Day Cruise - Holgate Arm and Aialik Bay - Kenai Fjords National Park

Our 7½-hour day cruise to Kenai Fjords National Park continued as we rounded Aialik Cape and sailed up Aialik Bay to Holgate Arm and Holgate Glacier at its head. Sailing the fifteen miles from the face of Holgate Glacier to the face of Aialik Glacier took almost an hour through persistent rain squalls. After sailing down Aialik Bay, we cruised past Harbor Island and Natoa Island, but the poor weather and lack of wildlife precluded taking any pictures. Two hours after leaving Natoa Island, we returned to Seward. This post covers the final 5½ hours of our 7½ hour cruise. We cruised in late August 2022. 

Kenai Fjords National Park was the only place during our trip to Alaska where the weather interfered with our plans in any significant way. My picture quality suffered as I took pictures through the windows or on deck in the rain. On the bright side, Kenai Fjords was the only park on our agenda that we had visited before, so we already had memories and photographs of it even if we couldn't photograph it properly on this visit. 

Day cruise route

A small stream cascades down the mountain near the head of Holgate Arm

Another stream pours down the mountain

The officially unnamed "Little Holgate Glacier"

A closer view of Little Holgate Glacier

Holgate Glacier with water spots

Left toe of Holgate Glacier

Left center of Holgate Glacier

Right center of Holgate Glacier

Right toe of Holgate Glacier

Kayakers taking a break near an unnamed stream near the head of Holgate Arm

Four sea otters (Enhydra lutris) floating above the shallow terminal moraine in Aialik Bay

Left center of Aialik Glacier

Center of Aialik Glacier

Right center of Aialik Glacier

Right of Aialik Glacier

Seals (Phoca vitulina) resting in relative safety near the face of the glacier

Based on size, the iceberg in front of the cruise boat is a "bergy bit"
while the one further ahead is a "growler"

Two bergy bit size icebergs with Lechner Glacier in the background

There is no entrance fee at Kenai Fjords National Park.

The Kenai Fjords National Park website is https://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm.