Head to Bristol Bay, Alaska, to Nab the Freshest Sockeye Salmon

There’s sea-to-table and then there’s plane-to-sea-to-table, the plane being the way you travel directly to the bounty of the sea before it lands on your plate. And that’s how you get to Bristol Bay, Alaska, to indulge in its prime delicacy, sockeye salmon — a bold-flavored, firm, meaty catch.

To partake in this culinary-style tourism, you’ll need to travel to the top of the Alaska Peninsula, in the southwest corner of the state. This is a prime destination for anyone looking to have a fishing/wildlife getaway. In fact, even if sockeye isn’t your salmon of choice, Bristol Bay produces more wild salmon than anywhere else on Earth. And really, salmon fishing is one of the few pastimes available in the region anyway, so if you’re here, you might as well think pink. (Well, actually, sockeyes are red. Pink is a whole other type of salmon). For fish connoisseurs, the sockeye may well be worth the effort.

Visiting gourmands have the opportunity to buy this salmon fresh and direct from Bristol Bay fishermen. You can get an idea of how the sausage is made seafood is caught, in fact, by watching the YouTube series Sockeye Salmon Fishing, Bristol Bay Alaska.

Bristol Bay visitors can also sample Vital Choice’s Featured Catch for July in local restaurants or at the fishing/sport lodges where they may stay. Outside the bay area, this fish is commonly sold smoked, in high-end salmon burgers, and by the fillet.

Here are some of our favorite salmon recipes for inspiration.

Ways to spend a day in Bristol Bay

If you want to go antiquing, beaching, glamping, or unwind at a five-star resort, you made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. Bristol Bay is the destination for travelers who love sport fishing (Pacific salmon, freshwater rainbow trout, Arctic char, and Dolly Varden, a type of trout), boating, rafting, hunting, hiking, camping, cannery tours, museums, and “flightseeing” (sightseeing in a helicopter or small fixed-wing airplane). 

The watershed, wild and spanning 40,000 square miles, includes pristine tundra and forests (boldy verdant in summer), along with rivers and wetlands that flow into the bay. What's not here is roads, as there are almost none connecting the area to the rest of Alaska. People here get around by boat, air, and snow machines.

For wildlife park enthusiasts, nearby (a term used loosely in these parts) Dillingham is the gateway to three regional parks: Togiak National Wildlife Refuge, site to seabird nesting zones and rivers filled with salmon; Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary, where over 14,000 walruses summer; and Wood-Tikchik State Park, where visitors can kayak and canoe along a number of lakes and rivers.

Besides salmon, brown and black bears are the other big wildlife draws –– perhaps not such a big surprise, given that the bears eat the salmon.

MORE: A Conversation Between an Alaskan Salmon and a Brown Bear

Anyone interested in seeing them in their natural habitat can sign up for bear viewing, a tour via aircraft, boat, or bus that lets tourists observe the mammals from a safe distance. Eagles, sea otters, moose cows, and moose calves comprise the rest of the region's stable of wildlife stars.

Bristol Bay essentials

If you’re looking to get away from civilization, you’ve found the right place. As of the 2020 census, the borough of Bristol Bay sports a population of a mere 843 people.

For lovers of summer — spawning season for sockeye salmon — the good news is that Bristol Bay gets nearly 18 ½ hours of sunlight on the summer solstice. The bad news: The average high temperature in July is 62 degrees Fahrenheit; the average low, 49 degrees Fahrenheit. So, visitors can leave their bathing suits at home but do need to layer: jackets by day and, perhaps, eye masks by night to block out the sun. To arrive in concert with the salmon, best come in July.

To get here, take the roughly 70-minute flight to Dillingham from Anchorage via Alaska Airlines (don’t believe even peanuts are offered), or with an air charter or air taxi. Various lodges may fly or float you in on private transport from Anchorage or somewhere else nearby. 

Lodging, dining, and more

When it comes to staying in Bristol Bay, the borough takes the word lodging literally. Except for a couple of Vrbo or Airbnb properties, lodges are the only real accommodations, whether that be one building with individual rooms, a site with cabins, or a combination thereof. See available lodging here.

For just a tick more civilization, stay in Dillingham near the head of Nushagak Bay and along the mouth of the Wood and Nushagak rivers. This community –– the fastest growing in the region –– has become the economic and transportation hub of western Bristol Bay, according to Travel Alaska, boasting some 230 commercial fishing licenses and four fish processing plants.

In Dillingham, you can actually find a restaurant or two, such as The Bayside Diner (it has free refills for the kids!). For more gourmet fare, though, it's best to eat at one of the more luxe lodges. And between fishing and other nature pursuits, consider checking out the Sam Fox Museum, where you can find dozens of native artifacts and pieces of native art.

And if you can’t make it to Bristol Bay...

For some (Many? Most? Nearly all?) of you, a trip to Bristol Bay may not be in the cards. But you can still indulge in sockeye salmon that’s just as tasty as the catch of the day. Vital Choice brings the sockeye salmon to you, offering the fish in many styles, ranging from fillet to jerky to burger, and more. Plus, you can even order a recipe kit that lets you cook the fish on cedar grilling planks.