Kenai Fjords National Park is best experienced by boat, and after our mud-soaked slog up to the Harding Icefield yesterday, we were more than happy to trade uphill legs for sea legs.
This is our first National Park in Alaska, and #55 overall.
We booked the six-hour cruise with Major Marine Tours out of Seward, and it turned out to be the single best wildlife day of our entire Alaska trip.
Seward itself is absolutely nothing special. It’s a functional little cruise town – one of two Alaska "turnaround" ports along with Whittier, plus a stop on the Alaska Railroad’s Coastal Classic line and a launching point north toward Denali National Park by train or motorcoach – but functional is about it.
If you’re here over the 4th of July weekend, the Mount Marathon race is worth checking into.
The harbor is pleasant enough for an early morning or late evening walk, but between the cruise ship crowds and a town that feels more like a logistics hub than a destination, we were glad we’d budgeted our time here around the boat tour and not much else.
Seward Boat Harbor
The Seward Boat Harbor is quiet in the early morning before the cruise ships passengers disembark and the tour boats start up.
Kenai Fjords 360
Our smooth and comfortable vessel for the day.
Harbor 360 Hotel
A look back at the Harbor 360 Hotel with Mt Marathon in the background
Over The Red Dog
Clouds settling into the valley behind Seward Boat Harbor
Godwin Glacier
Morning clouds across Resurrection Bay below the Godwin Glacier
The park itself is a different story entirely. Established in 1980 under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, roughly half its 600,000-plus acres is the Harding Icefield – a slab of ice thousands of feet thick that’s been carving these fjords for millennia and still feeds around 40 glaciers today.
The coastline is essentially drowned mountains, steep rock walls plunging straight into the Gulf of Alaska, and a boat is really the only sensible way to see most of it. You can read more on the park’s official site if you want the full rundown before you go.
Glacier After Glacier
The Harding Icefield feeds a huge amount of different glaciers
Green Folds
So much green everywhere in Kenai Fjords National Park
Merging Glaciers
Does anyone know what glaciers these are?
Blue Tongue
You can get a blue tongue from a Slurpee or from a massive glacier.
Green Valleys
Alaska is definitely lush due to the amount of rainfall they receive.
We weren’t out of the harbor long before the orcas showed up – a pod cruising right between the boats, dorsal fins slicing past close enough that the captain (who had enough knowledge that he could be a marine biologist) could point out individual animals by their fin shape and saddle markings alone.
Slipping Between Us
A massive Orca slips between our boat and the aptly named Orca Voyager
Distinctive Markings
I believe that marine biologists can tell the different orcas apart by the shape and markings on their dorsal fin.
Out To Sea
A pod of orcas moves out to sea in search of better hunting grounds.
Orca Closeup
Both boats get a great closeup of these orcas.
The Stalker Crew
This pod of orcas followed the humpbacks for a long time, not sure if they were hoping a whale calf would get separated, or if they were getting easy pickin’s from nearby fish.
Submarine Inbound
The boat in the foreground shows just how massive this huge male orca is.
From there we headed up Holgate Arm to Holgate Glacier, and got a front-row seat as a chunk of it let go and crashed into the water. A group of kayakers paddling a little too close for comfort caught the resulting wave head-on – no harm done, but we’re guessing a few wetsuits needed extra attention afterward.
Seagull For Scale
Massive blue glacier ice chunks float in the water below the Holgate Glacier
So Blue
Glacial Ice really is pretty amazing
Danger Zone
A group of kayakers has a near miss as a huge chunk of ice calves off of the Holgate Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Poopy Pants
I bet there are some poopy pants in those kayaks after their near miss!
Peek-A-Boo
This Steller sea lion pops up for a quick look before going back to fish hunting.
Blue Wall
It’s not the best shot but it certainly shows the vertical scale of the Holgate Glacier with this tour boat visible below.
The spotty clouds that had passed in and out settled in and the rain started, but it was light enough to be tolerable, and it came and went although it flattened out the contrast in photos and videos for the remainder of the day.
The ride back delivered the rest of the highlight reels: horned puffins, steller sea lions basking on the rocks, and the coup de grace – a group of humpback whales lunge-feeding, tongues and all, close enough to hear them breathe.
Bring layers, bring the best camera and longest lends you have, and bring low expectations for your sea legs – but do it.
We highly, highly, highly recommend Major Marine Tours. The other option here is Kenai Fjords Tours, but the Major boats are nicer, Captain Clint’s amazing knowledge really provides a lot of value.
From here we’ll head north to explore the Hatcher Pass area and then on to Denali National Park for some flightseeing.
Fins Up!
Fins flying around everywhere as these humpback whales surface
Walls and Water
The rock walls plunging into the sea in Kenai Fjords National Park are spectacular.
Two Up, One Down
Watching one humpback dive deep as two others break the surface
Feeding Frenzy
Check out those huge whale tongues!
Horned Puffin
Watching this Horned Puffin come in for a landing is almost comical
Nacho Rock
He just wants a nap, instead he has to take an ear-beating because she dreamed that he did something wrong…
Proper Clothing
You just have to dress for the occasion!
Life Saver
If you fall in, hopefully they get you this life ring before the orcas eat you.
Island Layers
Layers of islands in the misty distance
Orcas and Islands
Watching orca pods feeding as we pass the outer islands between Resurrection Bay and Aialak Bay
Holgate Glacier
Approaching the Holgate Glacier on the Kenai Fjords 360
Humpbacks Everywhere
We lucked out with huge pods of humpback whales feeding around us.
More Humpbacks
More humpback whales in the Gulf of Alaska
Heading Back In
All good things must come to an end… Heading back to Seward from an an amazing day of wildlife and glaciers aboard the Kenai Fjords 360.
