1-907-694-7442
Site Map

Our Destinations

FORESTS & FJORDS WITH THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KENAI PENINSULA
Wilderness Wildlife & Birding
July 17-25
9 Days - $4,650

Trip Brochure

Discover the widely diverse maritime and montane habitats of the Kenai Peninsula. From Anchorage, we’ll drive south to the lovely historic town of Seward on Resurrection Bay. The Alaska SeaLife Center is a world-class research and education facility that we’ll visit to see its exhibits of seabirds, marine mammals and other marine life. From Seward, we’ll take a day trip by boat into the glaciers, fjords and seabird cliffs of Kenai Fjords National Park, accompanied by sea otters, Dall porpoise and – with luck – killer whales and humpback whales. On our drive from Seward to the Kachemak Bay town of Homer, we’ll spend a night in the mountains and take a short raft trip on the Kenai River the next morning. Arriving in Homer invariably elicits expressions of wonder at the first sight of Kachemak Bay.  From Homer, we’ll spend one day across Cook Inlet on a grizzly bear viewing fly-and-hike day trip. On another day, we’ll take a boat to the south side of Kachemak Bay to visit the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies’ Peterson Bay field station where a naturalist will guide us on walks through the intertidal and forest trails; one has the option to kayak that afternoon (at additional charge) instead of taking the forest hike. We’ll also spend an evening in the artist village of Halibut Cove, also on the south side of Kachemak Bay. Hikes to Exit Glacier and a Nature Conservancy Aleutian tern colony, plus a visit to the Alaska SeaLife Center, round out this nine day natural history adventure.  The trip begins and ends in Anchorage and will be led by a WBA naturalist guide as well as a representative from The Nature Conservancy.  When not taking a special boat trip, flight or hike, we’ll do most of our traveling by van on the road system south of Anchorage; thus, this trip is not a backcountry trip, but we will be exploring the natural areas of the Kenai.  Our ability to get all the way to Kenai Fjords National Park will depend on the sea conditions that day, and our ability to fly to the bear viewing area on the Alaska Peninsula similarly is weather dependent.  This trip is suitable for families.