Alaska's cities

King Salmon, Alaska

Fishing and the airport are southwestern Alaska town's mainstays

Alaska.com

King Salmon is also a departure point for the Katmai National Park and Preserve, which includes the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, Brooks Camp, and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. Fishing for all five species of salmon and rainbow trout are one of this area's top attractions.

The town, population 442, is located on the north bank of the Naknek River on the Alaska Peninsula, about 15 miles upriver from Naknek. It is 284 miles southwest of Anchorage.

The climate is mainly maritime, characterized by cool, humid, and windy weather. Average summer temperatures range from 42 to 63; average winter temperatures range from 29 to 44. Extremes from -46 to 88 have been recorded. Total precipitation is 20 inches annually, including 45 inches of snowfall. Fog is common during summer months.

Economy
Government jobs, transportation and fishing-related employment are the mainstays of the King Salmon economy.

More than 30,000 visitors pass through the King Salmon airport each summer for wilderness and fishing adventures in the area.

King Salmon is a transportation hub for Bristol Bay. The state-owned airport offers an 8,500-foot paved, lighted runway, a 4,000-foot asphalt/gravel crosswind runway and FAA air traffic control tower. There are scheduled flights and charter services to and from Anchorage.

A 4,000-foot stretch of the Naknek River is designated for float planes. A seaplane base is also located at Lake Brooks, within the Katmai National Park to the east. Four docks are available on the Naknek River -- owned by the U.S. Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, Alaska State Troopers and the Bristol Bay Borough.

Cargo goods are delivered to Naknek by barge and trucked upriver to King Salmon via the 15-mile connecting road.

During winter, an ice road provides access to South Naknek. Vehicles are the primary means of local transportation; skiffs are used during summer.

History
Present-day tribal members are descendents of a group that moved to King Salmon by the eruption of Mount Katmai, on the east coast of the Peninsula.

In the 1930s, an air navigation silo was built at King Salmon. At the beginning of World War II, the U.S. built an Air Force base. It was maintained by the Federal Aviation Administration throughout the war. In 1949, a post office was established, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a road to Naknek. Other government quarters, such as National Park Service, Fish and Game and the weather bureau, were developed. The King Salmon Inn opened in 1956.