Kenai Peninsula - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 24

11. Seward
Tucked between Resurrection Bay and the foot of Mt. Marathon, the city of Seward serves
as the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, a 580,000-acre mosaic of glaciers, fjords,
icefields, and mountainous coastline. At a National Park Service visitor center at Seward
harbor, exhibits explain how the local fjords were created by glaciers thousands of years
ago. Today these flooded valleys are home to legions of sea otters, sea lions, whales, and
othermarinecreatures.Toviewthem,observerscanboardtheSeward-basedtourboatsthat
cruise up and down the coastline. The boats also provide close-up views of glaciers giving
birthtomammothicebergs,accompaniedbyear-shatteringcrashesandthunderousplunges
into the icy sea.
12. Kenai River
After backtracking north to tiny Tern Lake Junction, turn onto the Sterling Highway, a
142-mileroadheadingwesttowardCookInletandthensouthalongtheinlettoHomer.The
Sterling Highway first skirts the northern tip of Kenai Lake and then parallels the Kenai
River for about 10 miles. Summer anglers, fishing from the shore and from rafts along this
stretch of river, dream of catching a king salmon akin to the 97-pounder caught here in
1985,whichsetaworldrecordforthespecies.Moose,eagles,bears,andDallsheepcanbe
seen from the highway and on wildlife float trips along the river.
13. Skilak Lake Loop Road
Branching off the Sterling Highway, this rough gravel road meanders 19 miles through
magnificenthighcountrybeforerejoiningthehighwaynearSterling.Motoristspassanum-
ber of picturesque lakes dotted with canoes and fishing boats, including 15-mile-long Skil-
ak Lake. Look for moose wandering the roadside and be prepared for flat tires.
14. Kenai National Wildlife Refuge
This enormous tract of forests and lakes—nearly 2 million acres—occupies much of the
Kenai Peninsula. It was originally set aside to preserve the populations of moose, but it
provides a home for a number of other wild creatures as well.
Throughout the summer, motorists commonly see moose cows and calves feeding in
roadside woods and wetlands within the refuge. The visitor center near the town of Soldot-
na offers daily slide shows, wildlife displays, and information about the refuge's 200 miles
of hiking trails.