Lake Clark National Park and Preserve

Lake Clark National Park and Preserve in southwestern Alaska includes many streams and lakes vital to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery, including Lake Clark. Located about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Anchorage, the park includes features not found together in any of the other Alaska Parks: the junction of three mountain ranges, a coastline with rainforests along the Cook Inlet, a plateau with alpine tundra on the west, glaciers, glacial lakes, major salmon-bearing rivers, and two volcanoes, Mount Redoubt and Mount Iliamna.  The wide variety of ecosystems in the park mean that virtually all major Alaskan animals, terrestrial and marine, may be seen in and around the park. Salmon, particularity sockeye salmon, play a major role in the ecosystem and the local economy. The Kvichak River is the world’s most productive watershed for sockeye salmon. Large populations of brown bears are attracted as a result, to feed on the spawning salmon in the Kijik River and at Silver Salmon Creek, and as a result bear viewing is a common activity in the park. No roads lead to the park and it can only be reached by boat or small aircraft, typically floatplanes.