Planning a Trip

Getting There

Seward is the threshold to the park. Exit Glacier is 13 miles from the town by road, the Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center is at the Seward Small Boat Harbor, and the tour boats that visit the park leave from Seward.

Some visitors try to see the park in a day, coming from Anchorage by train or road, touring the park by boat, then returning that evening. I do not recommend this. To really get to the park, you need to be on an all-day boat trip -- most half-day trips barely leave Resurrection Bay and hardly see the park proper. More important, a lot of visitors riding the train back to Anchorage after a 16-hour marathon to Kenai Fjords are so tired they can't keep their eyes open for the extraordinary scenery passing by. A better plan is to spend at least 1 night in Seward and take in the full Kenai Fjords boat trip and Exit Glacier.

Visitor Information

At the Kenai Fjords National Park Information Center, Seward Small Boat Harbor (P.O. Box 1727), Seward, AK 99664 (tel. 907/224-7500; www.nps.gov/kefj), you will find rangers to answer questions about the park and provide information on the all-important tour boats, and a small but handy bookstore. Call or drop by here for advice on public-use cabins for rent in the fjords, guidance on a sea-kayaking expedition there, or information on hikes and trail conditions. They're open late May through early September daily 8:30am to 7pm, the balance of May and September 9am to 5pm. The center is closed October through April.

Accommodations & Camping

There are no hotels in the park; it's best to base yourself in Seward. The Exit Glacier Campground is the only campground in the park. In the heart of the park, you can camp anywhere if you observe correct backcountry precautions. A free park service map shows the location of food lockers and hanging cables to keep your stuff away from bears that frequent the kayaking waters of Aialik Bay and Northwestern Fjord. The Park Service gives voluntary permits to record your itinerary and an emergency contact phone number in case you don't return. The park will send a packet of information, which you can request through the website. They also rent out three public-use cabins in the fjords, reachable only by boat or floatplane. Contact the Alaska Public Lands Information Center in Anchorage for a $50-a-day cabin permit, open for reservations starting January 2 each year.