Kenai Fjords National Park
Trip Assistant
How Much Time?
You don’t want to skip Exit Glacier. That’s a day or less. Boat cruises down the coast are a good use of your time, and some visitors go on multi-day paddling trips, utilizing the backcountry cabins and campsites. You can also backpack across Harding Icefield. Both those things require serious skills and experience.
Need to Know
- Exit Glacier is the only portion of the park accessible to motorists. The road closes fall through spring, but remains open to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling.
- You can get here from Anchorage via the train.
- The coast is often shrouded in clouds, so, while it’s very pretty, you may want to play tours (flightseeing and boat) by eye, waiting until you arrive. If they’re fully booked, there are alternative activities.
- There are two backcountry cabins as well as luxurious lodges on embedded private land.
Highlights
- Exit Glacier
- Harding Icefield
- Aialik Bay
- Holgate Arm
- Pedersen Lagoon
- McCarty Glacier
- Bear Glacier
Activities
- Hiking
- Backpacking
- Mountaineering
- Boat Tours
- Cruises
- Kayaking
- Flightseeing
- Fishing
Favorite Trails
It’s mostly trailless wilderness, but there are two great hikes: Exit Glacier Overlook and Harding Icefield. Hike them!
When To Go?
Weather
Visitation
Weather is okay year-round in Seward but almost everyone visits in summer, whether by car or cruise.
Park Map Downloads
Road Trips
Helpful Tools
Below you'll see a Google Map for the three road-accessible Alaskan parks. It’s a good start, but I’d highly recommend making your own. Google My Maps, Wanderlog, and TripIt are incredibly useful trip planning tools. Find what works best for you!
There’s much more to our country. Here’s another Google Map with points of interest across all types of public land.
For campers, here’s a Google Map with National Forest campgrounds. National Park campgrounds are difficult to reserve (there are about 200!). With nearly 5,000 national forest campgrounds, you can usually pull in and find a spot.
Highlights
I don't know Alaska nearly as well as I'd like. My time and money have been better spent in the Lower 48 where more people go and the parks have a lot more going on (even though they're tiny compared to Alaskan parks).
If you like this, please check out my books or Buy Me a Coffee (more likely some fuel 🙂