Naknek Lake, Alaska, United States

5Greg G 5:00 PM Aug 10, 2013

Kayak Alaska's Naknek
A retiring Army buddy and myself had an awesome experience kayaking 7 days on Naknek. First and foremost, the kayak we rented from the concessionaire at Brooks Camp. The 21ft tandem was very sea worthy and well equipped with quality paddles, pump, compartment covers, life jackets and sponge. Albeit pricey, it was quality. Departing Brooks Camp and starting with a long paddle, our kayaking was primarily limited to Naknek's North Arm. The Bay of Islands provides many great island camping opportunities with "a little" less threat of bear encounters. The islands are scenic granite remnants shaped by millenniums of water/wind/ice/earthquake activity. Horseshoe island (ask a NP Ranger at Brooks) provided a delightful bay and comfy camp site. The lake and shore are teaming with wildlife: seasonal spawning salmon, bear, lynx, eagle, ptarmigan and many varieties of fowl. (did not see a moose ;-( A highlight of the trip was three nights at Fure's Cabin. Highly recommend booking through the NP Service if available. No charge for those willing to paddle the distance. An 80 year old prospector's cabin constructed with Russian influence (finely crafted dovetail corners), Roy Fure's legacy lives on for many generations to enjoy. Equipped with a bunk bed, wood burning stove, cooking table, dining table, a few basic necessities and a fine primitive privy 30 yards up the grassy hill; Fures cabin provided a much needed, dry respite from the sporadic rains. There is plenty of fishing opportunity for rainbow trout and northern pike nearby. And it is very likely you will have a grizzly reception. One morning, a young 2-3 year-old brown bear lumbered by the outhouse (while occupied by my paddling partner who thought I was "messing" with him by making bear sounds outside the privy door). Was he shocked when he threw the door open to scold me for my antics only to discover a bear staring him 5 yards away! Not to mention the scene of one of America's finest fighting men cautiously cowering back into the outhouse sanctuary. The young griz sauntered through camp, took a swim off our shore, entertained for a while and went bearishly happy on his way. We are very conscious of bear etiquette. One bit of Naknek kayaking advice: the weather and wind can turn on a dime. On more than one occasion we would start paddling in calm, glassy water only to find ourselves 30 minutes and 2 miles from shore in 20-30mph wind with rolling white caps. Be prepared for some hard paddling and stay close to shore as much as your route and destination will allow. A real testament to the need for a boat in good repair which, again, the concession at Brooks Camp provided. Cheers to the beauty and wilderness of Naknek Lake and Katmai National Park.

5Ed M 5:00 PM Jun 4, 2016

Beautiful big lake to explore
I have done two kayak trips on Naknek Lake. One in July 2014 from Brooks Camp to Fure's Cabin and back, through the Bay of Islands, and the other in July 2015 doing the Savonoski Loop clockwise. You can rent kayaks and canoes at Brooks Lodge. I highly recommend a kayak over a canoe for trips of any length on the lake due to their ability to travel faster. The most important things about kayaking / canoeing on Naknek Lake is staying close enough to shore that when the high winds come up you can get off the water and wait things out until the water mellows out. It gets very dangerous with huge waves. Last year a float plane flipped over from winds with all four occupants - luckily they survived the cold water. These winds come up suddenly and are known as "willawas" -- cold air dropping down from the cold peaks. It is recommended to avoid long open water crossings if possible. It would be a nightmare to be in the middle of the lake and have a windstorm start. The safest route from Brooks Camp to the Bay of Islands is to paddle along the shore east towards the morraine, cross the morraine channel quickly and when the winds are calm, and then follow the shoreline towards La Gorce Point. I also highly recommend leaving Brooks Camp early in the morning as the water tends to be calmer then. The Bay of Islands is beautiful. (please keep it that way by minimizing your impact). After getting past Double Beach the water is usually calmer, however I have seen it really get nasty all the way to Fure's Cabin. On both trips (2015 and 2016) we had to wait out high winds and dangerous water on small islands. In 2015 for 2 days, and in 2016 for 4-5 days! So, plan accordingly in your trip timing. If there were no winds and the water was like glass you can make great time, however, when the high winds blow, it is best to sit tight and wait it out. Bears were seen along the entire Savonoski Loop, lots of them on The Savonoski River, and every now and then we would see one on the shores of Naknek Lake. For the most part these bears are very afraid of humans (not used to humans like the ones at Brooks Camp). They would see us out in the water in kayaks and take off running. For bear safety: (1) We always carried bear spray at all times (i.e. 24/7). (2) We cooked and ate at one location, then got in our kayaks and traveled for an hour or so to camp. (while waiting out storms on small islands we did not have this option...) (3) We made a lot of human noise (yelling) before we would land on shore or on an island, so we would not surprise any bears -- especially sows with cubs. (we did see bears, including a sow with cubs, on islands). IMHO water (drowning) is a much larger risk than bears for these trips. The Savonoski River is full of strainers and sweepers (downed trees, snags, and forest debris). The water on the Savonoski is totally opaque brown, so you can not judge the depth by sight. This means running your kayak aground on gravel bars and obstacles and getting rolled out into the river. The Savonoski River is challenging since it is so wide and hard to pick which channel to take and avoiding constant strainers for 12 miles! I was glad to be off it it. We had to kayak pretty close to some bears, who are fishing in the Savonoski River as we came downstream right towards them with not many options for river navigation. The Savonoski had good sized haystack rapids for a lot of it and it was very pushy in July 2016. We were in Folbot Kayaks (a Yukon and a Greenland). It gets better the further you get towards the Iliuk Ark of Naknek Lake. Best to start early in the day and power it out in one go. With no winds at all I think the entire Savonoski Loop would be doable in 3 long days and 2 nights. The likelihood of winds is very high though.. Stay close to shore, avoid open water crossings as much as possible, be prepared to wait out the high winds, and you should be fine. The strong winds usually blow from the east.