ALASKAN KENAI EXPLORATION TOUR - CAMP AND CABIN

Duration: 4 days travel, 7 days, with four nights spent tent camping and two nights in shared cabins. Approx 12 days in total.

Please note: this quote is preliminary and subject to change on approval and customisation

The beautiful Kenai Peninsula, projecting into the Gulf of Alaska between Prince William Sound and the Cook Inlet, is Alaska in microcosm. Featuring dramatic mountains and glaciers, rugged coast line, lush forests, tens of thousands of lakes, bountiful bird and wildlife, the best fishing in the state (or maybe the world!), and superb hiking and adventure activities, the Kenai is an outdoor lover's paradise. It's only natural then that the Kenai Explorer is so enticing, highlighted by visits to dramatic Kenai Fjords National Park, to the lake-studded Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and to little-visited Kachemak Bay State Park, across the bay from the fishing village/artist colony of Homer (with stunning views of glaciers and Aleutian volcanoes).

The hiking throughout the tour is exceptional, with hikes alongside glaciers, through old growth rain forests, up to alpine lakes, and along beautiful beaches all part of the itinerary.

The 'Camp & Cabin' Hiking tour version of the Kenai Explorer itinerary also includes a beautiful sea kayaking day trip in Kachemak Bay State Park, with exceptional wildlife viewing opportunities. The boat trip across the bay also includes a stop at Gull Island, famous as a sea bird nesting site, and a place where sea otters and their pups are often spotted.

Difficulty

Tour designed for the average fit person.

Itinerary
  1. Departing Anchorage, we'll head south along the scenic Turnagain Arm to SEWARD, on the Kenai Peninsula. Great hiking at Crow Pass, or at Exit Glacier and up to the Harding Ice Field. Camping.
  2. SEWARD: Enjoy an optional 6-hour cruise into wildlife-rich KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK, to an active tidewater glacier. Excellent half or full day hikes are also available, as are fishing charters and the previously mentioned dog sled mushing trip on a helicopter-accessed glacier. Camping.
  3. Excellent hiking in the Chugach National Forest and/or the KENAI NATIONAL WILDLIFE RESERVE (KNWR), where we'll set up camp for the next two nights.
  4. KNWR: Hiking and/or optional whitewater rafting or fishing charter. Camping.
  5. Continue on to the charming town of HOMER at the peninsula's tip. There's usually some free time in town to visit the excellent museum and art galleries or to hike on the beach before taking a water taxi across the bay to our remote waterfront cabins in KACHEMAK BAY STATE PARK.
  6. KACHEMAK BAY STATE PARK: A full day to sea kayak and hike (or go on an optional halibut fishing charter). There is a lot of wildlife here, easily visible from the seat of a kayak.
  7. Our morning water taxi will stop at Gull Island for excellent wildlife and seabird viewing on our way back to Homer, from which we'll drive back to ANCHORAGE, arriving by 6 pm.
SUMMARY OF DAILY ITINERARY & INCLUDED ACTIVITIES:

We'll meet in the morning at our Anchorage departure hotel (8:30 am at the Qupqugiaq Inn, or 8 am if you're staying at the Inlet Tower Hotel), introduce ourselves, and after a brief overview of the tour, head south along the scenic Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet to the Kenai Peninsula.

Arriving at Kenai Fjords National Park, we can hike up to the face and then alongside the very blue Exit Glacier to the immense Harding Ice Field, the 800-square mile sea of ice that is the source of the area's many glaciers. Climb up beside the heavily crevassed glacier, through the spruce forest, past fields of wildflowers, across the alpine tundra, and finally to a craggy lookout with a dramatic view of the ice field. This is one of the most beautiful road-accessible hikes in Alaska, and is sure to leave an impression.

Except for this "drive-in" glacier, access to the fjordal park is strictly by boat, and you will have the opportunity to take an optional 6-hour glacier and marine wildlife viewing day cruise here. View sea otters, sea lions, seals, thousands of nesting sea birds (including horned and tufted puffins, penguin-like murres, auklets, murrelets, bald eagles, and more), and possibly orcas, humpback, or minke whales, up close and personal. The boat also cruises up to a huge tidewater glacier at the head of one of the park's fjords where you'll witness one of nature's most spectacular spectacles: the "calving" of tens of thousands of tons of ice from the face of the glacier into the sea. This cruise is not to be missed!

There's more great hiking and beautiful scenery in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, as well as chances to spot moose, bears, mountain goats, beavers, and many bird species, including loons, grebes, and eagles. There will also be an opportunity to go whitewater rafting during this part of the tour: Six Mile Creek is famous as having the biggest, most exciting ride in Alaska (there are different "classes" of water available, II to V, small to huge). Fishing charters are also optionally available.

Next we head to Homer at the tip of the peninsula, stopping to view a bit of the Kenai's Russian colonial heritage in the scenic village of Ninilchik, with great views of several Aleutian volcanoes across the Cook Inlet. From Homer we'll board a water taxi for a short ride across Kachemak Bay, to a rustic wilderness resort on the edge of wild Kachemak Bay State Park, where we'll spend two nights in shared seaside cabins. Here we'll enjoy some of the best sea kayaking anywhere (no previous experience necessary), to nearby islands, along the coast, and/or up dramatic fjords. There's lots of wildlife to be seen on the water and shore, including sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, puffins, and lots more. There's great alpine hiking nearby as well. On the way back to Homer on day 7 we'll stop at Gull Island, home to thousands of nesting sea birds and other wildlife, before driving back to Anchorage, where the tour ends at approximately 6 pm.

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND PRICES:

While the hiking and kayaking are great, you'll also want to try at least a few of the optional activities. These include a six-hour glacier and wildlife-viewing cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park ($210, details in the "Summary of Daily Itinerary" section above ), sensational whitewater rafting ($170), and world class salmon, trout, or halibut fishing charters ($225-200). Another unique option is to helicopter up to a glacier (spectacular views), and then mush your own dog sled team, an activity you won't soon forget ($500). You can also visit the new Alaska SeaLife Center ($13), a marine research and conservation center on the shores of Resurrection Bay, in Seward. (Pricing subject to change)