Whether you are looking for that perfect photographic experience, or a uniquely Alaska adventure, a bear-viewing excursion is considered by many as a trip of a lifetime.

Homer has become a popular jump-off point and gets its reputation as the "bear-viewing capital of Alaska" for good reason. Homer is located just an hour's plane ride from the crown jewel of Alaska's wilderness Katmai National Park and Preserve, located on the northern edge of the Alaska Peninsula. Katmai was designated as a National Park and Preserve on Dec. 2, 1980. It consists of more than 4.7 million acres of prime brown bear habitat. There are an estimated 4,000 bears currently living within the park and preserve, making it the area with the highest concentration of brown bears in the world.

Mature coastal brown bear males, like the ones viewed at Katmai, can weigh as much as 1,400 pounds. Brown bears have been known to live more than 30 years in the wild, although they typically live into their mid-20s.

While Brooks Falls is considered the most popular destination for bear-watching groups in July, that's not the only time to look for bears in the area. Bears return to the Brooks River in the summer and fall when the salmon are spawning. Nearly 25,000 people visit Katmai National Park each year and there has been more than a 100 percent increase in use and visitation to the Katmai Coast over the last 15 years.

Several charter-boat companies on the Homer Spit and floatplane services on Beluga Lake transport people to the park and offer a wide range of options. From the end of May through the end of September, bear viewing can be good and most bear-viewing operators know where the bears are at any given time of the season.

Guides also have learned how humans should act around bears by observing how bears act around each other. Historical approaches to bear behavior are changing as more people become bear-educated. There are rules to remember when traveling in bear country. Never surprise a bear. Never approach a bear. And never run from a bear. Most guides have spent years around the bears and have come to understand their behavior and appropriate responses from humans.Some can even identify specific bears that they have observed for nearly 20 years.

Guides will usually explain bear safety to visitors before departing and will continually educate them about bear behavior while in the field. Most bear-viewing trips leave early in the morning and take all day. They can cost upward of $500 per person. Bear watching is a safe, appropriate activity for just about anyone, regardless of age. Not every trip is for everyone, but a trip to fill each need can be found.

For those simply wanting to watch and learn about bears from a distance, Homer's Pratt Museum has come up with a solution.The museum, with help from the National Geographic Society and others, has installed a bear-watching video camera at McNeil River Falls that can be viewed at the museum or on the Web at www.nationalgeographic.com.At the museum, the video and audio are sup-plemented by a National Park Service ranger who leads an interpretive discussion while zooming in on the bears.