Soaring Into Alaskan History: The Story Behind Fly Katmai

Nestled in the rugged beauty of Alaska’s Katmai National Park—where wild rivers tumble over salmon-filled waterfalls—one family’s legacy has helped shape both the tourism and aviation landscape of the region. At the center is Sean Petersen, owner and operator of Fly Katmai, an aviation company specializing in day trips to the world-renowned bear viewing and fishing areas of Brooks Falls.

An Early Obsession

But the story doesn’t start with Sean. It begins with his grandfather, Ray Petersen—a Nebraska farm boy captivated by the sky. His fascination with flight drew him to Alaska in 1934, back when it was still considered America’s last frontier.

“He saw Alaska as a place where aviation was really needed,” Sean explains. “In the lower 48, roads and railways were expanding. But in Alaska, planes were lifelines, a necessary mode of transportation.”

In 1937, Ray launched Ray Petersen Flying Service in Bethel, Alaska. Flying miners and supplies in and out of Platinum, he soon expanded by acquiring several smaller bush plane businesses. In 1947, these merged into Northern Consolidated Airlines.

A New Vision

Ray’s vision didn’t stop at transportation. In 1948, after flying a U.S. senator and a federal judge on a fishing trip in the Bristol Bay area, he imagined something bigger: fly-out fishing lodges. In partnership with the National Park Service—who were dealing with overfishing and litter—Ray and his partner John Walatka, proposed the lodges as a way to promote tourism while encouraging conservation.“He never really set out to build fishing lodges,” Sean says. “He just wanted to generate traffic for his airline. But when no one else stepped up, my grandfather and John, who was knowledgeable about fisheries of the Bristol Bay region, decided to do it themselves.”

The first fishing camps in the late 1940s eventually grew into the Angler’s Paradise Lodges, including iconic sites like Kulik Lodge, and Brooks and Grosvenor Lodge—now historic concessions within Katmai. These efforts jump-started tourism in the region, long before bear viewing became the global attraction it is today.

A Changing Landscape

According to Sean, bears weren’t always part of the picture. “There were hardly any bears there back then,” he says. But as the area became a National Monument in 1918 and then a National Park and Preserve in 1980, the result was an increase in the bear population due to the protected status of the land. As the people moved out, the bears moved in, and so did the visitors.

“Katmai, first and foremost, has always been the people’s place,” Sean reflects. “We love the bears. But before them, it was home to Alaska’s Indigenous peoples. Over time, the bear population grew, the food source increased, and people started coming to see the bears instead of fish.”

The Family Business Continues

Today, Fly Katmai is a modern continuation of that legacy, blending deep local knowledge with state-of-the-art aviation. Operating out of Anchorage, Sean flies guests to Brooks Falls in a specially equipped nine-passenger floatplane—a turbine-powered Cessna Caravan with modern avionics. The ability to rely on instruments and navigation is a vital feature in Alaska’s unpredictable weather.

“It’s our niche,” Sean says. “We’re not just another tour company. We specialize in Katmai, and we have a long history there and we have a long history of getting visitors into Katmai to see the bears.”

With two aircraft in its fleet, Fly Katmai offers exclusive day trips and backcountry charters. On a clear day, passengers soar past active volcanoes and across sweeping Alaskan landscapes—views inaccessible any other way.

Coming soon is a new app that will let customers track the flight path as they head into Katmai.

Operating from late June through mid-September, each trip offers four to five hours on the ground—ample time to hike, spot bears, and take in the remote wilderness that first inspired a young farm boy to head north for the skies.

Though times have changed, the Petersen family’s spirit of adventure—and commitment to preserving and sharing Alaska’s wild beauty—remains very much airborne.

To learn more or book a trip, visit flykatmai.com.