Planning Your Alaskan Adventure

There are so many things to do on the Kenai Peninsula that you're unlikely to get it all done in one trip.  But with careful planning, you should be able to achieve some of those goals and have a wonderful trip.  So set those priorities!  Since you can't do it all, make sure you at least get to do what you most want to do on your adventure. Below are some things to consider when planning your trip to the Kenai:

•  For summer visitors, remember that the town really revolves around the salmon runs, especially the Red salmon runs.  When the Reds are running, the towns of Soldotna and Kenai (and the rivers!) are suddenly packed with fishermen who congregate in the area from other parts of Alaska and from all over the world.  Since the second Red run (usually arriving somewhere between the last week in July and the first two weeks of August) is larger, with bigger fish, it is the most popular.  For these three weeks hotel rooms, campgrounds, RV parking, restaurants and river-bank space are all at a premium, so if you are really interested in hiking, biking, camping or canoing you may want to visit the Kenai during other weeks.  Of course, if catching big Red salmon is your idea of a great vacation, well, come on up, wade on into the crowd and begin combat fishing!
• Also because of the salmon runs, you will need to make reservations early for these three weeks if you do decide to come up then.  Airline tickets, rental cars and hotel rooms go quickly, and you should probably plan on making reservations by the previous February or March if you are going in July or August.
• If Halibut, King salmon or Silver salmon is more your kind of fishing, June, early July or late August may be more relaxed, and you will have a better chance of finding an opening with the guides you want. 
• Some of these fishing charters inevitably have last-minute cancellations, so if you are in town and decide that you would like to try your hand at a fishing charter, just drop in or give us a call.  We can check with our sources to see if there is an opening on one of the charters in the next few days for your group.
• Many visitors to the Kenai area fly to Anchorage and rent a car for the three-hour drive to Soldotna, while others make the puddle-jump across the Cook Inlet in small airplanes to arrive in only 25 minutes.  The drive from Anchorage is beautiful, if done during the daylight hours, and rental cars are much more available and less expensive in Anchorage than in Kenai.
• For those of you with RV's (your own or rented) the local Fred Meyer store in Soldotna has free RV hookups in their parking lot for visitors.
• Whether fishing or not, hiking only a mile or so away from campgrounds or boat launches usually allows you to escape the crowds and get into some pristine country.
• While in town, don't forget to visit the local museums or drive down to Homer to see the sights.