Best Things to Do In The Kenai / Soldotna Area

Alas­ka bear camp is mag­i­cal­ly hid­den in a rare Crit­i­cal Bear Habi­tat in the wilder­ness of Lake Clark Nation­al Park. Instead of hun­dreds, only 16 priv­i­leged guests observe the won­der of up to 50 brown Bears liv­ing out their dai­ly dra­ma. Due to the beau­ty of the loca­tion and the excep­tion­al bear pop­u­la­tion, the deluxe camp, with en suite biffies, beds with mat­tress­es and food flown in dai­ly, was used as a base camp for the Dis­ney movie Bears.  ...more

Where can you find the biggest salmon, on aver­age, in the entire world? In the Kenai Riv­er. And The Riv­er Crew, based in Sol­dot­na, can take you to some secret spots on the famous riv­er to fish for salmon and trout — whether you’re an expe­ri­enced angler or not.

Alas­ka Wild­land Adven­tures pio­neered float­ing the mel­low, turquoise Kenai Riv­er and has oper­at­ed con­tin­u­ous­ly since 1977. Join them for a serene 2‑hour float, or take on a 7‑hour adven­ture, com­plete with fun Class II+ rapids and a cruise through a glacial lake. AWA’s Kenai Riv­er Scenic Float Trip offers a nice intro­duc­tion to the riv­er, tak­ing you along a stretch of the scenic Upper Kenai closed to motor­ized boats. Watch for wildlife as your  ...more

The logo for the Sol­dot­na B&B Lodge says it all: a guest who’s loung­ing in bed — while also fish­ing. This fam­i­ly-run fish­ing lodge direct­ly on the Kenai Riv­er offers a relax­ing place to soak up the sights and sounds of nature, while also deliv­er­ing a front-row oppor­tu­ni­ty to do some of Alaska’s most famous, excit­ing fish­ing. All stays car­ry a two-night min­i­mum, but most guests stay longer (an aver­age of 5 – 7 days), which is easy to do giv­en the  ...more

Natron Air’s own­er and only pilot, Tim, can take you flight­see­ing to some of Alaska’s most beau­ti­ful places: the Hard­ing Ice­field and Mt. Redoubt Vol­cano. You can also opt for a bear-view­ing tour that includes a beach land­ing, where you can pho­to­graph bears in their nat­ur­al environment.

Feel the thrill of world-class salmon and trout fish­ing on Alaska’s Kenai Penin­su­la with expe­ri­enced, pas­sion­ate guides. You’ll get out on the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers, just hours from Anchor­age, with a team that knows where the fish will be run­ning each day. Spend a day, or make it a mul­ti-day trip with a cus­tom pack­age that includes lodg­ing on the river.

Fly out of Sol­dot­na with Natron’s own­er and pilot, Tim. You’ll soar over the Cook Inlet towards Mt. Iliamna Vol­cano and land on a beach, right where the bears are. You’ll watch them play­ing and clam­ming and be close enough to take amaz­ing photos.

Alaskan adven­tures and great lodg­ing await at the Great Alaskan Adven­ture Lodge. This all-inclu­sive expe­ri­ence lets you dri­ve or fly in to the prop­er­ty, which sits on 25 acres at the con­flu­ence of two rivers. An old home­stead with cab­ins and lux­u­ry tent options, the lodge makes for a com­fort­able stay. You’ll also find an array of adven­tures — every­thing from great fish­ing to glac­i­er cruis­ing. The own­ers have been per­fect­ing their itin­er­aries for  ...more

Don’t miss this oppor­tu­ni­ty to go fish­ing for Alaskan salmon in beau­ti­ful rivers. This easy, one-day trip departs from Anchor­age; you’ll dri­ve over moun­tain pass­es and along the Cook Inlet to the Great Alas­ka Adven­ture Lodge where you’ll have lunch. Then it’s out to the con­flu­ence of two rivers with the lodge’s expert guides, where you’ll cast your line for famous salmon — king, sock­eye, sil­ver, or pink, depend­ing on the sea­son. Or choose a one-day  ...more

Join us as we drift down­stream through one of the world’s most beau­ti­ful fresh­wa­ter salmon fish­eries, pass­ing grav­el bars left by a glacial flood, migrat­ing salmon, brown bears, and human fish­ers as you float on by.

Stop off here dur­ing the sum­mer for an eagle’s eye view of an annu­al Alaskan fish­ing fren­zy. We real­ly love our salmon, and it shows! Or, just count the bald eagles cir­cling high overhead.

The Keen-Eye Nature Trail is .75 miles long through a wood­ed area with a side trail lead­ing down to Head­quar­ters Lake. The Cen­ten­ni­al Trail pro­vide an addi­tion­al 1.9 mile loop through a wood­ed area with fur­ther oppor­tu­ni­ty to view wildlife in the area.

The trail is half a mile long and takes you through a mature birch for­est that is car­pet­ed with dev­il’s club and water­mel­on berry plants. It’s an easy walk­ing, ide­al for small chil­dren, and ends at a small camp­ing area on a slight bluff that over­looks Bish­op’s Beach and Bish­op Creek.

Dif­fi­cul­ty: Mod­er­ate Dis­tance: 5 – 50 miles Ele­va­tion Gain: Less than 500ft Type: Out-and-Back Fea­tures: Kid Friendly

If you’re a bird watch­er, you’ll love this half-mile trail of Aspen and Spruce forest.