Should I bother to visit Seward & Kenai Fjords after Sept 15? (Anchorage: live in, stats)

[johnny04]

I planned to visit Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park from Sept 20-22 by myself, but I noticed that everything is closed for the season. Will there be anything I can tour on my own? I have a compact (rental) car and I'm a hiker who can hike about 8-10 miles a day. If you have any suggestions for what to do and where to see, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[ysr_racer]

Sure,

Exit Glacier is open year round, and it's a beautiful hike.

[Rance]

I second the Exit Glacier visit. And there are many hiking trails between Anchorage and Seward. With spectacular views.

[richelles]

Originally Posted by Rance

I second the Exit Glacier visit. And there are many hiking trails between Anchorage and Seward. With spectacular views.

They both left out you can probably see a few hungry bears who will be sharing the trail with you. Know about them before you go.

[Chilkoot]

The Harding Icefield Trail is a good hike affording spectacular views. I think the problem would be the weather. It can be a less than appealing hike if it’s been raining. Another option is a Kenai Fjords glacier/wildlife day cruise. A limited number operate through the end of September.

Harding Icefield Trail - Kenai Fjords National Park

[tigre79]

Harding Icefield is awesome. Hopefully you'll get some good weather. Even in less than stellar weather you can go on a wildlife cruise, go to the Sealife Center, hang out and meet some interesting locals, and so on. There's stuff to do all along the Seward Highway, too. Is this part of a larger trip or do you already live in AK?

[Dakster]

Exit is a good half day hike - unless you bring stuff to do off the trail hiking. I'm no expert hiker and my family isn't going to win the President's Physical Fitness award either - and we were able to do the Exit Glacier Loop without any issues. IIRC, we spent a few hours there as we took our time and looked around.

Now the folks that brought mountain climbing gear and actually went up ON the glacier - that's a whole different story.

And, uh, yeah - watch out for the bears. Any place that keeps stats on bear sighting by the hour of the day means they are out there. We didn't run into any, but several we on the trail that day (and in prior days). Read the bear warning sign on the way in. Someone had a interesting sense of humor when they wrote it.

[tigre79]

Originally Posted by Dakster

Exit is a good half day hike - unless you bring stuff to do off the trail hiking. I'm no expert hiker and my family isn't going to win the President's Physical Fitness award either - and we were able to do the Exit Glacier Loop without any issues. IIRC, we spent a few hours there as we took our time and looked around.

Now the folks that brought mountain climbing gear and actually went up ON the glacier - that's a whole different story.

And, uh, yeah - watch out for the bears. Any place that keeps stats on bear sighting by the hour of the day means they are out there. We didn't run into any, but several we on the trail that day (and in prior days). Read the bear warning sign on the way in. Someone had a interesting sense of humor when they wrote it.

There's a trail that goes up to the top, overlooking the Harding Icefield, with no glacier travel involved. I saw kids down to about ten up there, so its not too ridiculous a hike. Will take most of a day up and back though. The elevation gain is pretty rough.

[cowboyxjon]

I just got back from Alaska and did these hikes; they were great, except for the fact that it rained for part of the day. I think Exit Glacier is definitely worth seeing, but I'm not sure that the weather will cooperate. I also noticed that even on September 5th, some of the businesses in Seward already seemed closed for the season.