Exploring Kodiak Island During the Salmon Run

A past employee of the Village of Homewood, Illinois, Patrick Ryan supplies clients with a variety of property remediation solutions. Passionate about travel, Patrick Ryan has visited five continents and explored wild areas of Alaska, such as Denali and Kodiak Island.

Second only to Hawai’i among US islands in size, Kodiak is mostly inaccessible by vehicle, with the main town connected by roads to only a couple of smaller towns. Getting around the rest of the island requires a boat or water plane.

An annual summer highlight on Kodiak is the salmon run, which centers on 12-mile-long Karluk Lake and features red salmon in June followed by pink salmon and silver salmon in August. This event attracts many brown, black, and Kodiak bears, bald eagles, wolves, moose, and beavers.

Along the coastline, walruses, humpback whales, and orcas also enjoy a bountiful summer feast. The best way to experience this gathering of wildlife is to visit the Kodiak Brown Bear Center, which is about 40 minutes from the town of Kodiak.

Kodiak bears, which are larger than grizzlies, can be unpredictable. While the omnivorous bear does eat meat and fish, 80 percent of its diet consists of berries, grass, roots, and other plants. It does not actively seek humans for meals.