What Do You Eat at an Alaska Fishing Lodge? A Week of Meals at Bear Trail Lodge

While it may be easy for travelers to get to King Salmon, Alaska (just hop a commercial jet in Anchorage), the path for fresh food is more difficult and circuitous. All non-local ingredients have to be brought in by boat or plane, which makes the meals at Bear Trail Lodge all that much more impressive.

What truly amazes me is that they rarely seem to repeat a menu board. I’ve now visited the lodge four times and continue to be surprised by the offerings each evening.

The seafood deserves its own mention. After all, we were in Alaska, and at a fishing lodge on the Naknek River. So it should come as no surprise that some of the week's most memorable meals featured Alaskan seafood. Salmon, halibut, shrimp and crab weren't merely side dishes—they were often the stars of the show. After a day on the water, sitting down to a beautifully prepared piece of Alaska's bounty was a pretty good way to end the day.

But first you have to get through the rest of the day. Before I get into the sumptuous dinners, let me provide you with a sense of how the pre-dinner meals go. Simply put, if you go hungry it’s your own damn fault.

5:00am – Coffee is out in the main lobby. If you’re not a coffee drinker, there are also a variety of teas, hot ciders and hot chocolate.

6:30am – Breakfast is served. In addition to eggs made to order, there’s usually an entrée of the day, like banana pancakes, French toast or a Denver omelette. There are cereals, yogurts, along with a variety of pastries, muffins and breads, along with additional hot foods – sausage/egg/cheese sandwiches on an English muffin, thick cut bacon and hash browns.

Lunchtime – If you fly out to a remote location, your guide will carry an insulated lunch box with a sandwich, chips and a cookie for each person. They provide you with a water bottle and there’s filtered water in the lodge, so each person carries their own.

If you’ll be on a boat or raft, or you stay home on the Naknek River, they can also pack canned soft drinks and a thermos of hot soup. Furthermore, the box contains ziplocs full of granola bars, candy and other sweets for quick bursts of energy or to celebrate a trophy fish.

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Upon returning home to the lodge in the late afternoon or early evening, there’s a happy hour with beer on tap and wine, as well as a “Drink of the Day.” The libations are served with appetizers which serve as a precursor to dinner.

And in case you get the munchies in the evening, there’s usually a plate of cookies sitting out.

Then comes the main event.

Here are some of the dinners we enjoyed on this most recent trip.

Friday, August 7

Appetizers: Andouille sausage pastry

Dip: Hummus

Salad: Apple, bleu cheese, seed brittle

Main Dish: Dungeness crab, shrimp, roasted potatoes, broccoli, remoulade

Dessert: Blueberry cheesecake

Saturday, August 8

Appetizers: Salmon stuffed poppers and shrimp cocktail

Dip: Onion dip

Salad: Quinoa

Main Dish: Seared NY steak, sweet potato puree, charded brussels and roasted mushrooms

Dessert: Dark Chocolate torte with strawberry sauce

Sunday, August 9

Appetizers: Crab wonton and crispy pork bites

Dip: Roasted pepper hummus

Salad: Southeast sain cabbage salad

Main Dish:  Alaskan rockfish ramen, seared scallops, roasted salmon broth

Dessert: Key Lime Pie

Monday, August 10

Appetizers: Buffalo mac bites and Spanish shrimp with chorizo

Dip: Smoked salmon

Salad: Italian chopped salad

Main Dish: Grilled pork tenderloin, sticky rice, mango chutney, snap peas and brown herb butter

Dessert: Vanilla crème brulee

Tuesday, August 11

Appetizers: Sweet and sour cauliflower and crispy skin duck and pork

Dip: Onion dip

Salad: Apple, bleu cheese and seed brittle

Main Dish: Seared salmon, roasted pepper hummus, grilled vegetables and chimichurri

Dessert: Orange olive oil cake

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More Than Fishing

We went to Bear Trail Lodge for the fishing. But after four trips, we've learned that the experience is considerably more than what's happening at the end of a fishing rod. 

The food is part of it—and particularly the seafood. There's something pretty special about spending the day surrounded by Alaska's wild rivers and then sitting down that evening to enjoy the same state's salmon, halibut, crab or shrimp prepared by a talented chef. 

For someone considering an Alaska fishing trip for the first time, that's one of the details that can be easy to overlook — and one of the things that can make a week at a remote lodge surprisingly comfortable.