From Anchorage, you can easily visit 3 of Alaska’s national parks. Seward, the gateway to Kenai Fjords, is just a 2 hour drive, or 4 hour train ride from Anchorage. The train schedule accommodates visitors who want to ride down, do a day cruise into Kenai Fjords (link to day cruise page), and return in the evening. Other tours to experience the park include sea kayaking and guided hikes.
You can also take a floatplane ride to Katmai and Lake Clark National Parks. These parks are only accessible by air, and most tours focus on viewing bears in the park.
Discover National Parks you can visit from Anchorage
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National Park Tours
Katmai & Lake Clark
You can visit Katmai and Lake Clark National Park as a fly-in bear viewing trip from Anchorage.
Brooks Lodge offers their own bear viewing tours which are less expensive than most, and give you more time at Katmai National Park to watch bears feasting on sockeye salmon from several viewing platforms. A commercial flight from Anchorage takes you to King Salmon where you’ll switch to a small float plane for a quick 20-minute flight to Brooks Camp. After a brief safety orientation, you can watch bears from several viewing platforms, join the ...more
Trygg Air offers day trips for walrus viewing from Anchorage as well as King Salmon, in Southwest Alaska. Fly to King Salmon commercially from Anchorage, and then meet Trygg Air for a 90-minute scenic journey along the west side of the Alaska Peninsula to Cape Seniavin to view these 4,000 pound animals that haul out on the beach. Trygg can also fly you out to two other iconic places: Brooks Falls, to see grizzly bears swatting at salmon; and the ...more
Hop aboard one of Regal Air’s planes departing from Anchorage and after a short, scenic flight you can be watching enormous brown bears swat salmon from Alaska’s rushing waters. Tours visit one of two destinations: Lake Clark National Park or Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park.
Take off by seaplane for an all-day bear-viewing expedition. Fly past glaciers and volcanoes to the brown-bear country of southwest Alaska. Your Seaplane Bear Safari will take you to Brooks River Falls in Katmai National Park, home of the world ’ s largest salmon run. You can also fly 70 miles southwest of Anchorage to Lake Clark Wilderness Preserve for amazing bear viewing and luxurious accommodations at the Redoubt Bay Lodge. Rust’s, which has ...more
Viewing brown bears in their natural habitat is one of the most amazing things you can do in Alaska. If it’s high on your list, book a flight-seeing/ bear viewing trip with Trail Ridge Air, knowing that personable pilots will take you to where bears splash and fish, and where visitors run out of words to describe their amazement.
Take off on a spectacular flight, looking down on the vast Alaskan tundra as you make your way to one of three bear-viewing spots, depending on where you’ll see the most bears. Witness these iconic creatures playing or fishing as you take pictures and learn more about their habits and habitat.
Seward & Kenai Fjords View All
It’s easy to visit Kenai Fjords National Park as a day trip from Anchorage. It’s just a 2 hour drive or 4 hour train ride.
Get up close to the Alaskan glaciers and wildlife you came to experience by taking a cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park on a custom-built catamaran out of Seward. The difference from other cruises, is that you’ll then get off the boat and into a kayak, paddle around icebergs, and watch for wildlife from your own vessel.
Take a boutique, small-group kayaking trip with experienced guides at Liquid Adventures and get close to glaciers in kayaks or paddleboards while looking for whales and other marine mammals. You can even combine your adventure with a jetboat, helicopter, or wildlife cruise. There’s nothing quite like it in all of Alaska!
Take a spectacular private guided hiking tour in Seward — where the mountains meet the ocean — to explore glaciers and alpine ridges. When you go with Seward Wilderness Collective, you get a great tour plus a dialogue with their knowledgeable guides about the impacts of climate change, with living examples right in front of your eyes.
Start with a dramatic flightseeing trip in either a helicopter or ski plane and then get out onto an ancient river of ice for a thrilling glacier exploration either hiking or climbing.
Traverse the majesty of Exit Glacier by ice hiking or ice climbing, or opt for a nature hike in the gorgeous terrain around Seward, Alaska. Never ice climbed or hiked on a glacier? Not a problem. All trips include instruction to get you started.
Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords are great places to see wildlife and glaciers. And Major Marine’s vessels, which have cozy heated cabins and an outdoor viewing area, can take you out to see both. This family-owned tour operator has gone above and beyond to give guests an amazing day on the water since 1990.
This veteran tour operator runs a a fleet of fast, modern boats in Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park. You’ll visit tidewater glaciers as you watch for puffins, sea otters, Dall’s porpoises, sea lions, and more. Some tours are designed to please birders or shutterbugs, while others are perfect for families.