Chugach Mountains to the Kenai Peninsula
Cathy Hart
Trip Type: Small Group Adventure
Territory: North America
Region: Alaska
Trip Price: From $12,295
Single Supplement: $1,695
On-Trip Airfare: $1,195
Duration: 10 days/9 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: Anchorage / Anchorage
Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers
Maximum Travelers: 14 travelers
Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
Travel by plane, car, boat, and foot from Anchorage to the Kenai Peninsula. You’ll spend 6 to 8 hours outside each day. Activities include hiking 2 to 4 miles, river rafting on calm water, and getting an up close look into the day to day of an Alaskan coastal brown bear.
Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!
Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.
In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!
Meet our guides and fellow travelers this afternoon for an early welcome dinner, enjoying local fare while marveling at the view of Mt. Foraker and Denali across Cook Inlet (weather permitting).
We’ll spend our first morning exploring the Anchorage Museum to learn about the evolution of our 49th state through its founding peoples, exquisite local artworks, and more. For the afternoon, an hour-long drive alongside Chugach State Park brings us to the fabulously charming town of Girdwood. There, we enjoy a hike to fully immerse ourselves in the lush, expansive wilderness that surounds this unique mountain town.
The day begins with a 7-mile float on one of the most scenic rivers in Alaska, with an up-close view of hanging glaciers. Marvel while floating past pristine icebergs that glow a glorious blue with contrasting etchings of glacial silt. Later today, enjoy more easy hiking or sightseeing from the mountain tram at Alyeska. You’ll have dinner on your own this evening.
We migrate south to Seward on this very scenic drive to the tip of the Kenai Peninsula. Nestled between high mountains, Seward sits on a small rise stretching from Resurrection Bay to the foot of Mount Marathon. Next we head out to explore Exit Glacier, our chance to view ice formed thousands of years ago, and observe its varying formations and fascinating ecosystem. Situated in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park, this area is teeming with wildlife including mountain goats, moose, eagles, marmots, and bears.
Dive right in on a private experience at the Alaska Sea Life Center, a marine science facility where we’ll learn how the center cares for stranded, injured, or threatened marine animals. Watch as sea lions glide past underwater viewing windows, observe puffins diving in a naturalistic habitat, and see harbor seals resting on rocky beaches. We’ll keep life aquatic by hopping aboard a boat tour through Kenai Fjords National Park. The Kenai Fjords abound with breathtaking views of glaciers and offer great wildlife watching opportunities for all manner of marine life.
On our way to Homer, we’ll stop at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to stretch our legs on a lovely hike on the Hideout, Bear Mountain, or Kenai River trails. Following, we’ll acquaint ourselves with the Homer Spit and stunning views of Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountains. At dinner, you'll be introduced to your Nat Hab Bear Camp guides.
We invite you to feel the joy this morning on an iconic Alaskan experience— flying over the water in a small plane, landing on a beach, and spending time with coastal brown bears on their own turf. Bear Camp is on the “doorstep” of Lake Clark National Park, and on your days spent there you will often venture into the park itself. Our guide will ensure our safety as we observe in close proximity digging for clams, wading in the water, playing, and just being bears.The opportunity to spend 3 nights and 4 days alongside this thriving bear population and their environment is incredibly unique. The team of Nat Hab’s guides have a deep knowledge of the bears that reside nearby, and are eager to share during our time spent with the them. We’ll spend much of our daily excursions on foot, but not hurried or rushed.
We’ll spend our final morning with one last viewing of our bear neighbors before taking a scenic flight back to Homer, followed by a short flight to Anchorage. Flights home in the afternoon/evening.
Hotel Captain Cook is located in the heart of downtown Anchorage, with excellent access to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, as well as restaurants and shops. Built after the 1964 earthquake at a time when Alaska was flush with new oil money, the hotel has a nautical theme and is both grand and classic Alaska. The hotel takes up an entire city block and towers top the building. All 550 guest rooms have sweeping views of either the Cook Inlet or Chugach Mountains, and there are three restaurants on site for your convenience.
This luxurious, four-star hotel at Alyeska Resort (the only downhill ski resort in Alaska!) is nestled in a lush valley surrounded by mountain peaks—with ocean views. Average annual snowfall is 650 inches. Amenities include a spa, aerial tram, world-class dining and shops, and walk-out access to trails.
Just outside the city of Seward, travel down the winding road to Exit Glacier and you'll find your paradise away from home, Seward Windsong Lodge. The towering mountains, fragrant spruce trees and the rush of the Resurrection River awaken your senses on arrival.
Situated on the shores of Kachemak Bay at the end of Homer Spit, you can walk out the hotel door to walk the beach, or look for otters, whales, seals, and eagles right from your private deck. Guest accommodations are in 117 modern rooms, each with private bath and deck. Enjoy your stay in—pretty much literally—Kachemak Bay!
We can arrange your four night/five day package - which includes your first night in Homer, and three additional nights at Bear Camp. Your package includes all lodging, meals, flight transporation to and from the camp, and daily guided excursions.A genuine encounter with the Alaskan wilderness often starts with a bush plane. And this adventure begins with a private flight across Cook Inlet, passing active volcanoes and massive glaciers before landing on a pristine beach. The stretch of sand is empty, except for the brown bears that live here—and we often see them ambling along the shore before we even land. Nearby, the sustainable bush camp provides a base for exploration in the very midst of the bears. On the site of an old homestead, the camp fronts the bay in an untouched setting that looks just as it did when the first pioneers ventured into these remote wilds. It's a peerless location: the camp occupies an enclave of private land surrounded by Lake Clark National Park, one of the world’s most renowned bear-viewing destinations. Against the backdrop of the ice-clad Aleutian Range, the Alaska Bear Camp offers rustic luxury and total solitude—with enough bear thrills for a lifetime and then some!The Bear Camp provides an incredible wilderness experience in Chinitna Bay, inside a remote zone of Lake Clark National Park, and yet offers unmatched and surprising comfort in this backcountry location. The camp is designed for an unobtrusive presence among the bears, with tent cabins erected on a raised deck in front of the forest, facing the Cook Inlet shoreline. These custom heavy-duty Weather Port tents offer solid protection against the elements. Each has a solid door and hard floor and is warmed with a propane space heater. Lights are powered with solar electricity, along with the rest of the camp's energy needs, including the electrified fence that surrounds the camp for protection against bears and other wildlife. Each of the seven guest tents hosts two travelers and features two twin beds and a writing desk.Charging stations for cameras and phones are available in the dining tent. Men's and women's bathhouses have hot showers and state-of-the-art composting toilets, and each tent also has a nighttime porta-potty for essential needs. Meals are served in the communal dining tent, which also serves as a space for socializing, guide presentations and topping up your camera batteries. A small library is available in the shared tent, featuring bear-centric titles. Meals are a highlight at Bear Camp, and the resident chef creates impressive dishes drawing extensively on fresh, locally sourced ingredients, including fish and seafood straight out of regional waters.
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