"I have never disembarked at a place like Chenik Camp. Not even on journeys to Antarctica, the northwest shore of Hudson Bay, or even the Himalaya Mountains, have I felt so suddenly surrounded by wilderness. From the knoll on which the cabins stood, we could see no plants taller than stunted willows and thigh high alders. The steeply rolling tundra was lush with purple lupine and ivory cow parsnip."

Chenik Camp remains as the famous author described: remote and wild. It offers the ultimate experience for wilderness and wildlife enthusiasts who wish to immerse themselves in the excitement of Alaska's coastal ecosystems. Offering all the adventure of an African safari, observing or photographing brown bears is, easily, one of the most exotic game viewing opportunities in the world.

Photographic opportunities exist everywhere, especially with 20 hours of daylight. While many of the world's best photographers have been our guests, many more visitors are drawn here just to experience the vast wilderness, its animals, birds, and meadows of mixed wildflowers which dazzle the senses. Handsome, tolerant red fox provide hours of entertainment and choice photo opportunities. Springtime birdwatching is incredible; the sheer numbers and diversity are stunning. Of the 99 species, many, such as black oyster catchers and common eiders, nest here. One hundred and fifteen species of flowering plants, including three of orchids, have been seen here. While Chenik is not a fishing destination, per se, crystal-clear Chenik Lake offers good fishing for lake trout. These tasy fish are caught from shore with spinning or fly casting gear.

This isolated country is home of the world's largest carnivore, Ursus arctos, the brown bear. The largest bears may weigh nearly one-half ton and stand nine feet tall. From early June until mid-August, they gorge on salmon spawning in Kamishak streams. Bears may be seen from our windows and the surrounding hills and photographed from our deck or at nearby Chenik Falls.

Chenik Camp, the only private inholding surrounded by the McNeil River State Game Refuge, lies in Kamishak Bay, 100 miles and a one hour floatplane trip southwest of Homer, Alaska. The verdant hills and rugged shoreline of Kamishak nestle between the glacier capped promontories of Cape Douglas south, and the 10,000 foot twin peaks of Iliamna and Redoubt to the north. Nearby, Augustine Island, a classic cone shaped volcano, rises to 4,000 feet. Full-page pictures, taken by prominent photographers, have appeared in many national magazines.

Kamishak Bay is best explored by boat. Tidepools and clamming beaches, in sheltered Chenik Lagoon, are accessible by sea kayak, canoe, and skiff. A 21 foot, seaworthy Boston Whaler, operated by an experienced skipper, allows access to Nordyke Island where harbor seals and sea otters gather and bald eagles and horned and tufted puffins nest. Amakdedori Beach offers miles of beachcombing, mountains of driftwood containing relics from old shipwrecks and collectible buoys of all shapes and sizes. As we boat the shoreline, bears are often observed. All along this coast the sea had sculpted fascinating forms in the intricately folded rocks. Everywhere is a timeless, raw beauty.

The concentration of salmon and a climate favoring lush vegetation encouraged the Alaska Legislature to create the McNeil River Brown Bear Sanctuary, eight air miles or a twenty minute boat ride from Chenik Camp. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game protects this unique concentration of feeding bears. An annual lottery limits visitors at McNeil Falls to 15 per week. If you are interested in visiting Chenik Camp, contact us immediately requestion that your name be added to the State lottery by the March 1 deadline. ( More information about visits to the Sanctuary is available upon request.)

Variable, unpredictable weather has kept Kamishak Bay uninhabited and infrequently visited. Daily life at Chenik revolves around the tides which may vary 25 vertical feet in six hours. Boat and floatplane travel occur at high tide and can be restricted by windy days which are common in Kamishak.

The very isolation and dificulty of access, that have protected the wilderness values and maintained healthy populations of wild animals, make a visit to Chenik unavoidably expensive. The guest season spans nine weeks. The camp average of six guests thus totals only about fifty a year.

This awesome country has no permanent modern residents yet outlines of semi-subterranean houses hint of prehistoric inhabitants. Lying in the basin of a great peninsular land bridge stretching toward Siberia, this area may have been a hinge point in man's early migrations. Chenik Camp lies near an ancient trade route between the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay.

Your visit to Chenik Camp begins with a floatplane trip across lower Cook Inlet, past Augustine Volcano, to Chenik Lagoon. Our rustic camp contains three guest cabins, a tradional sod-roofed Finnish sauna and a bath house with a chemical toilet. The small lodge offers cozy couches, a library and fireplace in the living room and a dining area with picture windows overlooking the ocean. A maximum for four couples, or ten individuals, if traveling together, can be comfortably accommodated for five days and share the adventure of their lives.

Bird and wildflower checklists plus other supplemental information will be sent at time of booking.