Kenai Fjords National Park sits on the Kenai Peninsula, about a 2.5-hour drive south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway. Covering roughly 670,000 acres, the park is dominated by the Harding Icefield, an ice sheet feeding dozens of glaciers that spill down toward the coast.
Getting There
The park’s road-accessible section is just outside Seward, where a short drive and half-mile walk lead to Exit Glacier, the only part of the park reachable by car. There’s no fee to visit Exit Glacier. The rest of the park — the fjords themselves — are accessible only by boat or air, with day-tour boats departing from Seward’s harbor.
What to See and Do
Half- and full-day boat tours from Seward are the main way to see the park’s tidewater glaciers and fjords, and typically include wildlife spotting along the way. At Exit Glacier, an easy paved path leads close to the glacier’s face, while the strenuous, unpaved Harding Icefield Trail (about 8 miles round trip with roughly 3,500 feet of elevation gain) climbs to a viewpoint over the icefield itself. Kayaking among the fjords is available through outfitters in Seward for those wanting a closer, quieter approach.
Wildlife
Boat tours regularly spot humpback and orca whales, Steller sea lions, sea otters, and puffins, with occasional sightings of mountain goats and black bears along the shoreline.
When to Go
Boat tours and the Harding Icefield Trail are generally accessible from late May through mid-September. Exit Glacier’s lower trail is accessible for a longer season but can require winter gear outside summer months, and the road to it is not maintained in winter.
