Two years ago, we did a two week Anchorage>Denali>Anchorage>Seward>Cruise>Vancouver trip (other than the cruise, we were in a rental car and hotels for the trip). Highlights were seeing moose every day from the car, 9 - 10 brown bears from the Denali bus, and glaciers from the ship. We decided if we come back, we’d focus on the Kenai Peninsula. Well, we just found a cheap flight to Anchorage, so we have 9 full days there in early June. Focus of the trip will be sightseeing (wildlife and scenery), with easy walk/hikes. I might go on fishing one day (catching a salmon on a fly would be a treat). We could rent an RV in Anchorage and stay in campgrounds, but I’m leaning toward getting a rental car and stay in hotels or bed/breakfasts (we’d have more options for sightseeing with a car). I’m just starting to look at maps and plan out a loop and key destinations for the 9 days. Any recommendations for must see spots?

A great central location for a couple of days of fishing and wildlife viewing is Kenai Princess Lodge. It is in Cooper Landing, near Kenai Lake and the Kenai River. While we were there, we saw combat fishing, moose, and bear. It is also not too far from Skilak Road (tons of bears) and the Kenai Wildlife Refuge. If you watch their website, you will find their specials - we lucked into a buy one night get one free a couple of years ago. The rooms are very large and have a great porch to watch the moose and bear wander by.

take a look at the caravan company trips, they usually are pretty good at getting people to the 'neat' sites. don't go with them just look at their outline of activities.adventure caravan http://adventurecaravans.com/destinations/alaska/

Might want to do some math... $700 for a small rental car, $150 (motel 6) to $250 (P Lodge)/night compared to a small Class C for $130/day plus $40 for some FHU campgrounds. There are plenty of free camping spots and even in Seward... on the water for $20. The aquarium there and wildlife cruises are worth doing. Halibut fishing out of Homer but shipping it home can be expensive. I would suggest getting the Tour Saver.* It's not like you are not used to camping.Rough numbers are $2500 for car and motel plus $900+ to eat out...$3400+RV at $1400 plus $200 for camping and $500 to eat....$2100.

We at times like to do the Kenai with a trip that gets us away from there for awhile. From Anchorage, head up to Palmer, east to Glennallen and south to Valdez, two or three days is good.Then take the ferry over to Whittier, some nice boat trips out of there if interested, then drive through the railroad tunnel and turn south to see more of the peninsula. We like to stop at Hope, one of the first gold camps in Alaska, kind of quaint and quirky, but fun. Then on south to Seward or to Soldotna. You, as you know, have to do some back tracking on the Kenai. In Seward, there are also several real nice boat trips to see the wildlife and to view the glaciers in that area, etc. After a couple of days in Seward, head on to the towns of Kenai and Soldotna, both can be crowded during the salmon runs and then wander on down toward Homer, drive out on the spit, out the East End Rd, great views.Then based upon how many days you have remaining in Alaska, start heading back toward Anchorage. The Native Center is very worthwhile, IMHO for a few hours, Earthquake Park has lost much of it's appeal to us since it has grown up since the quake of 1964 did so much damage in that area and was highly visible for many years after the quake. Drive out to Lake Hood and watch the float planes land and take off, we like to take a picnic lunch with us, usually burgers, etc from the Arctic Roadrunner, Drive up some of the roads to the east of town to get a good view of the Anchorage Bowl. Lots of great photo opps in the area. Keep in mind that Anchorage is just a smaller version of Seattle, nothing much Alaskan about either town, IMHO Some good hikes and bike trails in the Anchorage area, bikes can be rented in town if interested. For evening entertainment, Anchorage has something or somewhere for every taste or lack of taste. Stop at the visitor's center in the small towns on the Kenai to pick up brochures and to inquire about local evens going on that they recommend

Help Me Plan Kenai Peninsula Trip | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

Dick_B
Explorer
Nov 28, 2015
Try www.kenaipeninsula.org
Ivylog
Explorer III
Nov 28, 2015
Might want to do some math... $700 for a small rental car, $150 (motel 6) to $250 (P Lodge)/night compared to a small Class C for $130/day plus $40 for some FHU campgrounds. There are plenty of free camping spots and even in Seward... on the water for $20. The aquarium there and wildlife cruises are worth doing. Halibut fishing out of Homer but shipping it home can be expensive. I would suggest getting the Tour Saver.

* It's not like you are not used to camping.
Rough numbers are $2500 for car and motel plus $900+ to eat out...$3400+
RV at $1400 plus $200 for camping and $500 to eat....$2100.
edbehnke
Explorer II
Nov 28, 2015
take a look at the caravan company trips, they usually are pretty good at getting people to the 'neat' sites. don't go with them just look at their outline of activities.

adventure caravan http://adventurecaravans.com/destinations/alaska/
dahkota
Explorer
Nov 28, 2015
A great central location for a couple of days of fishing and wildlife viewing is Kenai Princess Lodge. It is in Cooper Landing, near Kenai Lake and the Kenai River. While we were there, we saw combat fishing, moose, and bear. It is also not too far from Skilak Road (tons of bears) and the Kenai Wildlife Refuge. If you watch their website, you will find their specials - we lucked into a buy one night get one free a couple of years ago. The rooms are very large and have a great porch to watch the moose and bear wander by.

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Help Me Plan Kenai Peninsula Trip

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