Kenai Meaning

What does Kenai mean?  Kenai is for Kenai Peninsula, it is also Athabascan which means ‘flatland’. In native American Kenai also means ‘Black Bear’.

Love cute puppies?  When I was on the way Kenai I stopped at Iditarod where I was lucky enough to be able to take photos with the sledge dog puppies they had there. They were super cute and I completely fell in love. 

The Incredible Wildlife in Kenai

Once I had arrived I went on a scenic float in a raft along the Kenai River.  This is a great trip to do if you love birds and wildlife as I saw lots of bald eagles.  There is also the potential to spot bears so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Alaska has an abundance of wildlife and another great spot to see what it has to offer is at the Russian Falls.  To get here you will need to do a 2.5-mile hike each way, the hike isn’t too strenuous.  Once you are at the Russain Falls you are able to see the Salmon trying to jump up the falls as they head upstream.  This is when they are red in colour so you can see them in the water.  Whilst we were there we had a lovely little picnic and were even joined by a couple of squirrels!

Breathtaking Views

I also went kayaking on Kenai Lake, the water was an amazing blue because it is glacier fed.  The Kenai River leads into Kenai Lake.  The views were just incredible, we were kayaking between grand mountains which were topped with snow. 

Kenai Fjords National Park

Whilst in Kenai I made sure to join a Kenai Fjords Cruise which departed from Seward.  The cruise was amazing and we saw so much wildlife.  Before we had even left the dock we saw two sea otters floating and playing with each other.  A short way into the cruise we came across a young humpback whale and saw an eagle and lots of puffins.  We then headed further out to sea towards a glacier.  Along the way, we saw another humpback whale this one was much bigger and we got to see it fluke multiple times.  In the Kenai Fjords National Park we also saw sea-lions and harbour seals. 

The cruise also made a scenic stop at Holgate Glacier where we watched pieces of the glacier break away and fall into the sea.  The noise as the ice is breaking is just incredible.  On our way back to the dock we came across some Orca’s I feel so blessed to have been able to see them in the wild.  Doing a Kenai Fjords tour is something I would definitely recommend doing while you are there.