The impenetrable wall of ice dwarfs the ship by comparison. Everything about this landscape feels vertical.

Stuck in the ice age, Kenai Fjords National Park houses the largest icefield in America, the source of the park’s intrigue. From the icefield hidden in the high elevations, chiseled rock chasms drop endlessly into the sea as glaciers calve into the water forming fjord passageways. But don’t let this environment fool you. What appears inhospitable is instead teeming with life. Designated a marine sanctuary, seals, otters, orca, humpbacks, even mountain goats, bears, eagles, and seagulls galore call this stretch of Alaskan coastline home.

May 30–31, 2021

Visiting Alaska has always been a bucket list trip, so after covid had shut down our travel plans in 2020, we knew we had to rebook for the following year. Thankfully, the people of Alaska graciously accommodated our travel plans by offering travel and lodging credit for all our cancellations in 2020. To kick off our Alaska debut, we fly into Anchorage and rent a car and drive south towards the small town of Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. This will be our homebase for three days as we explore the nooks and crannies of Kenai Fjords.

Though most of the park is only accessible by water, there is one 8 mile trail along Exit Glacier taking hikers up into the Harding Icefield. After arriving in Seward, we check in to our rental house, a charming historic telephone house from the early twentieth century, and drive to Exit Glacier Nature Center. Here we stroll the surrounding paths overlooking Exit Creek and the outwash plain of Exit Glacier before ascending the strenuous trail to Glacier Overlook. Along the way we hear rumors of black bears in the area as a ranger redirects traffic on the trail away from the bears. Because we are early in the summer season much snow is still on the high elevations of the trail. It soon becomes a deep slog and we decide to turn around at the next decent viewpoint. Stretching before us is the massive Harding Icefield, a 700 square mile ice pack spawning glaciers in all directions, Exit Glacier among those.

Returning to the car, we drive back to Seward for dinner at the rental house. The front window overlooks Resurrection Bay, a marine wildlife playground, evident by the whales seen breaching from the porch. The bay also serves as the launching point for Kenai Fjord National Park tours. It’s late May but the sun is already setting later and later. By 11 p.m. the sun has set and blue hour blankets the bay. Excited to soak in everything Alaska has to offer we stroll the fishing piers. It looks looks like a classic moody fisherman’s wharf—weathered salty boardwalks, warm lights from a row of historic houses, and boats of all shapes and sizes sitting on the glassy water. Suddenly, while out on a dock a sizable bump rocks the platform. Ripples form all over the marina, a curious event to say the least. Later, we discover a small earthquake centered in Whittier was recorded all along the peninsula that night. That was a first for us.

The next morning we rise for our 10 a.m. day cruise with Kenai Fjords Tours. Though silent the night before, the dock is bustling now with vessels coming and going. We board the Tanaina and soon set sail out of the bay. The tour lasts seven hours with lunch and a dinner on Fox Island included. As we make our way into the open ocean, the waves grow choppy. Large swells toss the already large cruise ship about like a fishing buoy.

Rounding the Aialik Cape, we enter Aialik Bay. Here the water is considerably calmer. In fact, we spot a pod of killer whales by their tall dorsal fins in the smooth water as we approach Aialik Glacier at the end of the bay. The wall of ice seems to pulse with an electric blue. Broken bits of glacial ice float beside our ship. A shipmate fishes out an ice chunk from the water to give us a closer look. The ice is surprisingly quite clear and pure out of the water.

A neighboring cruise pulls in front of the glacier as we depart the bay, and for the first time we see just how giant Aialik Glacier is. The impenetrable wall of ice dwarfs the ship by comparison. Everything about this landscape feels vertical. Sheer rock cliffs dive into the ice-carved bay. Tiny ribbons of waterfalls shoot down towards the sea from every direction. Mountain goats scramble on the heights with no apprehension. The grandeur and immensity of nature’s power is evident.

On our return voyage we slip into Holgate Arm, an offshoot of Aialik Bay for a quick peek at Holgate Glacier. Though not as large, Holgate Glacier is still a marvel to behold. The captain wheels us around and makes for Fox Island. He passes through bizarre shapes of free-standing rock spires carved by ice and water, truly an iconic view of Kenai Fjords. Once on Fox Island we are treated to a warm catered meal by the tour company and are given some time to wander the shoreline before departing for Resurrection Bay. A group of brightly colored kayakers paddle in the cove of Fox Island. All in all, a savory end to a delicious tour.

Though Kenai Fjords has limited access simply by nature of its topography, the views and excitement of an adventure out at sea were well worth the visit. Back on land, we return to the house and pack up, recognizing we must head out early the next day in order to catch the train in Anchorage and travel north for the second half of our trip in Denali National Park.