After our time in Denali, we made our way south toward Seward. We stayed one night in Cooper’s Landing at the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. It was one of my favorite stays of our entire two weeks. Teddy and I checked in, enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Rod and Reel, and then played some games before our big adventure the next morning.
We woke up early and checked out and drove an hour to Seward. We booked a boat tour that would take us through Kenai Fjords National Park which began around 10 am. We booked the tour that ended with dinner on Fox Island. The entire tour was about 8.5 hours and I’d definitely do it again if I went back. We got to see so much sea life and a tidewater glacier!
We started out heading through Resurrection Bay toward Aialik Glacier. On our way we saw otters, puffins, and a sea lion. We then got up close to Ailik Glacier and even got to see it calve. The glacier sits about 200-300 feet above the water and is just overwhelmingly massive. It is also a few miles wide. There were harbor seals laying on the ice in front of the glacier so we got to add those to our wildlife sightings. On our way back, we were able to see humpback whales bubble net feeding. They’d swim in a circle and then come up from under the water to eat. It was so incredible to watch. We had lunch on the boat and dinner on Fox Island and then warm cookies on our way back to Seward. Those were a favorite dessert of the trip. While you can see Kenai Fjords a bit from land with Exit Glacier, I highly recommend experiencing it by sea.
After our tour we headed to the Seward Windsong Lodge for the night which is right down the road from Exit Glacier. We had dinner in the lodge and the caramel cake was out of this world. I wanted to order a second piece. When we got back to our room, we saw a moose in the woods by the building. We looked at it off the porch, and noticed there was a baby with it.
The next morning was overcast and foggy which made up most of our time in the peninsula. We geared up in our rain jackets which were a staple during the trip, ate pop tarts for breakfast, and headed to Exit Glacier for a hike. We did the Glacier Lookout trail which is about 2.2 miles round trip. It was interesting to learn about the glaciers change in length over the few hundred years. Teddy had hiked here back in 2013 and could see a noticeable difference from his pictures then to now.
After our hike we drove to Millers landing and grabbed coffee before heading into town and going to the Visitor Center for Kenai Fjords toward a Soldotna for our activity the next day.
SUGGESTED ITINERARY
Day 1
- Breakfast at Resurrect Art Coffee House
- Boat Tour of Kenai Fjords (5 hours to 8.5 Hour Tours)
- Dinner at Resurrection Roadhouse
- Stay overnight at the Windsong Lodge (If you book a boat tour, you can book this hotel with it for a discount)
Day 2
- Breakfast at Resurrection Roadhouse or grab lunch in town at Le Barn Appetit Inn & Creperie
- Hike the Lookout Trail at Exit Glacier (About 2.2 miles)
- Drive to Millers landing for coffee and beautiful views
- Grab lunch in town at Seward Brewing the Gold Rush Bistro, or Ray’s Waterfront
- Spend the afternoon at the Alaska Sealife Center
- Dinner at the Cookery or the Salmon Bake
- Stay overnight at the Windsong Lodge or if you’re going down the peninsula, overnight at the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge
