Kenai Nature Hike

Description

Be sure to read the Special Notes further down this page for important requirements and restriction.

Breathe in the brisk, fresh air of Alaska, stretch your legs and fill your senses with the beauty of Kenai on a guided four-hour nature hike. An easy hike over fairly level terrain, the wide, well-maintained graveled trail leads you through a spruce-filled forest, past mountain creeks and verdant meadows shimmering with wildflowers. It may be hard to imagine but over 100 years ago prospectors carrying millions of dollars worth of gold blazed this trail and others throughout the peninsula.

The gentle trail leads past thickets of salmonberries (a favorite of bears) and mushrooms (when in season) through the woods to the rushing waters of the Russian River Falls, protected within the boundaries of the Chugach National Forest, the most northerly of national forests in the United States. From a vantage point along the trail and off in the distance sits the Harding Icefield. Measuring over 300 square miles, it's the largest icefield entirely in the United States with out-flowing glaciers and numerous coastal fjords and islands, which are remnants of drowned mountains.

As you travel the well-worn trail through the forested valley, look out for bears if the salmon are running. Every July and August the waters of the Russian River teem with tens of thousands of sockeye salmon powering their way upstream on their way to their ancestral spawning grounds. Once you reach the Falls take a moment to immerse yourself in the stunning setting and observe your surroundings from one of two viewing decks overlooking the falls. Your naturalist guide will gladly share information about the area along the way and explain Native Alaskan uses for the various plants encountered on the trail.

Special Notes: