Lake Brooks Seaplane Base (5Z9), Alaska
Landing essentials
Whether you can land, whether you can refuel, and how customs works here.
Overview
Lake Brooks (BKF) is a public seaplane base inside Katmai National Park, serving float traffic bound for Brooks Camp. The facility is unattended, with a single water landing area and no fuel on site.
Runways
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base has one runway, ALL/WAY, 5,000 ft long and 4,000 ft wide, with a water surface.
Source: FAA Form 5010.
Fuel and airfield services
The airport has no control tower.
Source: FAA Form 5010 / NASR.
Customs
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base does not clear customs. The nearest port of entry is 9Z3, 117 NM away.
Source: CBP list of ports of entry.
Business aviation traffic
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base recorded 128 business aviation movements in 2025. Traffic peaks in July. Traffic is concentrated in the summer months, with July and August accounting for most annual operations recorded at Lake Brooks.
Business jet movements, FAA TFMSC count. Peak month July, 50 movements in 2025.
Source: FAA TFMSC, business jet movements, 2025.
Climate
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base averages 27.7 freeze days in March. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 61.5°F, and January the coldest, at 25.8°F.
Weather station is 21.3 NM from the field. Some values are estimated by the agency. 1991–2020 climate normals.
Source: NOAA NCEI.
Operating constraints
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base has published operating constraints in one category: other notes.
Aircraft must maintain 1000 feet AGL in the vicinity of Brooks Camp due to heavy bear and human concentration.
Large white buoys, 4 feet tall, mark the waterway and are a hazard to navigation because they are difficult to see.
Landing, takeoff, or taxiing within 50 yards of bears is prohibited.
Surface operations are limited to idle maneuvers within 200 yards of Brooks Camp beach on Naknek Lake. Step taxi operations, and the initiation of takeoffs or landings, are prohibited within this zone. Buoys mark a no-wake area.
Fuel is available at AKN on the river, or at frequency 130.10.
Source: FAA Chart Supplement.
Nearby airfields
Lake Brooks Seaplane Base has three airfields within 47 NM. The closest is King Salmon (PAKN), 28.21 NM west.
Source: Skystar calculation from official coordinates.
Skystar at 5Z9
We arrange catering, fuel and trip support here. Supplier prices reach you unchanged; our coordination fee sits on its own line.
The same order, priced two ways.
$600.00 catering order at 5Z9.
Unchanged.
What the kitchen invoices us is what your quote reads.
One line, fixed.
The $75 minimum applies below $862.50.
At cost.
Passed on at the exact amount the processor took.
Market practice figures are industry averages, not a specific competitor.
Frequently asked questions
Is fuel available at Lake Brooks (BKF)?
No fuel is available at Lake Brooks itself. Fuel is available at AKN on the river, so operators planning stops at Lake Brooks should arrive with sufficient reserves or plan a fuel stop at that location.
What restrictions apply to operations at BKF because of bear activity?
Landings, takeoffs, or taxiing within 50 yards of bears are prohibited at Lake Brooks, and aircraft must maintain 1000 feet AGL in the vicinity of Brooks Camp due to heavy bear and human concentration in the area.
Are there navigation hazards to watch for on the water at Lake Brooks?
Yes, large white buoys 4 feet tall mark the waterway at Lake Brooks and are noted as a hazard to navigation because they are difficult to see. Surface operations are also limited to idle maneuvers within 200 yards of Brooks Camp beach, a designated no-wake zone.