Photo Credit: Seward Wilderness Collective

Kenai Fjords National Park Tours from Seward

Seward, Alaska is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park! There are two primary ways to access the park.

On the Water: Kenai Fjords

This is how you get out into the fjords. Many visitors are short on time, so the quickest, easiest way to gain access to the park is a day cruise. These tours range 5-8 hours and get you out to see the beautiful mossy green fjords, waterfalls pouring from the cliffs, seabird rookeries, whales, and glaciers. These day are comfortable with heated enclosed cabin, restrooms, as well as outdoor viewing decks, and they often offer a meal. If you’re craving a more active and personal experience, a guided kayak expedition is the way to go. Since the Fjords are a short distance from Seward, trips include a short boat ride first so you can maximize your time paddling in the fjords vs. paddling to the fjords! If you have the time, the ultimate experience is a multi-day private yacht or sailing charter through the fjords. You’ll linger longer in front of glaciers, go ashore for beach walks, and spend more time looking for wildlife. Experiences range from overnight to 5-6 days.

On Land: Exit Glacier

The only portion of the park accessible on land is at Exit Glacier, where a network of flat, well-maintained trails reach from the visitor center to the toe of the glacier. You can explore the area on your own – or you can get a more in-depth experience by hiking the trails with a guide. Guided walks and interpretive talks are offered by the National Park Service, but you can also sign on for guided hike with a private company for just your group. And, for the biggest thrill, you can also book a tour to hike on the glacier itself!

Get Your Passport Stamped

There are two spots in Seward to get your National Park passport stamped; the Kenai Fjords National Park Visitor Center in the Seward Small Boat Harbor and the Exit Glacier Nature Center.

National Park Tours

Sea Kayaking View All

Paddle around the bay or near glaciers

$109+ Half day to full day excursions

For a clos­er, qui­eter, and more peace­ful ver­sion of the Alaskan glac­i­er and wildlife cruise, trav­el by sea kayak. Pad­dle the shore­line of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, where encoun­ters with sea otters, seabirds, and spawn­ing salmon are com­mon. Choose from a vari­ety of three-hour excur­sions or take a full-day trip.

Season: May 1 - 3rd week of September $459+ 8-10 hrs

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.

Season: May 19 - Sept 7 $125+ 4 hrs - 7 days

Mem­bers of 1% For The Plan­et, Kayak Adven­tures World­wide strives to ful­fill their mis­sion to inspire an active stew­ard­ship of our nat­ur­al world. Through small group sea kayak tours in Res­ur­rec­tion Bay and Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park, they focus on safe­ty, edu­ca­tion, and con­nect­ing guests with the unique and frag­ile ecosys­tems you’ll visit.

Season: May 15 – 3rd week of September $149+ 3-10 hrs

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!

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Sailing & Private Yacht Charters View All

3 - 6 nights in Kenai Fjords National Park

3.5 Hr Day Sail, $850 up to 6 people | $3400+ Multi-day 3.5 Hour Day Sail to Multi-Day

Char­ter a sail­boat out of Seward and hit the waters of gor­geous Res­ur­rec­tion Bay! Choose an after­noon tour if you’re just in Seward for the day, or opt for a mul­ti-day cruise. Your char­ter comes with a sea­soned cap­tain, or expe­ri­enced sailors can rent the boat and take the helm them­selves. Sur­round­ed by moun­tains, the bay offers ide­al sail­ing con­di­tions, and you’ll have plen­ty of chances to see wildlife and glaciers.

Season: May - September $399+ 7 hours or multi-day

Sail into stun­ning Res­ur­rec­tion Bay dur­ing an inti­mate full-day or mul­ti-day cruise to see glac­i­ers and wildlife from Seward, Alas­ka. This 38-foot-long cata­ma­ran is per­fect for explor­ing the shim­mer­ing waters of Res­ur­rec­tion Bay. In an inti­mate group of no more than 6 guests, you can relax on board or sit out on the catamaran’s net­ting. And because the boat car­ries 4 tan­dem kayaks, you can pad­dle out onto the waters and get even clos­er to nature.  ...more

$1,500 Day Trip, $3500+ Multi-Day Trips Day to Multi-Day Excursions

Head out under pow­er of sail when you go on a per­son­al­ized char­tered jour­ney with Sail­away Alas­ka. Opt for a day trip in res­ur­rec­tion Bay, mul­ti-day trips in Kenai Fjords, or sail from Seward to Whit­ti­er. You’ll be onboard a 45-foot Jean­neau Sun Odyssey with plen­ty of indoor and out­door space, includ­ing 3 cab­ins, 2 heads, a well-equipped gal­ley, spa­cious sit­ting area, and com­fy deck.

Season: May - September
$5,990+ (Inside Passage $2,400+)
5 days / 4 nights
Cruise Ship Type: Small Ship Cruises
Ship Name: M/V Sea Star

Set sail for 5 days and 4 nights with the crew of the M/V Sea Star for small ship adven­ture cruis­ing in Prince William Sound, Kenai Penin­su­la or along the Inside Pas­sage. The well-appoint­ed yacht accom­mo­dates just 12 guests, allow­ing for a per­son­al­ized expe­ri­ence where you are the explor­er! Unplug from day-to-day life and soak up the won­ders of Alaska’s amaz­ing coast­line. All meals pre­pared by an on-board chef and fea­tur­ing fresh local  ...more

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Day Cruises View All

Seward • Best Wildlife • 2 hrs from Anchorage by car, 4 hrs by train

Season: Mid-May through mid-Sept $299 6.5-7 hrs

Inti­mate cata­ma­ran cruis­es into Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park from Seward for just 22 pas­sen­gers, or up to 30 on pri­vate char­ters. Cruise through Res­ur­rec­tion Bay, keep­ing an eye out for hump­back whales, orca whales (killer whales), puffins, Steller sea lions, Dall’s por­poise, har­bor seals, and a large vari­ety of bird species. Then make your way into the nation­al park, and stop at the face of a tide­wa­ter glac­i­er. You’ll enjoy a deli­cious lunch  ...more

Season: Year Round $189+ 3.5 - 8 hrs

Hop on board the all-sea­son Miss­ing Lynx and Lost Lynx, the ves­sels bound for what­ev­er Seward Ocean Excur­sion suits your fan­cy. Want to whale watch, see glac­i­ers, go bird watch­ing or just check out hid­den coves? Cap­tains Bixler and Krystin McClure will help your small group plan an out­ing catered to your pref­er­ences. No mat­ter the sea­son, you can always catch some excite­ment in Res­ur­rec­tion Bay!

4 to 8 hrs

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. 

Season: May 1 - 3rd week of September $459+ 8-10 hrs

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.

Season: March 12 - Oct 12 $115+ 3.5 hrs - Full Day

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

Season: Late May – early Sept $349+ 3.5 - 7 hrs

Choose between the 3.5‑hour Res­ur­rec­tion Bay Tour or the 7‑hour Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park Expe­di­tion, either way, you’ll be treat­ed to spec­tac­u­lar views of glac­i­ers, sea cliffs, and icon­ic wildlife such as orcas, puffins, and bald eagles. With a max­i­mum of six guests per tour, enjoy a per­son­al and unob­struct­ed view of the nat­ur­al wonders.

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Guided Hiking View All

Hike the trails near Exit Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park, or trek on the glacier itself!

Season: May - September $99+ 3.5 - 9 hrs

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.

Season: May 20–3rd week of September Exit Glacier Shuttle $20 | Guided Hikes & Glacier Treks $89+ 2.5 - 9 hrs

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.

Season: May 25 – Sep 8 $435+ 3+ hrs

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.

2.5+ hrs

Embrace Win­ter on an epic cold-weath­er snow­shoe trek out of Moose Pass, a small town on the Kenai Penin­su­la, in the heart of the Chugach Moun­tains. Extend the expe­ri­ence with an overnight or 2‑night stay in a hand­made, Mon­go­lian-style yurt on the shores of remote Grant Lake.

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