Driving To The Kenai Riverside Resort & Kenai Peninsula
Once landing in Anchorage, getting here is a beautiful drive.Reaching the Kenai Peninsula is one of the easiest of the popular destinations. A well-constructed highway leads from Anchorage to all the major destinations on the Kenai Peninsula. This includes Whittier, Seward, Soldotna, Kenai, homer, as well as the smaller towns of Cooper Landing, Ninilchik, Nikiski, Clam Gultch, Ninilchik, and Anchor Point. While there are flights from Anchorage to Kenai we recommend driving.
The drive is scenic, beautiful, takes about 2.5 hours. Along the way you’ll see incredible vistas and glaciers. Probably the most important reason for the drive though is taking back your fish! Ravn Air and Grant Aviation both offer flights from Anchorage to Kenai. However, they do not code-share with any major airline or affiliated with any of the major reward programs. Therefore, even for frequent flyers with significant loyalty benefits, you’ll end up paying the typical $30-$50 baggage fee with Ravn or Grant. If everyone takes home a couple of fish boxes, paying these fees twice gets very expensive.
The Kenai Riverside Resort is only a few minute’s drive outside the city of Soldotna. It’s about 150 miles from Anchorage to Soldotna and takes about 2.5 hours on the Sterling Highway. The drives passes by the town of Girdwood and traves along Turnagain arm’s tidal mudflats. After passing through Turnagain arm, you’ll start the turn southbound through the Chugach National Forest. Soon, you’ll reach Kenai Lake and Cooper Landing which marks the beginning of the Kenai River.
We always recommend saving your appetite if you can. Consdier stopping in Cooper Landing, and having lunch at Gwin’s Summer Lodge. At Gwins you’ll find some of the best burgers and sandwiches around.
With today’s mobile phone mapping technology, we’re going to avoid giving you the turn-by-turn directions. We’re easily found on all major mapping and navigation programs. Our address is 33978 Johnsons Dr, Soldotna, AK 99669. You can always reach us at 907-260-1955.
Flying To The Kenai Riverside Resort & Kenai Peninsula
There are only two airlines that service the Kenai Airport which is about a 15-minute drive from the Kenai Riverside Resort. Flights used to be available almost hourly between the two airlines but with recent economic disruptions to travel due to Covid-19 schedules are still recovering. From wheels up to wheels down the flight takes only about 17 minutes.
Below are some quick links to both airlines as well as some additional resources you may find useful.
Car And RV Rental Resources
The vacation season in Alaska is short beginning in about mid-May and continuing through September. Peak season is a short 6 week period from mid-June to July 31st. Alaska is an incredibly remote location and balancing the low demand in winter and peak demand during June and July is a challenge for every business surviving in the tourism industry (which is all of them). Given the remote location, it’s very difficult to move vehicles out during low demand and back in during peak demand. As a result, most businesses are set up to “run out” of inventory during peak season. This means it is very important to book things like lodging, fishing charters, and adventure guides, and rental cars and RV’s in advance. Not doing so will make finding one very stressful. Below you’ll find a list of a few rental cars and RV providers.
The big-budget car and RV rental companies do not generally allow towing but Midnight Sun in Anchorage and U-Haul in Soldotna have a variety of trucks, SUVs, and RVs and allow towing of trailers such as boats and other vehicles.