Photo: Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kenai Fjords is a park of ice meeting ocean. The Harding Icefield, hundreds of square miles of ice, spills dozens of glaciers down toward the sea, and some of them calve straight into fjords full of whales, sea otters and puffins. Only one corner is on the road: Exit Glacier, just outside the town of Seward. Plan one day on the trails there and one day on a boat tour, and pack rain gear for both.
TRAILS
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Harding Icefield Trail
Difficulty
Strenuous
Length
8.2 mi
Elevation gain
3,500 ft
Exit Glacier · Exit Glacier Nature Center — One of the great day hikes in Alaska. The trail climbs about 1,000 feet per mile, from cottonwood forest through alder and heather meadows, up beside Exit Glacier, and finally onto bare rock at the edge of the Harding Icefield, a white plain stretching to the horizon. Plan six to eight hours and pack layers for wind and cold at the top. The emergency shelter at the end is for emergencies only.
⚠︎ Snow and avalanche risk on the upper trail into July. Black bears are common; make noise as you hike.
Photo: Sujohn Das from Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
2 OF 6
Aialik Bay glacier boat tour
Difficulty
Easy
Length
Half to full day
Elevation gain
By boat
Resurrection Bay · Seward Harbor — Tour boats leave Seward, run down Resurrection Bay past sea lion haul-outs and puffin cliffs, and enter the park fjords. Choose a longer trip that reaches a tidewater glacier like Aialik or Holgate, where the boat idles and you listen for ice cracking off the face. Humpback whales, orcas and sea otters are regular sightings. Take seasickness medicine before you leave the harbor.
⚠︎ Tours run roughly May to September and may turn back in rough seas.
Photo: SubbuThePeaceful, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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Glacier Overlook Trail
Difficulty
Moderate
Length
About 2 mi
Elevation gain
About 200 ft
Exit Glacier · Exit Glacier Nature Center — The closest you can safely get to Exit Glacier on foot. Along the way, signs mark the years when the ice reached each spot, a striking timeline of how fast the glacier has pulled back. From the overlook you look into the cracked blue ice of its face. Stay behind the barriers; falling ice and rock make the glacier edge dangerous.
Photo: Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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Glacier View Loop
Difficulty
Easy
Length
1 mi loop
Elevation gain
Flat
Exit Glacier · Exit Glacier Nature Center — An accessible loop through cottonwood forest to a wide view of Exit Glacier pouring down from the icefield above the outwash plain. It is easy for any group and great on a short visit. Ranger talks often start at the nature center nearby in summer.
Photo: NPS Photo/C Grobelny, public domain, Wikimedia Commons
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Marmot Meadows
Difficulty
Hard
Length
2.8 mi
Elevation gain
About 1,000 ft
Exit Glacier · Harding Icefield Trail — Don't have a full day for the icefield? Climb the first stretch of the Harding Icefield Trail to Marmot Meadows, where the trees open up and you look down on the whole length of Exit Glacier. Marmots whistle from the rocks and the view is already big. It's a solid two- to three-hour round trip.
⚠︎ Black bears feed in the berry thickets along this part of the trail.
Photo: OKJaguar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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Northwestern Fjord cruise
Difficulty
Easy
Length
Full day
Elevation gain
By boat
Northwestern Fjord · Seward Harbor — The longest tours from Seward go all the way to Northwestern Fjord, a deep, quiet inlet ringed by several tidewater glaciers. It is a long day on the water, often with fewer boats and more ice than the closer bays. Bring warm layers, a hat and binoculars, because the most memorable moments happen out on deck.
⚠︎ Runs mid-summer only and depends on sea conditions.
Photo: Nic McPhee from Morris, MN, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Plan your Kenai Fjords trip
The Nova Bound app builds the whole trip around these trails: where to stay, where to charge, and what to see each day. Coming soon to the App Store.
Distances are round trip unless noted, from NPS.gov and rounded. Trails, permits and road openings change; always check nps.gov before you go. Trail write-ups by Nova Bound.