This Week in Southwest Alaska — May 18 to May 24
Late May in Southwest Alaska is the arrival of real fishing season. The Naknek River system, the Nushagak, the Kvichak, and the dozens of other legendary Bristol Bay watersheds are stirring with the first signs of the great sockeye run that will peak in late June and early July. Commercial fishing fleets are setting up, sport fishing lodges are hosting their first guests of the season, and the small communities of the Southwest — Dillingham, King Salmon, Kodiak — are transitioning from the quiet of winter to the frenzy of the fishing season with characteristic Alaskan energy.
Southwest Alaska in late May is largely defined by its remoteness and its fisheries. The region doesn't have the event density of Anchorage or Fairbanks, but what it does have is world-class wilderness. Brown bear viewing at Brooks Camp in Katmai National Park begins as the bears emerge from their dens and move toward the river. The Kodiak Island community is hosting spring events and the harbor is active with crab boats transitioning to salmon prep. King Salmon and the surrounding communities are welcoming the first wave of sport fishing clients to the Bristol Bay lodges.
Browse the Southwest Alaska event listings for the week of May 18–24 below — a lean but rewarding calendar in one of Alaska's most spectacular and undervisited regions.
Southwest Alaska has 2 events this week (May 18–24). From Kodiak to Bristol Bay, here's what's on the calendar.
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