Kenai Fjords National Park guide · 2 min read
Coastal Cabins and the Fjords Glacier Lodge
Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge is an eco-lodge set in a Native-owned wildlife sanctuary that the national park surrounds.
It is the only lodge within the park, sitting on the edge of a protected lagoon, and its guest cabins face Pedersen Glacier. Guests reach it by boat from Seward. During the summer months, water is the only way in.
Two public use cabins, at Aialik Bay and Holgate, can be booked for the summer, and reservations are required. Each has a heater with propane supplied, a table with chairs, and wooden bunks. The Aialik Bay cabin holds up to four people, and the Holgate cabin sleeps six. Neither has electricity or running water, so visitors need to carry in drinking water or treat water drawn from a natural source. Staying the night brings solitude and a roof overhead.
Each group arranges its own ride, by float plane, private vessel, charter boat, or water taxi. Water taxis give access to the coast, and paddlers often head out of Seward on a water taxi or a charter boat, then get dropped at Aialik Bay, Northwestern Lagoon, or Bear Glacier Lagoon. Bear Glacier Lagoon lies more than 15 miles out by water, and getting to Aialik Cape alone requires covering over 30 miles. Most water taxi operators can also handle pickups and drop-offs.
The shoreline around Aialik Cape is rugged and open to the sea, with long runs where no place to land exists between Callisto Head and the cape. The water there can be dangerous, and paddling from Seward around the cape by kayak is advised against. Kayaking still offers a close look at the coast, and a guide is strongly advised for anyone new to the cold waters of coastal Alaska. Rangers patrol Aialik Bay often in summer, and tour boats pass most summer days.
