Kenai Fjords National Park

The Land and Sea

Kenai Fjords National Park encompasses the southeastern portion of the Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and is located approximately 100 miles south of Anchorage. Park headquarters is located in Seward.

Nearly 65% of the Harding ice field, as well as the fjords, islands and peninsulas of the Kenai coast make up the park. Numerous glaciers flow out from the ice field with some reaching the sea and others ending in lakes or on bare ground.
Many glaciers have cut deep bays into the mountainous shoreline, creating a series of deep fjords. Heavy wooded areas cover the tops of high cliffs, some rising a hundred feet or more above the ocean. 

Flora and Fauna

The park's coastal area contains an abundance of sea life, including sea lions, seals, sea otters and migrating whales. Large salmon runs are also common in the park.

Moose, bears,mountain goats, wolverines and marmots live in the park. Bald eagles are also quite common and nest in the tops of spruce and hemlock trees. Seabirds, including tufted and horned puffins, common murres and black-legged kittiwakes inhabit rocky shores and steep cliffs.

Trees and other plants are extremely varied in the park given the range of geographic features and climate zones. Interior valleys are primarily comprised of Sitka spruce and birch forest with hemlock, bunchberry, mountain cranberry, and devil's club crowding the forest floor. Sitka spruce and rich growths of devil's club, salmonberry, and skunk cabbage are found along the coast. Large stands of kelp forest dominate the intertidal zone.

History

Little is known about the extended history of native peoples who once lived in the Kenai Fjords National Park region but in more recent times, this area was occupied by the Chugachigmiut, Unagalakmiut and Unixkugmiut peoples.

Captain Vitus Bering first viewed the Kenai Peninsula in 1741. Following Captain James Cook's discovery of Cook Inlet
in 1778, the area became the scene of heated competition among rival fur companies. Alaska was controlled by the Russians until the American purchase in 1868. The first permanent American settlement in the Seward area wasn't established until 1884 and the railroad connecting Seward to the Interior was completed in 1915.

Kenai Fjords National Park was created in 1980.

Transportation

Access to Kenai Fjords National Park can be made via the Alaska Railroad, Alaska motorcoach or Alaska rental car.

Lodging

The bestlodging opportunity for park visitors is the Hotel Edgewater, located in downtown Seward near shopping, fishing, restaurants and only one block from the Alaska SeaLife Center.

For more information on Katmai National Park and Preserve, visit the National Park Service website at www.nps.gov/katm/.

Source: Alaska State Parks.

For more information on Alaska State Parks, visit the Alaska State Parks web site.

Alaska National Parks

Denali National Park, Kenai Fjords National Park, Lake Clark National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Alaska State Parks by Region

Anchorage, Interior Alaska, Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, Mat-Su Valley, Prince William Sound, Southeast Alaska, Southwest Alaska

Alaska State Parks by Name

Anchor River State Recreation Area and Stariski SRS, Birch Lake State Recreation Site, Caines Head State Recreation Area and Resurrection Bay State Marine Parks, Captain Cook State Recreation Area, Chena River State Recreation Area, Chena River State Recreation Site, Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, Chugach State Park, Clam Gulch State Recreation Area, Deep Creek State Recreation Area, Delta Junction Area State Parks, Denali State Park, Haines Area State Parks, Harding Lake State Recreation Area, Independence Mine State Historical Park, Kachemak Bay State Park and State Wilderness Park, Kasilof Area State Parks, Kenai River Special Management Area, Kodiak Area State Parks, Nancy Lake State Recreation Area, Ninilchik State Recreation Area, Point Bridget State Park, Salcha River State Recreation Site, Sitka Area State Parks, State Marine Parks in Prince William Sound and Resurrection Bay, Summit Lake State Recreation Site, Tok Area Parks, Totem Bight State Historical Park, Upper Chatanika State Recreation Site, Wickersham State Historic Site, Wood-Tikchik State Park