Is Bear Trail Lodge Worth It? What Four Trips Taught Me About the Value of an Alaska Fishing Trip

When Hanna and I went to Africa in 2016 we spent more money than I had spent on my first new Tahoe. I’m a little embarrassed to tell you the number because I know that it’s out of reach to many people, but I’ll just say “low- to mid-five figures.”

It’s not like it was easy for us. We scrimped and saved and I wrote as many paying articles as I could on the side to make it happen.

And you know what?

It was worth it. Every damn penny. We actually got more than our money’s worth.

Not because it was cheap. It obviously wasn't. But because of what we got for the money: an experience we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

So I'm sympathetic when someone tells me an Alaska fishing trip to Bristol Bay is out of reach. I understand that feeling. I've looked at expensive trips and wondered whether they could possibly be worth the price.

But after four trips to Bear Trail Lodge, I have a different question.

What if the better question isn't “How much does it cost?” but “What do you get for the money?”

Because when I look back at our time at Bear Trail, I'm pretty convinced we've gotten an extraordinary value -- not despite the price, but because of everything that price makes possible.

Look, you can go to Alaska for far less and have a great trip. In August of 1995, after graduating from law school and taking the bar exam, I went with two friends. We used frequent flyer miles to get there, so our biggest expense was a rented Chrysler Concorde for the month. We lived in a tent, in the homes of kind strangers, and occasionally crammed into that Chrysler. We drank shitty beer and ate silver salmon we caught, wrapped in foil and grilled over a fire. When we were near a McDonalds we stole sweet and sour sauce to jazz it up a bit. At the end, we splurged on a halibut charter, paid for via credit card with money we did not yet have. It was a budget trip in every sense of the word, and it was exceptional.

You can still experience Alaska at a variety of price points. That’s not in question. But if you want the full Bristol Bay tableau, with arguably the best freshwater fishing in the state, it’s going to cost you a little more, and Bear Trail Lodge provides value in that space.

Getting to Bristol Bay

One reason a trip to Bristol Bay costs more than an ordinary fishing vacation is simply getting things there.

It’s not difficult to get there yourself as there’s daily commercial service into the King Salmon Airport, a converted Air Force base from the cold war. Instead, it’s everything else that can only be brought in by boat or plane.

So that beautiful fruit, including oranges, cantaloupe, bananas and strawberries you’re enjoying with your morning coffee? Flown in?

The trucks and boats that you use to get around? Barged in.

And even though Alaska is a top petroleum-producing state, gas in Alaska's rural communities can be exorbitant. They don’t skimp at all when it comes to running the boats or flying the planes.

Once you think about it, you’ll have a full Doc Brown moment: “Where we’re going, there are no roads.”

And that's part of what you're paying for. You're not traveling to a resort that's been built next to a highway. You're traveling deep into one of the wildest places in North America, where the planes and boats aren't a luxury—they're the roads.

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You’re Paying for Access

Once you’re on the ground at Bear Trail Lodge, virtually everything you need for fishing is covered except your fishing license. That includes waders, rods, reels, lines and flies. That’s a huge benefit for novice fly anglers like us, for several reasons. First, we wouldn’t know what to buy. Second, even if they gave us a detailed list, we’d likely have to spend thousands for items that wouldn’t get used again until our next trip to Bristol Bay.

So that's a value and an anxiety-saver, but until you get to the lodge, you don't really understand that the equipment is just the beginning.

Bear Trail has access not only to the Naknek right out your back door – huge runs of all the salmon species, plus some of the best trophy rainbow trout fishing in the world – and also somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 different flyout locations. They have all of the valuable permits to get you on prime waters and they also own Branch River Air Service. You’ll have priority in scheduling when it comes to where you want to go. So depending on what time of year it is, what you want to catch, how you want to catch them, and what’s hottest, you can be on the best waters at the best times.

For me, that’s enough to forget about the luxury of the lodge. I’d stay in a mosquito-filled leaky tent if it enabled me to get to the best fishing, but I know that for some of you the room and board matter just as much. But the cost includes the entire experience: ingredients like Dungeness crab and the best steaks available, comfortable cabins, and a staff who bend over backwards to make sure you have everything you need and could possibly want.

That includes their guides, who are exceptional teachers and also somehow double as pack mules, carrying coolers and nets and spare flies down miles of streams while somehow spotting trout beyond human comprehension. They’ve gone through extensive training to ensure that you get as many chances of greatness as possible.

That’s the point, isn’t it? You want someone to make sure you’re well-fed, your clothes are clean and that you’re on the right rivers at the right time with the right gear so that all you need to do is make the cast and fight the fish.

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Bear Trail Compared to Other Lodges

Most educated shoppers will play the comparison game, and rightfully so. I wouldn’t go on any vacation to a new place without doing research, talking to people who’ve been there, and consulting my checkbook.

And a quick Google search will show you that there are quite a few other lodges in Bristol Bay. A little more searching and you’ll learn that Bear Trail sits in the middle-to-upper end of the price spectrum.

But that’s the sweet spot if you can swing it.

Let me tell you why:

You can spend less. There are lodges in Bristol Bay that will give you a bed, meals, a guide and access to good fishing for considerably less money. And if your primary objective is to catch fish in Alaska, that can be a perfectly good way to do it.

There are lodges where the price climbs well beyond Bear Trail's. I’m sure they have beautiful accommodations and all sorts of luxury add-ons, not limited to gourmet meals and an exclusive experience.

Bear Trail lands somewhere in between, and after four trips, I think that's a pretty compelling place to be.

For starters, you're not paying for just one type of fishing. The Naknek is right outside the lodge, giving you access to some of the best salmon and trophy rainbow trout fishing in Bristol Bay. But you're also within reach of a huge network of fly-out waters. Depending on the season, the weather and what's happening with the fish, you have options.

And options are valuable in Alaska.

The best place to fish on Monday might not be the best place to fish on Thursday. A river can rise, a salmon run can change, a particular stretch can get crowded or the trout can suddenly be keying on something completely different. Having experienced guides, your own air service and access to numerous waters means you're not locked into one fishing plan for the entire week.

If the fishing is the reason I'm spending the money, I want the people running the operation to have as many ways as possible to put me in the best position to succeed.

Then there's what's included.

You're not arriving with a suitcase full of waders, rods, reels, lines and flies. Bear Trail provides that equipment. Your meals are covered. Your transportation from Anchorage to King Salmon is covered. Your fly-outs are part of the package. Your guides are there to help you make the most of every day.

When you compare lodges strictly by the number printed on the rate sheet, that can be easy to miss.

But I don't think that's how you should compare a trip like this.

Compare what you would actually have to pay for the entire experience—and how much of the planning and problem-solving someone else is willing to take off your plate.

That's another part of the value that doesn't show up on a rate sheet. I've done the cheap Alaska trip. I've rented the car. I've slept in the tent. I've figured out where to fish. I've eaten silver salmon cooked over a campfire. I loved every minute of it. But there's a different kind of luxury in waking up knowing that someone else has already figured out the logistics, the weather, the water, the gear and the food -- and that my only job is to fish.

That's where Bear Trail starts to look pretty attractive.

Furthermore, make sure you’re comparing apples-to-apples. Some lodges are a few thousand dollars cheaper on paper, but the advertised rate doesn't necessarily buy you the same experience. Fly-outs are the biggest example. Some lodges charge separately for them, and a couple of additional days in a floatplane can add up quickly.

That's not necessarily a bad thing—some anglers may prefer to pay only for the fly-outs they actually use. But it's something you need to know before deciding that one lodge is thousands of dollars cheaper than another.

That's important even if you think you'll stay on the Naknek the entire week. You might change your mind. The weather might change your plans. The salmon might be doing something different than expected. Your guide might tell you that the best opportunity is somewhere else. Suddenly that lower-priced package isn't quite as low-priced as it looked on the first Google search.

Bear Trail includes its fly-outs. I like knowing that before I ever get on the plane.

They also include vacuum-sealed and frozen salmon if you want to take home your catch, with insulated fish boxes provided. Other lodges charge for that.

I'm primarily paying for the fishing. If you gave me the choice between a luxury room and one more opportunity to fish a remote Bristol Bay river, I'll take the river every time. Hanna, on the other hand, is perfectly happy to have both. And after four trips, I've come to appreciate that the comfortable part of the experience makes it much easier for two people with slightly different priorities to have the same great vacation.

That's what I mean by the sweet spot.

Bear Trail isn't the cheapest way to fish Bristol Bay, and it isn't trying to be. But it gives you something I think is much harder to find: an exceptionally good fishing experience wrapped in a level of comfort and convenience that makes the entire trip feel easy.

After four trips, that's the part that keeps standing out to me.

And apparently it's compelling enough that we're willing to do it all over again.

Actually, we're doing something even more telling: we're going back in September, specifically because we want to experience a different version of Bear Trail.

That's when I realized the real value isn't just the fishing.

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The Value of Getting Away from it All

Circling back to the beginning of this piece, I don’t think it’s coincidental that I sometimes refer to Alaska – and particularly remote regions like Bristol Bay – as “America’s Africa.”

That’s not a reflection of the price as much as it denotes the experience. Every day you see something that you otherwise can’t enjoy outside of a National Geographic documentary. Every day you think it can’t get more amazing and somehow the next day tops it.

And somewhere along the way, I caught a 27-inch rainbow trout, the biggest of my life, and discovered that four trips to Bear Trail apparently weren't enough.

So while I understand that it's not in everyone's budget, if you can make it work, I strongly recommend that you go. Whether you’re a hard core trout or salmon angler, a naturalist, or just someone who loves quiet luxury, this trip is worth it in every way.

I've experienced Alaska cheaply. I've experienced Alaska at Bear Trail. I know what both experiences are like. And now that I've experienced Bear Trail four times, I'm choosing to spend the money to do it again.

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Let us know if you’d like more info on a trip to Bear Trail Lodge. We keep on going back for a reason.