Everything you should know about Kenai Fjords National Park
Ancient ice, tidewater glaciers, and wildlife-filled fjords make this ever-changing stretch of Alaska's coast one of the country's most unforgettable wilderness experiences.
In this moody, rugged slice of the southern Alaskan coast, geologic time seems to stretch and compress in astounding ways. More than half of the park lies under a blanket of ice more than 23,000 years old, a remnant of the last Ice Age. Yet climate change is causing those glaciers to retreat, unveiling more of the park’s striking coastal fjords and sculpting new waterways. Kenai Fjords is a different place than it was 10 years ago, and what you see today will undoubtedly change over the next decade.
What remains constant is the park’s phenomenal beauty: mountains that poke out of vast ice sheets, sheer cliffs rising from the waves, and powder-blue glaciers that kiss the ocean. This place of dramatic transitions has provided a home to everyone from Indigenous Sugpiaq hunters to European American homesteaders to humpback whales, grizzly bears, moose, and puffins. Today, visitors come to paddle its remote fjords, gaze at its glaciers, and explore its dense forests—and perhaps to contemplate the meaning of time itself. Here’s how to plan your trip to this U.S. national park.
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Best times to visit Kenai Fjords National Park
Prime time in the park is June through August, when ranger programs and guided tours are in full swing and ocean conditions are calm enough for paddling or cruising in the fjords. The birding gets good in May, when migratory species like bristle-thighed curlews and greater yellowlegs are passing through. This is also a great time to spot black bears, as the thick coastal foliage hasn’t filled in yet. Come June and July, humpback whales can frequently be spotted breaching offshore; July into August brings abundant wildflowers and berries.
Well-prepared visitors can also cross-country ski, fat bike, or snowmobile along the closed Herman Leirer Road to Exit Glacier in the winter, when moose sightings are common. But rough seas essentially shut down access to the fjords in the cold months.
Where to find the best views in the park
Like in most national parks, you won’t find a bad vista in the place. Any look at the fjords from the coastal bays is a stunner. Land-based views are confined to the Exit Glacier area. For the easiest peek at the crinkled mass of the glacier, hike the 1.2-mile (1.9-km) Glacier View Loop Trail to a long-distance vista of the ice framed by its gravelly outwash plain.
Get an even better, closer view of Exit Glacier by hiking to Glacier Overlook, a vantage point perched atop the gray ridge cradling the icy mass (2.4 miles/3.8 km round-trip). Much of this moonlike landscape has only been exposed over the last few decades as the Exit Glacier retreats.
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Where to find the best hiking trails
The vast majority of the park’s terrain is remote, wild, and exceedingly difficult to reach. In fact, besides the two short viewpoint paths, there’s just one hiking trail at Kenai Fjords. Good thing it’s a knockout. The 8.2-mile (13.1-km) round-trip Harding Icefield Trail rises 3,000 feet from the valley floor to brushy alder woods, flowery meadows, and finally, an awe-inspiring view over the 700-square-mile icefield. To gaze at its vast, blue-tinged expanse is to look straight back into the Pleistocene Epoch. With its steep slopes and demanding elevation gain, this one isn’t for inexperienced hikers.
For a shorter, less strenuous, but still very worthy day hike, ascend the Harding Icefield Trail only as far as Marmot Meadows (1.3 miles one-way), a leafy viewpoint with close-ups of Exit Glacier.
The best spots to see wildlife
Believe it or not, heading offshore in a tour boat or kayak nets you the best chances of spotting marine and terrestrial animals. Scan the waves for humpback whales, orcas, and Dall’s porpoise, which are frequently seen feeding in the park’s major bays. A boat trip can also bring you close to popular haulout locations for Steller sea lions and harbor seals, especially the Chiswell Islands and Aialik Cape (sea lions) and on icebergs near Aialik Glacier (seals).
Paddling or boating the fjords also lets you scope for mountain goats capering along the sheer sea cliffs that are otherwise inaccessible to humans. Black bears stroll backcountry beaches and coastal forests, too, where sharp eyes can spot them from offshore.
On dry land, many visitors see moose in the Exit Glacier area, thanks to its abundance of one of their favorite foods, willow.
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Expert recommendations and tips
For Ryan Fisher, owner of the Exit Glacier Guides and Liquid Adventures outfitting companies in Seward, the rapidly changing landscape is a reason to treasure Kenai Fjords National Park all the more. “These glacial lagoons—we’re losing them every year,” he says. One of his favorite outings, a kayaking trip in Bear Glacier Lagoon, stands out because the protected body of water is choked with icebergs from the calving glacier. A narrow spit shelters the lagoon from tides and waves, resulting in a maze of ice chunks “the size of a Costco.” But as the glacier melts, it will eventually no longer reach the water and calve ice into the lagoon.
“The lagoon has only existed for the past 35 to 40 years,” Fisher says, because it used to be part of Bear Glacier. “It’s just a sliver of time that people have been able to experience the lagoon. It’s really just one or two generations that get to see it. This is a pretty special thing.”
Ranger recommendation: Experience the Exit Glacier region during the colder months to truly enjoy the solitude and challenges of an Alaskan winter. Book a stay at the rustic, winter-only Winter Cabin. It’s seven miles to the cabin by snowshoe, snowmobile, or cross-country skis, but it’s worth the effort for silence and beauty. Watch for wolves, moose, wolverines, and bald eagles as you look out the window from the cozy, propane-heated space.
Things to do in Kenai Fjords
You can’t truly see this park unless you take to the water, whether that’s on a commercial boat tour, a guided kayaking trip, or—if you’re a seasoned paddler with cold-water gear—a DIY kayaking outing. There are three main coastal destinations within Kenai Fjords. The most popular is Aialik Bay, the closest fjord to Seward, says Abby Alexander, general manager and senior guide with the outfitter Miller’s Landing. Holgate Arm, on the west side of Aialik, is a bit less crowded. “If you want a chance to see more whales or wildlife, or if you’re interested in rock formations like caves and spires, then [visit] Holgate or Aialik,” she says.
Go one fjord west, though, and the scenery changes considerably. “Northwestern Fjord is very young,” Alexander says. “It looks totally different from the rest of the fjords. You have sheer cliffs with rockfall—no fully developed trees. You have three tidewater glaciers really close to each other. It’s gorgeous.”
The massive Harding Icefield is itself a destination—provided you like a challenge. Experienced glacier travelers ski across the whole thing, a daunting, extreme-weather journey that can take up to two weeks. Those who don’t want to commit to a full expedition can still explore the icefield on a guided, half-day trip, with a ski-plane dropoff.
If you’re short on time, flightseeing tours of the park in a small plane or helicopter provide the biggest bang for your buck. They’re the easiest way to get a peek at far-flung glaciers, peaks, and maybe even grizzlies fishing for salmon along tucked-away streams.
Best things to do for families
The kid-friendliest place to explore is Exit Glacier, where several easy-to-moderate trails are available, and the small Exit Glacier Nature Center boasts science exhibits. This is also where park rangers give interpretive presentations and lead hikes, including one just for aspiring Junior Rangers. In this fun parks-wide program, kids (ages 4 and up, including adults) can complete a workbook to earn an official badge. Kids can earn two badges at Kenai Fjords: Exit Glacier’s Junior Glacier Ranger badge.
The second, Junior Fjord Ranger, requires a stop at the Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center in Seward. Park rangers lead Junior Ranger hikes here along the rocky beach on Resurrection Bay.
Boat tours are popular among families, too. Those with younger kids often do best with a half-day tour around Resurrection Bay, where you can still spot whales, bald eagles, and puffins. Teens can handle kayaking trips into the more remote reaches of Aialik Bay, Northwestern Fjord, and Holgate Arm.
Where to stay
Visitors will have to rough it to sleep inside the park. Kenai Fjords’s only car camp, Exit Glacier Campground, has 12 free tent sites tucked in the woods near the nature center, plus a covered cook shelter (no reservations necessary). For a slight step up in amenities and a truly out-there feel, consider booking one of the park’s two public-use cabins. These wood shelters, one on Aialik Bay and the other on Holgate Arm, have bunks and heat, but no electricity or running water. Both require a boat, water taxi, or floatplane to reach. The reward: astounding glacier views, a front row seat to wildlife habitat, and beachfront solitude. Book online here. Reserve early—they go fast.
On the other side of the spectrum, Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge on Fox Island in Resurrection Bay features private beach cabins, a sauna, and included meals at its classy restaurant. And for a far-flung yurt facing Bear Glacier (and just barely outside park boundaries), check out the helicopter-access-only The Iceberg Inn.
Plenty of standard hotels and vacation rentals are also available in Seward.
What else you should know
Access: The Exit Glacier area is the only part of the park accessible by car. To reach the coastal fjords, islands, and glaciers, you’ll need a boat, kayak, plane, or helicopter (outfitters with all of the above can be found in Seward).
Visitor Centers: Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center in Seward and Exit Glacier Nature Center, both open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Fees: There are no entrance fees at Kenai Fjords.
Are pets allowed: Leashed dogs are only allowed in the Exit Glacier Nature Center parking lot and on Herman Leirer Road (the road to Exit Glacier). Service animals are free to accompany visitors throughout the park except in any areas specifically closed by park staff.
How accessible is the park?
Both visitor centers in the park are wheelchair-accessible, including restrooms, and the Exit Glacier Campground has two accessible sites. The Glacier View Loop Trail is also wheelchair accessible.
The Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center in Seward offers audio descriptions of exhibits and the park movie, and provides assisted listening devices to visitors who need them.
