Afognak Lodge is a place I thought only existed in my imagination. It is the land before time where nature has not been touched. Soaring eagles, free swimming otters, wild salmon, massive halibut, spouting humpback whales and huge Kodiak bears rule this island paradise.

We spent our fourth Alaskan lodge vacation with the Randalls and loved every day. The lodge is capably managed by Shannon with sons Josh and Luke. Each person brings strong skills to make Afognak a well maintained operation. And each will go out of their way to make your visit a success.

This season’s hardworking staff includes a wonderful cook who will brings gourmet touches to each meal. There’s always a fresh bread on the table, and great cookies in the lunch box. The other staff members work hard in all areas, and all are personable.

Our cabin was clean, comfortable, and well maintained. We’d make a pot of coffee early in the morning and watch from the deck as the silver fox, otter, seal, and eagles passed by. Meals are in the lodge where you can spend some time with other guests and staff. You might also share a meal with a bush pilot, as they have an open invitation to dine while they are making a floatplane stop.

Nature viewing was primarily by boat, and allowed plenty of sights… whales, sea lions, seals, otters, and puffins. Inside a cove, we left the boat for a hike along a stream where we saw salmon jumping at the waterfalls. On the return, we came across a couple bears who were catching fish and grazing. Another day we saw a herd of elk, foxes on the shore, and a beaver. Luke is an incredible guide… affable and very knowledgeable about animals, their patterns, and habitat.

The fishing was incredible. Halibut, ling cod (out of season), sockeye salmon, and rockfish (black bass and yellow eye) were in abundance. The fishing boat is a comfortable catamaran with a front hydraulic ramp that allowed easy access to shore. There’s also plenty of room all around the boat to fish from. One day was spent hiking along a stream to fly fish in a pool…. Caught some rainbow trout, including a nice one about 20“.

We brought a couple boxes of well packed fish fillets home. Luke and Josh know how to handle fish. The fish are packed to order, and are double wrapped. They take the effort to use an insulating bag to line the packing box. On the way home, the fish were kept in a freezer locker at Seattle airport overnight, and then went non-stop to the East Coast the next day. Even a two-hour car ride home didn’t put a dent in the quality of the fillets.

Everyone at Afognak Wilderness Lodge will bend over backward to accommodate your wishes. Just ask them.

We plan to return again.

I had the privilege of traveling to the Island of Afognak this summer. My trip there was very pleasant. I have been in a few parts of Alaska before but wanted to experience some of the wilderness areas. So when I was invited to go to Afognak, I was very excited.

My travel itinerary was planned out for me and all went well getting to this secluded island.
I was treated with the utmost kindness and consideration from the first moment. The Randalls made every effort to see that all my needs and desires were met. As far as I could see, this effort was made for each of the 25 to 30 guest that were there during my stay.

The wild life is abundant in these waters and on the island. I went to see the landscape and bears, whales and other animals, not to hunt or fish. Luke Randall knows the country very well and was the best guide. If I am going into a forest with wild animals and I want to see them, I want Luke for my guide. He was so thoughtful and made sure I was able to hike on the trail. He knew where to look for bear and was able to give me lots of safe viewing time enjoying these beautiful wild animals. We also had several days enjoying the whales that were in the bays during August. Even though I don't fish, I did go. Luke helped me and made sure I was successful in hooking a few nice Salmon.

Autumn was able to join us on several of our trips, which made it especially enjoyable.
She shared her time with me. We were able to do some kayaking and see lots of birds and sea life. She is quite knowledgeable about the native flora and fauna.

We enjoyed some very good meals while I was there. I was amazed that we could have such a variety of food in such a remote area. I don't believe we had the same thing to eat any time I was there. Both Autumn and Mrs. Randall contribute to the qualtiy and variety of the meals.

Afognak Lodge is a great place to go for vacation. There is a lot to see and do.
The guides know where to catch fish, see the scenery, or hunt - whatever your reason for going to the wilds of Alaska can be satisfied here. Plus you have the comforts of a
nice lodge and prepared meals.

I hope this helps some of you who might be wondering if this is where you might want to go.

Velia Horrocks

This was the second time that my wife and I utilized Afognak Lodge and mainly for wildlife (bear) viewing and photography. Our first visit was in the Fall of 2007 and we had a great time. The wildlife viewing at that time was fantastic as we trekked through the rain forest and saw over ten bears, The fishing, both salt and fresh water, was also very good and the quality of food outstanding. Our guide did an excellent job.

We had such an enjoyable time in 2007 that we decided to take my son and his fiancé along with us on the current stay, again in the Fall (September, 2009). Sadly, my wife and I both found that the quality of the Lodge on this, our latest trip, was certainly not up to par and not what one would expect from a Lodge that had such a good reputation in the past and that we has experienced during our last visit.

Both my son and his fiancé, along with my wife and I, were extremely disappointed with the quality of food served during our four day stay. For my wife and me the quality of the food provided during our first visit in 2007 was excellent but this time the quality was either just barely average or mostly below average and certainly could not compare with the quality of food that we had experienced at other lodges during our month long visit throughout Alaska.

Compared to our previous visit, the attempts made during our stay to see bears was very lackadaisical. We only touched soil on one day for a short trip through the forest. The other times that we went looking for bears we merely trolled the beaches in a boat and never went ashore again. During our previous visit, which was at the same time of year as this year, we ventured ashore numerous times and saw lots of bears. On this current trip we actually saw no bears except when we flew out with Andrew’s Air and spotted five bears feeding at a fish hatchery.

On the last day of our visit we supposedly went on a “bear photo hunt” but the trip turned out to more like a combination of a working boat and a “love boat” trip as the guide took his recently married wife along with him and was much more interested in pleasing his wife than looking for bears and concentrating on our wishes. Although this was the last day of our visit and the Lodge was not immediately expecting any more guest for a while, that day’s adventure started with considerable time being spent on dragging logs from the shoreline with our boat and where a tree had just been felled and cut into various sizes. As mentioned, the rest of the time the four in our party were astonished by the actions and display of romantic interlude by our guide and his wife for the rest of day. Again, we never stepped ashore to look for bears,

I must point out that this visit was the last of the season for the Lodge and some of the staff appeared to be burned out, except for the lodge’s proprietor Shannon who remained upbeat throughout our stay. For example, our guide got extremely upset when one of our party lost a lure during saltwater fishing when he “caught” the lure on the bottom. He also lost it totally when we went fresh water fishing for silvers and a line got tangled and he also lost a pair of pliers while attempting to take the hook out of a silver’s mouth. He was certainly not a happy “camper” and demonstrated it fully!

In spite of the aforementioned comments, I must say that the salt water fishing was excellent as our party caught our limit of fish in one short afternoon. So, if it is fishing that one wants to do then I would admit that the Lodge provided the proper guide and services to carry this out. It became evident to the four of us that the Lodge was quickly becoming more of a fishing camp than one that combines both fishing and wildlife (bear) viewing.

In summary, because of the lack of good quality food and the lack of providing better service and bear viewing opportunities the four of us found the Lodge was not up to their normal standards and thus we shall not return and are unable to recommend it for others with the exception of those who want to concentrate on fishing only.