With travel coming more or less to a stand-still recently, I have been focusing on ways to enjoy my time at home more! Yoga, lots of homemade food, trip planning (one can still dream, right?), more time to read and make art, you name it. Luckily, I also live in a big, beautiful state that has a lot to of quarantine-safe options and it’s a pretty great place to practice social distancing!
My recent adventures and considerations for future outings have been limited to options closer to home, and I figured this would be as good a time as any to share one of my favorite “home” adventures from last summer. I was lucky enough to explore three of Alaska’s National Parks with my best friend from college, Haley, and her husband, Brett. I don’t remember where exactly the idea came from, but at some point I decided that it is one of my life goals to visit all of the National Parks!
This goal may have started when I visited Acadia the summer after my freshman year of college. Stopping at various parks, forests, and landmarks after graduation as I drove across the country from Pennsylvania to Idaho (and eventually continued on to Alaska) definitely added to my interest. By the time Haley and I went to visit some of California’s parks in 2017, not only had I established this goal for myself, but I had rubbed off on her as well!
When she first asked me about planning a trip to Alaska’s parks, I was thrilled! I had already visited Kenai Fjords, Glacier Bay, and Denali, but I was excited to share them with my friends and maybe throw in a few of the more remote parks (we have eight total in Alaska). Because of time, budget, and geographical considerations, we settled on Kenai Fjords, Katmai, and Lake Clark.
Beyond the National Park sites themselves, we were shocked at how little information there seemed to be available about where to start when it came to planning such a trip. It was pretty underwhelming and a disheartening way to start what is usually an exciting process. We both searched and searched but couldn’t seem to come up with a simple path forward. Plus, we thought it made sense to travel between Katmai and Lake Clark, but apparently this isn’t a typical itinerary. We waded through transportation and lodging options, scoured National Park forums, and ultimately planned this trip over about eight months or so (and long-distance, to boot!).
Hopefully if you are interested in these parks, this post can act as the starting point we never felt existed during our own research. Here’s our 10-day itinerary!
- Day 1: Arrival
- Anchorage & Trip Prep
- Day 2: Seward
- Girdwood, Whittier, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
- Day 3: Kenai Fjords National Park
- Tour Cruise, Seward Sea Life Center, Time in Town
- Day 4: Return to Anchorage
- Exit Glacier, Harding Ice Field, Zip Line Tour, Moose Pass
- Day 5: Anchorage
- Resting up, Packing for Katmai, Anchorage Attractions
- Day 6: Katmai National Park & Preserve
- King Salmon, Bear Safety, Settling in at Brooks Camp
- Day 7: Exploring Katmai
- The Valley of 10,000 Smokes, Ranger Programs, Flight to Lake Clark
- Day 8: Lake Clark National Park
- Tulchina Adventures Kayaking, Visitor’s Center, Tanalian Falls and Kontrashibuna Lake
- Day 9: Exploring More of Lake Clark
- Fire & Ice Tour
- Day 10: Flight Home
- Amazing Vegan Pancakes, Anchorage & Beyond
Day 1: Arrival
Anchorage & Trip Prep
Haley and Brett flew from Pittsburgh to meet me in Anchorage on Saturday, August 3rd. After their long day of flying, our first night was pretty low-key. We focused on catching up, reviewing any last-minute details (this was our first time discussing any of this in person, mind you!), and then they started the process of re-packing their bags.
While we would need a lot of other gear for Katmai and Lake Clark, there was no point in carrying all of it to Seward when we could leave it at my house. Plus, my car is pretty tiny!
Day 2: Seward
Girdwood, Whittier, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
After getting everything packed up and ready to go, we started our drive to Seward, where our adventure would begin!
Seward is a favorite destination for those living in Anchorage and honestly deserves a post in itself! Two and a half hours south of the city, the town sits on Resurrection Bay and makes for a great weekend trip. Plus, the drive is stunning. If you’ve not been, there are quite a few options as far as stops along the way that I’ll mention in case you want to check them out!
Your first stop after about an hour or so of driving down Turnagain Arm is Girdwood. The town is probably best known for being the home of Alyeska Ski Resort, but it’s a great place to visit all year round! Girdwood hosts various festivals throughout the year, has a great food and beer scene, and is a beautiful place to get outdoors.
A couple of my favorite things to see and do in Girdwood include: attending Jack Sprat’s Wednesday Burger Night, hiking Winner Creek Trail, brunch at the Picnic Club or Spoonline Bistro, enjoying the views from the Alyeska Tram, grabbing lunch at the Girdwood Bake Shop before wandering around the art gallery next door, stopping in at Chair Five for a Roasted Yukon Gold Potato Pizza, or enjoying a beer and some live music at the Sitzmark.
On our way back from Seward, we stopped in at the Girdwood Brewing Company for beer flights. While they don’t have food in the brewery, there is a food truck serving all things crepes, both sweet and savory, conveniently parked right outside. Highly recommend!
If you pass Girdwood and continue on your way, there are two other potential stops located relatively close to one another. One is the town of Whittier, which is only accessible by driving through a train tunnel (pay attention to the schedule- no joke). The other is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, which is your best bet if you are interested in getting to see Alaskan wildlife during your visit.
One other favorite potential stop that I should mention is the Turnagain Gallery. This huge log cabin houses art from the Anderson family and a few other local Alaskan artists. It is also home to chainsaw carving competitions, which are absolutely incredible!
Whether you decide to make a day of it and stop along the way or not, these are just a few of the options for you to consider. If nothing else, enjoy the drive and stunning views!
Day 3: KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK
Tour Cruise, Seward Sea Life Center, Time in Town
Day 3 found us embarking on the first of our National Park adventures! This one was compliments of Kenai Fjords Tours, which departs from Seward and takes place on a catamaran.
Kenai Fjords Tours offers a couple of different options depending on your budget, both time and money-wise. We opted to do their National Park Tour along with dinner on Fox Island. The tour also includes lunch and takes about 8 1/2 hours. I’ve been on these tours multiple times and love getting up close to both glaciers and wildlife! Truthfully they never get old, and I’m sure this won’t be my last time exploring with them! Plus the crew is friendly, they provide information for you throughout the trip, and they have yummy chocolate chip cookies!
After our National Park tour, we stopped in at the Alaska Sea Life Center and wandered around “downtown.” The Sea Life center is not only a public aquarium, but also doubles as a marine research and rescue center and is well worth a visit. They have extended summer hours, so you don’t have to worry about them closing early!
After our visit to the Sea Life Center and walking around town for a bit, we went out to Lowell Point. Perks of long summer days with late sunsets! If you like kayaking or camping in Seward, there are multiple tours and options for you that can be found at Lowell Point.
Day 4: RETURN TO ANChORAGE
Harding Ice Field, Exit Glacier, Zip Line Tour, Moose Pass
Our final morning in Seward we decided to check out Exit Glacier and go zip lining! Our zip line experience lasted about three hours and took place at Stoney Creek Canopy Adventures. We had a blast and the staff was great, starting us out with some safety information and then guiding us along the way.
After the zip line tour we decided to stop at Exit Glacier, which is the only part of Kenai Fjords National Park that is accessible by road. The Exit Glacier Visitor Center is a great place to start for more information about the ice field and coastline that make up the park.
If you’re feeling adventurous, there are also a number of hikes that depart from the center. There are a few short trails that offer views of the glacier’s toe and flood plains, or if you’re looking for more of a challenge the Harding Ice Field trail is a great way to spend the day. Unfortunately for us there was a lot of black bear activity in the area when we visited, so we didn’t make it very far past the visitor center.
After Exit Glacier, it was time for us to head back to Anchorage. If the hikes I just mentioned don’t interest you, there are lots of other trailheads that you will have seen previously on your way to Seward that you can make the most of on your drive back. One area that I’m hoping to explore more in the future is Moose Pass. I’ve camped there previously with friends and would love to check out more of the hiking!
For our drive back, we decided to stop at the Begich Boggs Visitor Center at Portage Glacier. It’s nice to stretch your legs and take in the views during a road trip in Alaska, even if the drive isn’t all that far.
Day 5: anchorage
Resting up, Packing for Katmai, Anchorage Attractions
Since Haley and Brett hadn’t been to Alaska before, we tried to sprinkle a couple of days in Anchorage throughout their itinerary. If you aren’t interested in extra time in Anchor Town or feel like you need more days in Seward, this day could easily be changed to fit your interests.
If you do plan to spend the day in Anchorage, here are a couple of suggestions for how to spend your time, be it rain or shine:
- Visit Anchorage Museum, the Aviation Museum, or Alaska Native Heritage Center
- If it’s a weekend, check out the Anchorage Downtown Market
- Walk or bike the Coastal Trail, Far North Bicentennial Park, or Kincaid
- Visit the zoo or botanical garden
- Walk the trails at Lake Hood and take a float plane tour for great aerial views
- Grab an ice cream at Wild Scoops and wander around downtown Anchorage
- Drive up to Flattop Trailhead and enjoy the views of the city and Chugach Range
- Try the food (and beer)- Anchorage has a lot of diverse options!
We decided to start our day with a lazy morning and then bike the Coastal Trail from the Turnagain Heights neighborhood and it was hilarious. Haley hadn’t been on a bike in a while and well…I’ll leave it at that. We grilled afterwards for dinner and enjoyed the midnight sun.
**Side note: If you forget/need to buy gear before heading to Katmai and Lake Clark, take the day to hit up the local REI or Hoarding Marmot, which has great second-hand options!
Day 6: Katmai National park & preserve
King Salmon, Bear Safety, Settling in at Brooks Camp
Now, let me start by saying there are many options for tours and sightseeing packages in Katmai and Lake Clark. We wanted something that felt reasonably affordable without missing out on any of the good stuff. We also thought it felt silly to fly to Katmai, go home to Anchorage, and then fly back to Lake Clark. If you take a look at a map, the three parks that we visited during this trip are all within a little triangle in South-central Alaska. We felt like this route made the most sense, but I also have a few friends in Anchorage who have done Katmai as a day-trip and were more than happy with that. To each their own!
So, back to Day 6. We started at Ted Stevens Airport in Anchorage, where we caught a flight to King Salmon. Once in King Salmon, Katmai Air shuttled us to their lodge, where we waited until they loaded us up into float planes and we headed to Brooks Camp. (Be ready- when it comes to tiny planes, you and your gear will often need to be weighed!)
Your first stop at Brooks Camp will be Bear School! Staff will walk you through how to interact safely with the wildlife and give you some pointers on what to expect. Now, if you aren’t comfortable with possibly running into a thousand pound, salmon-filled brown bear, this park is not for you. Let me make this very clear: this is not a zoo. The animals are totally wild and not trained. You are a visitor in their natural habitat, and while there are viewing platforms to allow you safe distance from the bears, they are roaming around the park freely getting fat and happy off of as many fish as they can muster.
That being said, there was never a time that I felt unsafe in the park. There are even people who go fish in the same streams as these bears. Just be respectful of their space, follow the guidelines, and pay attention to what’s around you.
Once we were finished with bear school, we made our way down to the campground where we would be staying. You should be warned that the campground reservations fill up pretty quickly, and there are lodges available as well if that’s more your style. We weren’t sure what to do about transporting fuel and bear spray to camp, but we found that there were quite a few options left behind by others in a community stash.
We set up camp, walked around the park a bit, and of course took some time to watch the bears. I had hoped to hike up the trail that goes out of the campground in the opposite direction of Brooks Camp, but after seeing the bears all day Haley was not thrilled at the prospect of wandering off into the woods. My favorite spot is between Brooks Camp and the super popular viewing platform that everybody takes pictures from. There is a raised bridge that goes over a waterway, and it was so fun to watch the bears at the mouth of the creek and on the beaches.
Day 7: Exploring katmai
The Valley of 10,000 Smokes, Ranger Programs, Flight to Lake Clark
We decided to spend our second day in Katmai on a Valley of 10,000 Smokes day trip. We didn’t know a whole lot about it until we arrived at Brooks Camp and I am SO glad that heard about it and made the spontaneous decision to go!
The Valley of 10,000 Smokes is incredible, and I never would have guessed that there was a place like it in Alaska! When people think of Alaska it’s usually mountains and glaciers, typically snowy, but this volcanic, desert area looks like a scene straight out of the Badlands.
You can sign up with Brooks Camp staff for the Valley of 10,000 Smokes tour, and then the rest is pretty simple. You meet up with staff and a Park Ranger in the morning, load onto a bus, and then make a couple of stops along the 23 mile route out to Overlook Cabin. Once we reached the cabin, we went on a Ranger-led hike before returning to enjoy lunch.
Once we returned to Brooks Camp, we went out to the viewing platforms to look at the bears one more time before we left. We also joined one of the Park Rangers to watch some of the original footage from early explorations into the park to investigate the Valley of 10,000 Smokes.
We had organized float plane pick-up with Lake Clark Air, and they came to pick us up that evening. The flight from Katmai to Lake Clark was absolutely incredible, and if I didn’t love tiny plane travel before, that trip definitely sealed the deal!
Day 8: lake clark National Park
Tulchina Adventures Kayaking, Visitor’s Center, Tanalian Falls & Kontashibuna Lake
To best experience Lake Clark, we figured we should start with the lake itself! We rented kayaks thanks to Tulchina Adventures and spent the morning on the water, making our way out to Tommy Island. Once there, we enjoyed a snack on the beach, wandered around the island’s coast a bit, and then made our way back to Port Alsworth.
The town itself is pretty tiny, and the Visitor’s Center was thrilled we stopped by! (Not a lot of traffic, imagine that!) We walked around a bit and went hiking at a popular trail just outside of town. Actually, truth be told, it took us two attempts for this hike to pan out! It’s pretty straight forward, and we realized our obvious error once we finally figured it out.
Day 9: exploring more of lake clark
Fire & Ice Tour
Our whole trip was full of amazing experiences, but this was probably one of my favorites! We took an all day float plane tour with Lake Clark Air and had the time of our lives. The views were amazing, our pilot was awesome, and it was a great way to experience the park!
Our morning started flying over Mt. Redoubt, which is a volcano that was actively smoking as flew by. We also visited nearby Mt. Spurr and covered everything from glaciers to tundra and lakes. It’s incredible the amount of variety found within the geography of the park.
For lunch we stopped and had a picnic near a glacier, watching a black bear and her cub wander around the outwash plain below us. We also had the opportunity to spot a bunch of brown bears fishing along a riverbed as we flew over.
Our trip ended with a stop at Dick Proenneke’s Cabin on Twin Lakes. There is a National Park Ranger stationed there, and she gave us a brief tour and shared some of the artifacts with us from his little homestead. His story is amazing, and I really enjoyed learning more about him. It helps that he journaled and photographed his homesteading experience extensively!
After about an hour, Lake Clark Air picked us up and we were headed back to Port Alsworth for our final night in town.
Day 10: flight home
Amazing Vegan Pancakes, Anchorage & Beyond!
Lake Clark Air flew us out of Port Alsworth at 9 am and we were back in Anchorage at Merrill Field after a relatively short flight. We enjoyed a bit of time in Anchorage before Brett and Haley headed back to Pittsburgh; we even got to celebrate their anniversary with brunch at South. (Haley swears they have the most amazing vegan pancakes she’s ever had!)Being stuck at home, I’m thankful I have past travels like this to look back on and look forward to more in the future, whenever that may be. In the meantime I’m grateful for mini Alaskan adventures, spring sunshine, and people like Haley and Brett who make exploring my home that much sweeter. Here’s to making the most of exploring my own backyard closer to home until the next big trip!
