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Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses nearly 65% of the Harding Icefield, plus the fjords, islands and peninsulas of the Kenai coast.
The Kenai Fjords reflect scenic icebound landscapes in which salt spray mixes with mountain mist. Located on the southeastern Kenai Peninsula, the national park is a pristine and rugged land supporting many unaltered natural environments and ecosystems.
The fjords are long, steep-sided, glacier-carved valleys that are now filled with ocean waters. A mountain platform, one mile high, rises above this dramatic coastline. The mountains are mantled by the 300-square mile Harding Icefield, 35 miles long and 20 miles wide.The Harding Icefield is the source of over 30 named glaciers that, together with the icefield, cover over 700 square miles. The Harding Icefield is one of only four remaining icefields in the United States and receives at least 400 inches of snow each year. Isolated mountain peaks interrupt its nearly flat surface. These are called "nunataks", an Eskimo word which means "lonely peaks." Exit Glacier spills off the massive Harding icefield and is accessible by road.
The icefield is a remnant of the Ice Age - a surviving expanse of Pleistocene glaciation. Numerous valley glaciers flow outward from the icefield, some reaching the sea, others ending in lakes or on bare ground.
The park's wildlife includes mountain goats, moose, bears, wolverines, marmots and other land mammals who have established themselves on a thin life zone between marine waters and the icefield's frozen edges. Bald eagles nest in the tops of spruce and hemlock trees. Thousands of seabirds, including puffins, kittiwakes, and murres seasonally inhabit the steep cliffs and rocky shores. Kayakers, fishermen, and visitors on tour boats share the park's waters with stellar sea lions, harbor seals, Dall porpoises, sea otters, humpback, killer and minke whales.
Scenic flights over the icefield provide great opportunity for sight--seeing and photography. Landings can be arranged for day-skiing or for longer expeditions.
Visitors can hike from Exit Glacier to an overlook of the Harding Icefield. The trail is a very steep, strenuous seven-mile round trip trail experience. The trail is often closed by snow until July. Hikers should carry plenty of water, warm clothes, rain gear, and sturdy footwear. Be prepared for high winds, sudden storms, extreme temperature changes and blinding sunlight.
Along the coast glaciers have cut deep bays into the mountainous shoreline, creating a series of deep fjords. When the tide water glaciers retreat, the steep-sided alpine valleys that were once filled with glacial ice became submerged in ocean waters. These glacier-carved ocean valleys are called fjords.
Heavy vegetation of almost rain forest proportions covers the tops of cliffs rising a hundred feet or more above the ocean. The coastal area has abundant aquatic life, including seals sea lions, sea otters and migrating whales. Sea birds in large numbers occupy the coastal cliffs in summer. Seasonally, littoral resources such a shellfish are easily accessible. Salmon runs are also abundant.
Authorized commercial guides provides camping, fishing and kayaking services. Air charters fly over the coast for flightseeing and access to the fjords. Boat tours and charters are available from Seward. In summer, boat tours ply the coast, observing calving glaciers, sea birds, and marine mammals.
Boat charters offer overnight fjord trips and fishing trips to the fjords and Resurrection Bay (saltwater fish include halibut, lingcod, and a variety of rockfish; freshwater fish include Dolly Varden and silver, red, chum and pink salmon).
Exit Glacier is the only part of the park that can be driven to, via a nine-mile dirt road at Mile 3.7 of the Seward Highway. The road is passable for most vehicles, but drive slowly because there are deep potholes and washboard surfaces are common.
From mid October through mid May the road is closed by deep snow, and is open for use by ski, dog sled, and snow machines.
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge covers nearly two million acres of the Kenai Peninsula rising from lowland spruce and birch forests dotted with hundreds of lakes to the snow capped mountains and glaciers of the Harding Icefield. Access to the refuge's backcountry is offered by a network of over 200 miles of routes and trails as well as two nationally recognized canoe systems, the Swanson River and Swan Lake Routes. The refuge is a popular destination for salmon and rainbow trout fishing as well as for wildlife viewing with moose and bald eagles the most common sighted wildlife species.
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