The Land and Its Legacy

Since time immemorial, the Indigenous Yup’ik and Dena’ina peoples have cared for and sustained the pristine waters and lands of this region. The abundance of plants, fish, and wildlife has made this area both culturally and nutritionally rich for thousands of years — a place where every season tells a story of connection between people and the land.

Camp Gibraltar sits about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage, nestled within the Alaska Range. The lake itself is traditionally known as Igyaraq, meaning “the throat” — a name honoring the river that flows into Lake Iliamna.

Each late summer and early fall, thousands of sockeye salmon return to these headwaters to spawn in their ancestral waters. Their migration draws a thriving ecosystem of lake trout, migratory birds, and brown bears, creating one of Alaska’s most spectacular natural displays. Watching the river turn red with salmon beneath clear glacial waters is an unforgettable, humbling experience — one we are honored to share with our guests.