Boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park

On the morning of the 13th (a Thursday), we hustled to get out the door to make the hours-long drive to Seward, where we would be taking a boat tour around the Kenai Fjords National Park. If we had to boil our whole vacation down to one activity, this would be it. This tour was a truly amazing experience!

We arrived a bit early at Kenai Fjords Tours in Seward to check in, knowing that the Alaska Railroad was soon to bring another load of tourists to town. We then had a few minutes to walk around the docks and get a quick peek at Seward.

The marina was alive with activity. Pleasure boats and commercial fishing boats occupied every slip. The smell of fresh halibut (which wore on me after a short while), filled the air. The strong morning sun lit up the brightly-painted boats and cast the clear sky in a dazzling blue. It was a postcard-perfect scene. The town of Seward was just as welcoming, with many shops and restaurants lining the main street. Pedestrians and cyclists wandered through town. Beautiful parks and community spaces provided inviting places to play. It seemed far more cheerful than Anchorage to me.

After a quick look around the dock, we joined a line of passengers waiting to board our boat. Kelly’s eyes rolled as one tour worker told a cheesy joke as he made a boarding announcement. We handed in our tickets and climbed aboard the modern, two-level tour boat. We found an unoccupied four-spot table on the top deck but soon left it for spots on the more exciting bow.

The cheesy banter soon gave way to the very knowledgeable talk of the boat captain as he steered us out of the harbor. The captain soon drew our attention to a scattering of objects floating near the harbor. We soon learned that these were actually otters, who take a rest from swimming by floating still on their backs just like logs. Many of them stared quietly back at us through bushy eyebrows as we rolled slowly by them, though a few ducked under water when we got too close for comfort. They were really adorable.

As the boat picked up speed outside of the wake zone, the captain pointed out the alpine glaciers still capping the peaks to our left. The majestic blue ice of a glacier is truly striking to behold. I spent a lot of time with my eyes glued to the binoculars.

We got an oral history of Western exploration of Resurrection Bay and a geological history lesson on the forces that created the fjord. Passing by these glacier-carved cliffs, I could picture them as they were being ground down by the once-enormous but now-vanishing ice thousands of years ago.

We proceeded directly over to Fox Island where a buffet lunch was awaiting us. Safely docked at the pier, we snagged an outside table and walked into the banquet hall to get our meal. Kelly and Hallie weren’t impressed with their meals, thinking the mashed potatoes were weak and the Alaska King Crab legs lacking, but Travis and I gobbled ours up without complaint. I was a little disappointed there was no dessert but still enjoyed it.

A second tour boat brought a new crowd of tourists as well as a Park Ranger, who began a presentation on the National Park complete with stunning photographs. We sat for some of that before heading back to the boat for our departure.

Once underway, the captain pointed us towards sea, where we idled a bit while we searched the surface for signs of any whales. After several minutes, the captain steered us towards the tell-tale water spray of a whale off our port bow. Soon we were right next to a humpback whale!

Kelly and I shared a laugh. “Third time’s the charm?” she said.

“Yup!” I answered. After trying twice to see whales in the San Juan Islands, we’d finally succeeded in Alaska.

The whale really put on a show for us. Every two minutes or so, it would roll above the surface and under again, sometimes flipping its tail as it went. We were captivated as we watched, and I was glued to my camera snapping photos as fast as it would go. It seemed like we circled each other for an hour but I’m sure it was a lot less than that. With one last breach of the surface, the whale seemed to wave goodbye with its pectoral fin as the captain steered us towards the unexplored coastline, the next part of our tour.

As we slowly trolled along the rocky coast of the National Park we saw thousands of pigeons roosting among the rocks. The captain steered us into a cove where earlier he had seen a bald eagle’s nest. We strained to see any eagles but it seemed only the captain had spotted the eaglet in the nest (later I saw it, too, upon checking my photos). As we drifted around staring up at the nest, I spotted two white shapes rustling behind the bushes high above on the cliff. Mountain goats! They had brilliant white coats and looked almost magical, like unicorns, as they watched us from above. I got bored watching yet another bald eagle fly by while these magical beasts were lurking in the hills. It became a contest to see who could first spot the little white coats of the mountain goats as we went along.

We also passed close by a pod of seals, sunning themselves lazily on the rocks. I snapped several pictures which wound up looking all the same because these guys were like giant slugs out there. Just not moving a flipper. Occasionally, one would lift up his head and yawn but otherwise they were dead to the world. Nice life those seals live.

Finally our tour was wrapping up. We cruised again by the alpine glaciers and then set a course for the harbor. Gathering our things, we stepped off the boat and headed back to our car. It was a wonderful experience, far exceeding my expectations. Our visit to Seward wouldn’t quite be complete without a visit to Exit Glacier, so that’s where we headed next.