Tips For Visiting Kenai Fjords National Park & the Kenai Peninsula

Hey everyone! My name is Amanda and Sara has asked me to share some of my experiences with y’all on her blog! Sara and I met as RN’s at our last jobs. We found that we both loved to travel and hike this beautiful world! If you’ve been reading her blogs, you know she can talk about traveling 😉

So, a little bit about myself. I am about to turn 35. I am an ED Nurse and an Army Veteran. My husband and I love to travel! Since my birthday is June 8th and my husbands birthday is June 12th, we celebrate together. Instead of getting gifts, we rent an RV and go to a National Park, or parks every year. It’s the best birthday tradition our gypsy hearts could share!

Last year we had the opportunity to explore Denali and Kenai Fjords National Parks. Fortunately for me, my husband is from Alaska, so last summer was actually my second time in the last frontier! I’m going to share with you some of the trails we hiked, roads we drove, and the gear we recommend!

The Glenn Highway has an abundance of stops to take pictures that even the best cameras cant do justice, like the one below. To me, its like time stops in Alaska. Sure there’s hustle and bustle in the big cities but when you drive away from there, it’s just so damn peaceful. I thought I loved Colorado, but Alaska has my heart!

We flew into Anchorage and took the Alaska (1) aka The Glenn Highway to Tok (where my husband is from). We then went over to Fairbanks and from there, on to Denali. From Denali we went back down towards Anchorage over to the Kenai Peninsula (my favorite place in Alaska) and checked out Kenai Fjords.

We rented an RV from The Great Alaskan Holidays and highly recommend them! You can Uber for real cheap from the airport to the RV rental place. This was our second go round with an RV there so this time we went a little smaller with a 28ft that had a slide out. Slide outs are a game changer if you’ve ever RV’d before. Normally on our trips, I use the nps.gov website and/or the Recreation.gov app to book campsites ahead of time. But Alaska is like the biggest campsite ever so finding a spot to pull over to eat and/or sleep shouldn’t be a problem. Just make sure you have some cash to put in the good old boy trustworthy box to pay for the site. We have also utilized koa.com in the past as well. Just depends on how much you want or are willing to pay.

As for gear, we both LOVE Salomon hiking boots/shoes and chacos! I have had multiple friends ask me what shoes to buy for their upcoming outdoor trips and they have never been disappointed. Like Colorado, Alaskan weather is bipolar – so be prepared to pack for all seasons! We always have a hydration backpack ready for the best or the worst! (First aid kit, TP, wipes, bug/bear spray, fire starter kit, headlight, rain jacket, SNACKS cause a girl gets hangry, etc). As for backpacks, we love Osprey and REI. Prana, REI, and Marmot are some of my favorite hiking pants. Arcteryx jackets are pricey but man do they hold up in cold weather. I’m a big believer in you get what you pay for! 😎 REI is definitely my go to for buying anything and everything for outdoors. They always have a good sale and being a member there comes with perks. I am not sponsored by any of these brands, although I really wish I was lol. They are just my suggestions.

Now, to the hikes…we used the AllTrails app (another highly recommended must have). We only spent a night here so we just did the one really awesome hike.

We’ll start with Kenai Fjords!

Oh my what a beautiful park! We chose to hike the Harding Ice Field Trail. This trail is rated as difficult and is 9.7 miles out and back of BEAUTIFUL scenery. It starts out with a beautiful view of the Exit Glacier.

After your eyes catch this wonder, you start heading up the trail. The beginning is so warm and green and almost like you’re in the jungle! Along the trail, you’ll find a nice waterfall as an added bonus.

Keep on trekking, right to the winter wonderland and breathtaking view!

We saw people of all ages and shapes and sizes along the way. Not everyone made it to the top but they still were able to enjoy the trail.

So, while we were down in the Kenai Peninsula, we headed over to the Homer Spit. Homer is known to be one of the best Halibut fishing places in the U.S. People travel from all over to fish here. I am so thankful we had the opportunity to go Halibut fishing and you should definitely add it to your To Do list. There are quite a few campgrounds on the spit. We personally stayed at the Heritage RV Park because that was all that was available for our size RV. Very nice campground and walking distance to the charter company. The Homer Spit Campground looked nice as well, as they all did, really.

We did an 8-hour Hailbut/Rockfish Combo that we booked through Homer Ocean Charters. I can’t say enough about this company. We really had the best time! The captains were funny and made sure you had a good experience. You definitely get what you pay for here! We brought home 32 POUNDS of Halibut!!! We paid Homer Fish Processing to have it processed and shipped back home. They meet you at the dock when you get back and weigh it and take your fish away – making it super easy. But to be honest, you could have done it cheaper by going to Wal-Mart and buying a cooler and some dry ice and checking it in at the airport. We saw many people do that and wish we would have. Our friends and family were definitely happy with our “souvenir” gifts of fresh Alaskan Halibut.