The Camp


Click image to see SAFARI camp’s stunning location.

For 25 years, the SAFARI camp has traded off the plush comforts of the typical Alaska fly fishing lodge for a pristine setting in the middle of nowhere. Our Alaska wilderness lodge is in an area where the coastal brown bears easily outnumber the fishermen and rugged mountains stretch as far as the eye can see.

No-name rivers teeming with countless numbers of chrome-bright salmon and sea-run Dolly Varden eager to take your fly.

Yet despite our extreme location, we still have all the essentials of a comfortable lodge to enjoy after each fulfilling day on the water.

And there’s a lot more than just world-class Alaska fly fishing, this region of the Alaska Peninsula is one of the most beautiful and pristine places left on earth. It’s impossible to “see and do everything” in one week… ask any of our guests and they’ll tell you this is just yet another reason why you’ll want to come back! 

Location Details and Things to Do (When You’re Not Fly Fishing).

Camp Overview

Here’s what you can expect of our facilities on your remote Alaska Peninsula fly fishing adventure:

  • Rugged, semi-permanent Weatherport shelters
  • Hot showers
  • Large dining shelter with wood burning stove
  • Gourmet wilderness dining
  • The observation table, a great spot to hang out before and after meals.
  • Double occupancy sleeping arrangements
  • Daily tent cleaning
  • Plenty of fresh wild Alaska salmon and halibut for dinner
  • Limited complimentary drinks
  • Eco-friendly solar power system for charging your camera battery
  • Separate drying/storage shelter for wet gear
  • Spectacular panoramic scenery directly in front of camp
  • Fewer bug problems compared to the typical Alaska bug experience
  • Only 9 guest max. per week

Do you prefer a “rustic” wilderness camp with fewer frills? Check out our small stream Alaska trout fishing operation, Alaska Wilderness OUTPOST.

Location

Alask Wilderness Safari camp is located in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge.

Nakalilok Bay, Alaska

Alaska Wilderness SAFARI is located approximately 120 miles south of King Salmon, Alaska on the Pacific side of the Alaska Peninsula in Nakalilok Bay. We are surrounded by the 3.7 million acre (about the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined) Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Please thank the Wildlife Service for managing and preserving such lands, as there are few places on Earth as pristine as this region.

Limited and challenging access to the area allows us to operate here without fishing with other fishermen from other lodges our entire season. Literally.

The camp sits atop a high bluff overlooking a beautiful tidal estuary and is bounded by the North Pacific Ocean on one side, and the Aleutian Mountain Range on the other. Our close proximity to both the ocean and the mountains gives rise to a diverse range of ecosystems and geographic features unique to both sea and land. More importantly, fish are in peak condition as they enter the nearby freshwater systems for their spawning migration!

Around Camp

Photo by JohnnyQuiroz.com

Enjoying the view from the observation table.

Most likely the nicest amenity of the entire camp, besides our cook, is the “observation and central-gathering” table, located on a bluff overlook with an absolutely amazing view. It is here where we spend most of our time before and after meals – watching the Alaska wildlife while socializing and reflecting on the day of fishing and hiking adventures.

Or, you may engage in a friendly game of washers (played like horseshoes), take a short stroll to the “overlook” for another amazing view over the ocean, climb the lower hills directly behind camp, spend some time learning how to tie flies or improve your cast, or sometime during the week we may enjoy the ambiance of a bonfire on the beach below camp.

Photo by JohnnyQuiroz.com

Sit back and watch wildlife through our spotting scopes!

Instead of fishing for the day, guests may choose to lounge around the observation table and read a favorite book, look through the spotting scopes to watch the bears feeding in the meadows, spot a herd of caribou in the snow fields, or just watch your friends hammer fish all day with your feet propped up at camp. Trust us, it’s not a bad way to spend the day.

Cuisine

Grilled salmon skewers are always a guest favorite!

The kitchen staff is legendary for producing fabulous cuisine in the middle of the wilderness, and Phil has surely stepped it up a notch!

When in season, you may wake up to fresh picked blue berries in the muffins or pancakes, or a camp favorite – smoked char frittata. Perhaps a hearty bowl of hot oatmeal or a generous plate of eggs and bacon with biscuits and gravy may be more your style. Dinner reads like a gourmet menu – almond crusted salmon with citrus glaze, creamy alfredo pasta and garlic crustinies; New York strip steaks with mushroom sauce and baked potatoes; halibut fish tacos (a camp favorite) with pico de gallo, charro beans, Spanish rice (and our famous wilderness margaritas); roasted pork loin with apple poblano chutney, wild rice and braised red cabbage with port wine. Each main entrée is often complemented with wild Alaska salmon or halibut just minutes from the water. Freshness like this will forever change your opinion about the fish you have been eating back home!

It doesn’t get any fresher than this!

Green salads, vegetables and homemade bread complete the meal, but delicious deserts like molten chocolate brownies, canolis, and carrot or tres leches cake, will surely satisfy your appetite.

The guide’s wood fired, fresh fish shore lunches are known to raise a few eyebrows as well, but most mid-day meals consist of a riverside “brown bag” style lunch with sandwiches, fresh fruit, chips and dessert.

Special diet considerations, including those who do not care for fresh fish? Usually not a problem, but please contact us in advance.

Wildlife Viewing

In this region of the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, you may see some or all of the following:

On a daily basis:

Regularly:

  • Red fox
  • River otter
  • Seals
  • Arctic ground squirrels
  • Various song and sea birds

Occasionally:

  • Moose
  • Caribou
  • Wolves
  • Ptarmigan
  • Mink
  • Whales
  • Dolphin
  • Sea lions
  • Sea otters


We have many magnificent bear sightings throughout the season (check out our Alaska bear viewing video), and to ensure guest safety and comfort, we give a thorough bear safety briefing about how to conduct oneself around camp and on the water. Always be respectful and cautious, but remember the bears are there to eat fish, not you!

Hiking

Photo by JohnnyQuiroz.com

Hike to stunning waterfalls

In case you can’t lift you arm anymore, or are just looking for a change of pace, guests may opt for an easy to moderate day hike to explore some of nature’s finest offerings. Beach combing may produce a whale vertebrae, unusually shaped driftwood, or a unique rock or shell. Other areas of the coastline offer superbly sculptured rock formations and tide pools where you may see mussel and barnacle beds, or uncover a whole world of other intra-tidal life. Hikes to gorgeous waterfalls will pass through lush plant growth where you may see colorful wildflowers, edible berries ready for harvest, or perhaps a unique leaf fossil.

There is an overwhelming sense of satisfaction, beauty and humility after climbing to a higher vantage point to fully appreciate this awesome landscape. For the physically fit, there exist an unlimited number of unexplored ridgelines and summits to conquer.

Photography

Our guides joke that they could spend an entire summer out here without rod in hand (yeah, right!), but instead would arm themselves with a camera and lots of memory cards. For the amateur or the professional, there exist infinite angles and vantage points to capture the dramatic surroundings and wildlife. Let us take you on an Alaska photo tour that is sure to capture some cover-worthy photos.

Flight-seeing

The helicopter is the absolute best way to enjoy a bird’s eye view of this IMAX worthy landscape and catch a close up glimpse of some of the world’s most breathtaking waterfalls, unique geological formations and glaciers. Instead of helicopter fly-out fishing, guests may opt for a flight seeing tour up one of our magnificent valleys, a beach combing excursion along a remote shoreline, or an ocean side picnic on a deserted island.