get where we are going.
Most of the lower river is fairly placid at normal water levels but we do encounter another stretch of white water below Hidden Creek which will require skill and caution. And will likely cause some whoops and hollers too.
Eventually the river mellows out and the sky broadens and we reach the Pacific Coast at Aniakchak Bay.
August 8
Sea otters, bald eagles, puffins, kittiwakes, harbor seals, wrens, ouzels, cormorants, river otters, bears and foxes make Aniakchak Bay feel like a paradise. The coast is rich with life and this wild beach hums with life.
We have a full day to explore, beach comb, hike, fish and goof off. Come evening we can build a driftwood fire and begin exaggerating about a trip which needs no embellishment.
August 9
Ideally the sun will shine brightly on a glassy sea and we will pack dry tents into clean bags and wait for the airplane with bare feet in warm beach sand.
More likely, the float-plane will emerge from the fog in the early afternoon and we will pile our wet gear in the plane for the 150 mile trip back up the peninsula to King Salmon arriving in time for a well earned shower and late dinner.
It is also possible that we will spend an extra night or even two on the beach. So please don’t book flights out of King Salmon before the evening of August 10 at soonest.
