A view of Exit Glacier from across the outwash plain, Kenai Fjords National Park / NPS-C. Grobelny

A fjord (fee-yord) is a long, deep, narrow body of water between high sea cliffs formed by glaciers. You probably picture Scandinavia, Greenland, Canada, or New Zealand, when you think of fjords, but they are also present in the United States along the Alaskan coast.

The National Park Service describes Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska as the location “where mountains, ice and ocean meet.” This description provides you with a good idea of what you can see at this national park if you choose to visit. And you ought to, since it’s just two hours’ drive away from Anchorage, a city easily reached by commercial flights from the Lower 48.

Considering the size of national parks in Alaska, Kenai Fjords, at just over 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers), is the smallest of those national parks. Yet it packs a pretty powerful punch in terms of landscape beauty and wildlife diversity while offering plenty of outdoor activities, such as hiking, kayaking, commercial boat tours, flightseeing, fishing, mountaineering, and winter activities like dog sledding, snowmobiling, ice climbing, cross-country skiing, and even fat bike riding over the snow.

One of the most popular sights to see during a visit to this national park is Exit Glacier, open year-round. It’s the only part of this national park accessible by road and is a place where you can witness up close how glaciers re-shape a landscape. There is a network of trails offering views of the glacier, from the one-mile (1.62-kilometer) accessible Glacier View Loop Trail, to the 8.2-mile (21.2-kilometer) round trip hike up the Harding Icefield Trail.

Fun fact: along the Glacier Overlook trail are signs with different years on them (1899, 1917, 2005, 2010). These signs mark the historic terminus of Exit Glacier and are a visual representation of climate change and how much the glacier has retreated over the past 100+ years.

Want a really close-up view of a glacier? According to park staff:

Paddling in Kenai Fjords can be a once in a lifetime experience. By dipping your paddle into these waters, you're participating in the long history of human powered travel along the Kenai Peninsula coast. You can experience the awe-inspiring power of a tidewater glacier, while dipping a hand into these frigid waters. And keep a sharp eye peeled for birds and marine mammals who call these food-rich waters their summer home.

Perhaps you’d rather sit back and enjoy the park sights from the totally different perspectives of a boat tour or a flightseeing tour. Flightseeing is the best way to get a sense of the vastness of the Harding Ice Field and the glacially-carved landscape of Kenai Fjords.

Boat tours ranging from four to eight hours depart from Seward daily mid-May to mid-September and feature views of mountains, tidewater glaciers, marine wildlife, and of course, fjords. You’ll see mountains shooting up 3,000 feet (914.4 meters) up from sea level as well as the coastline and landforms of Resurrection Bay, known as the "gateway to the Kenai Fjords.” Visitors might catch a glimpse of orcas, humpback whales, seals, sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, and puffins. Traveler contributing writer Amy Brecount White details her experience watching humpback whales bubble-net feed during an eight-hour cruise along this national park’s coastline.

Those of you who embark on a backcountry hiking adventure within the park might be privy to any of 191 bird species and wildlife such as moose, bears, mountain goats, river otters, sea lions, porpoises, and whales.

You can get a feel for the park in a single day by taking a guided flightseeing or boat tour, but you might want to spend at least one night in the area to continue your explorations for at least one more day. Kenai Fjords National Park offers three public use cabins and one frontcountry 12-site, walk-in, tent-only campground at Exit Glacier. There are other campgrounds for both tents and RV at nearby  Chugach National Forest and through the Seward Parks and Recreation Department. 

If brick-and-mortar lodging is more your style, the town of Seward is about 12 miles from Exit Glacier and offers not only ample coffee and food, but also various hotels, lodges, and cabin rentals.

Whether you chose to enjoy the mountains and ice of Exit Glacier and Harding Icefield, or the waters of Resurrection Bay you can rest assured that it will be astounding.

To learn more about Kenai Fjords’ glaciers, you can listen to Traveler Podcast Episode 187.

Traveler’s Choice For: Glaciers, kayaking, boat touring, bird watching, whale watching, photography,