Planning a Trip

The Towns

Kenai, on Cook Inlet on the west side of the Kenai Peninsula, is the largest town in the region. Ten miles up the Kenai River, Soldotna is Kenai's twin, and together they form a unit with about a fourth of the Kenai Peninsula's population of 50,000. They're also the least interesting of the peninsula's communities. Homer, at the southern end of the peninsula, has wonderful art and character and lots of ways to get out on the water. Seward, on the east side, is smaller and quieter, a charming gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park.

There are three towns on Prince William Sound. Valdez is an oil town at the southern terminus of the trans-Alaska pipeline where tankers are loaded. Cordova is more attractive, a historic community on the eastern side of the sound, with outdoor activities close at hand. Whittier is a grim former military outpost, but a convenient gateway to the protected fjords and glaciers of the western sound.

Getting There & Getting Around

By Car -- Highways connect all the region's large towns, except Cordova, which is reached only by air or water. Like all of Alaska's main highways, these are paved two-lane roads. The Seward Highway runs south from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula. That route is described in the following section. A road built in a railway tunnel connects Whittier, on Prince William Sound, to the Seward Highway. The Glenn and Richardson highways reach from Anchorage to Valdez through Alaska's Interior.

By Ferry -- The ferry system connects Whittier with Valdez and Cordova via the fast ferry Chenega, launched in 2005. Driving from Anchorage to Whittier, taking the ferry to Valdez, and then driving back to Anchorage (or north to Fairbanks) makes a great loop. The Chugach National Forest usually has rangers onboard offering programs and interpretation. The ferry Tustumena (the "Tusty") connects Homer to Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Archipelago, and also runs from Homer to Seldovia. The schedule is not convenient for Seldovia, however; for that trip, it's easier to take one of the private passenger ferries that serve the towns and remote sites around Kachemak Bay from Homer. A U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service ranger offers programs on the Tusty. For more on the ferry system, call tel. 800/642-0066, or visit www.ferryalaska.com.

By Air -- Commuter aircraft connect Anchorage to Kenai, Homer, Valdez, and Cordova. You can also fly between Anchorage and Cordova on an Alaska Airlines jet once a day in each direction (the northbound originates in Seattle). Scheduled and air-taxi services use these smaller towns as bases for the villages, carrying passengers, mail, and cargo, and flying to remote lodges and cabins for fishing or other outdoor activities. Valdez, Cordova, and Anchorage operators serve the Prince William Sound region. Kenai and Anchorage companies cover Cook Inlet and remote public lands such as Lake Clark National Park. Homer is the base for villages around Kachemak Bay and lower Cook Inlet bear-viewing sites.

By Train -- The Alaska Railroad (tel. 800/544-0552 or 907/265-2494; www.alaskarailroad.com) runs from Anchorage south to Seward or Whittier and back daily in the summer.

Visitor Information

For information on the peninsula as a whole, contact the Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, 35477 Kenai Spur Hwy., Suite 205, Soldotna, AK 99669 (tel. 800/535-3524 or 907/262-5229; www.kenaipeninsula.org), which distributes a vacation planner with information on businesses and trip planning in the area (order through their website). The staff will answer inquiries during normal business hours.

Getting Outside

The towns of the region are like beads strung along the laces of the highways; everything else is wilderness. You can find all the activities and isolation you seek here, yet the presence of the towns means that comfort is closer at hand than in other parts of Alaska.

Chugach National Forest takes in all of Prince William Sound and most of the eastern Kenai Peninsula. At 5.3 million acres, it's more than double the size of Yellowstone National Park. Anywhere else but Alaska it would be a national park, and one of the largest and most spectacular, with some of the best sea kayaking, hiking, backpacking, wildlife-watching, and scenery anywhere.

Kenai Fjords National Park protects the outer edge and ice cap of the Kenai Peninsula's southern side. The park is incomparable in its remoteness, stark beauty, and abundance of marine wildlife. Access is though Seward.

On the peninsula's western side, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has Alaska's most accessible wilderness lake and river canoeing as well as extraordinary fishing, with access from roads near Soldotna.

Kachemak Bay State Park offers good sea-kayaking waters and wilderness hiking not connected to any road. The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge protects the wildlife habitat of remote islands and seashores around the state.

Visitor Information

The region's best and most central place to get outdoor information is the Alaska Public Lands Information Center, 605 W. 4th Ave., Suite 105, Anchorage, AK 99501 (tel. 866/869-6887 or 907/271-2737; www.nps.gov/aplic). You'll be able to receive guidance from residents who have spent time in the places you'll be visiting, and there are exhibits on the wildlife and outdoor opportunities in the region -- even maps showing where to find various species of fish. Land agencies present information on the whole state and the bookstore is well stocked with maps, field guides, and such. Summer hours are daily from 9am to 5pm, winter Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm. Visitor centers for particular areas are covered in the appropriate sections.

State Parks Cabin Reservations -- Alaska's state parks rent remote public cabins like the famous Forest Service cabins, but they're usually newer, larger, and easier to get to. Most are in Southcentral Alaska -- near Homer, Seward, and Valdez. Like the Forest Service cabins, it takes a hike, boat ride, or air taxi to get to the cabins, and you need cabin equipment, such as a cookstove and sleeping bags, but once there you can experience the real Alaska all by yourself.

Some of these cabins book up the minute they become available and, since Alaska residents get a jump on the reservation system, visitors are unlikely to be able to use the most popular cabins at peak periods. But if you can be flexible about where you go, or if you can travel out of the peak season, you can probably find a cabin. Alaska residents can reserve 7 months ahead, nonresidents 6 months ahead; however, reservations do not initially open on weekends or holidays, only at 10am Alaska time on the following business day. Once a date opens on the system, it stays open 24 hours a day until someone takes it.

The easiest way to reserve is by using the online system with a MasterCard or Visa, but you can also reserve in person, by mail, or by fax (you can ask questions by phone, but not apply). The staff is friendly and will guide you around the system, and help you find a cabin where you can get a permit, even if it's not your first choice. The main information and reservations desk is the Department of Natural Resources Public Information Center -- Anchorage, 550 W. 7th Ave., Suite 1260, Anchorage, AK 99501-3557 (tel. 907/269-8400, or 907/269-8411 TDD; fax 907/269-8901; www.alaskastateparks.org). The website is the best source of information about the cabins, with a picture and description of each and a real-time availability calendar. The center is open Monday through Friday 10am to 5pm. Cabins rent for $25 to $75 a night, with fees highest for popular cabins at peak periods.