the ultimate 4-day kenai peninsula itinerary

If you find yourself on a flight to Anchorage, Alaska, let me share with you the best 4-day itinerary for visiting the amazing Kenai Peninsula (plus some bonus activities if you like packing your schedule!). This takes you through the Chugach National Forest, the second largest forest in the US. Through the Kenai Fjord National Park, and the Kachemak State Park.

When to go

The best time to visit the Kenai Peninsula is in August when it is least rainy and most of the bugs have died. Otherwise, be prepared to walk through wet brush with a bug net on! Particularly, mid August is the sweet spot. I once visited Denali during this time and was able to see the mountain all days I was there, which apparently is otherwise unusual! When you’re gifted clear days, make sure you lean into it and appreciate what you can see!

Day 1: Glacier Cruise Tour

Hear me out on this one. I know cruises can get a bad rap but this one is a day cruise, honestly think of it more as a ferry x safari. We booked the 26 Glacier tour with Phillips Cruises and it was such a great choice (recommended by friends). It starts out at Whittier and we decided to drive, although there are options to take the train. To get to Whittier, there’s an hourly tunnel that opens in a single direction on the hour and half hour depending on direction. This is because the tunnel is only a single lane wide. The tunnel crossing takes about 10 minutes and is relatively uneventful. As soon as you start to get claustrophobic, the light at the end of the tunnel appears. Definitely get through as early as you can because delays can happen!

Whittier is already a gorgeous location. We were mesmerized but the increasing number of glaciers we could see, even from our drive. It’s not a guarantee what weather you’ll get but we were blessed with great weather and perfectly clear skies that our Chugach National Forest ranger on board was astounded herself! It was great having a ranger with us on the tour so we could ask questions and learn about the area.

I lost count of the glaciers, but it was incredible getting up close in the College Fjord and seeing the Harvard Glacier calving (ice chunks falling into the ocean). It’s extremely windy and cold if you’re standing outside, but pleasantly warm if you find the spot behind the captain’s cabin where it is windless.

The glacier cruise also offers complimentary drinks and a meal (chili or chowder) so you don’t have to worry about being hungry during the 5 hour tour. I’m not sponsored by them, but I truly thought it was worth its value, especially compared to their much shorter trip with the 4 hour tour, for a much similar price. The 2025 rates are $199 for adults, whereas the shorter trip sees half the distance for $159

After the cruise, consider spending a bit more time in Whittier or hiking the Portage Pass Trail. We ended up going to the Girdwood Brewing Company to hang out before driving to our campsite in Cooper Landing. If you’re going the inexpensive route, camping is a great idea! Otherwise, every town has good hotels to stay at. I’d suggest Girdwood or Whittier for this night!

Day 2: Kenai Fjord National Park

The main highlight is the Harding Icefield hike. There really aren’t many other hikes in the area, so you might as well take advantage of it. Learn more about the hike here. There’s some variations to the hike. For a shorter walk, there’s a 2 mile loop that takes you to the base of the Exit Glacier. For a more strenuous hike, complete the full Harding Icefield hike where you can see where the Exit Glacier flows out from.

If you’ve got extra energy, consider one of the hikes near Seward. We were able to hike/trail run Tiehacker Mountain prior to the Harding Icefield hike, but you can also tack on an extra day and do them separately.

Other hikes you can consider for an extended trip:

• Lost Lake
• Alice Mountain Lookout
• Marathon Mountain
• Bear Mountain

Seward is a quaint town and you definitely have to stop by Resurrect Art Coffee House. It’s good for working remote if you need but is a fun cafe with good eats too. It’s named after Resurrection Bay, which Seward is at the head of. It’s less of a tourist town and more of a fisherman’s town with occasional cruise visitors. Walking along the Waterfront Park is enjoyable!

For the night, you can stay in a hotel in Seward, or camp in town. Or if you’re like us, base camp yourself at Cooper Landing for 2 nights! It takes under 2 hours to travel between Girdwood and Seward. Cooper Landing is an exact half way point.

Day 3: Cooper Landing

This is maybe less of an ambitious day because we gotta drive all the way to Homer to get our full experience of the peninsula. But stay with me! Cooper Landing is more of a fly fishing community. We couldn’t tell if it was more locals or tourists, but nevertheless, Cooper Landing is a beautiful spot. It is adjacent to the gorgeous blue Kenai Lake. Since we stayed at the Cooper Creek Campground, we simply rolled out of bread, made ourselves some breakfast and headed up to our hike of the day.

While the Kenai Fjord National Park is popular enough that you might not need bear spray, I implore you to rent or buy a can when you’re hiking anywhere else! This is bear country and you must be prepared. A good rule of thumb is traveling in groups of 3 and making your voices loud and known when hiking through thicker brush.

For our third day, we decided to hike up Slaughter Ridge that overlooks the town. It was quite windy so we didn’t linger long. Other hikes to consider nearby:

• Mystery Hills Traverse
• Skilak Lookout

We only wanted to spend a morning hiking so we could head on over to Homer within reasonable time. Services are relatively limited on the peninsula. We checked out the town of Kenai, which felt mostly like another American suburb. We did enjoy a lunch at Veronica’s Old Town Cafe. Since it was rainy, we didn’t linger here too long and headed straight to Homer. Our detour through Kenai made our drive about 3 hours from Cooper Landing. The drive is pleasant, but there are no longer epic mountains nearby. We kept our eyes out for moose, but never saw any! Maybe you’ll get a chance to see them.

At Homer, we were ready to wind down after a quick walk along the Homer Spit. We chose to camp again, though unfortunately a 30 minute drive from town. I’d suggest staying in a hotel near town. The Land’s End Resort would be awesome for its views and location. I was impressed with the Fresh Catch Cafe for dinner with fresh seafood.

Day 4: Kachemak State Park

This is a big day! Make sure you have your water taxi booked. It might be confusing, but don’t hesitate to ask your captain and trust the process. They’ll likely have a different pick up and drop off location for the Grewingk Glacier Trail hike. The short hike is a loop that gets you to view the base of Grewingk Glacier. A longer hike takes you up the ridge, which I highly recommend. Read more about it here.

If you have extra days, it would be fun to explore more of Halibut Cove, a boat accessed community where you can eat and stay. The ferry is about $100 per person, which is definitely a costly experience, but I highly recommend the Kachemak State Park for its epic glacier views, despite not being a National Park!

Bonus Day 5: Back to Anchorage

If you want more bonus things to do on your way back to Anchorage, there’s some hikes closer to the city to do. Crow Pass by Girdwood and Byron Glacier are both great half day activities. Kincaid Park is good for walking to the mud flats.

I hope this helps with your future Alaskan trip! Let me know how it goes!

Photos taken on Canon EOS R5 and iPhone 13 mini