All 2 in 3 days here: ~40%
Kenai Fjords National Park
🇺🇸 United States
North America, United States 334 spp. recorded
Kenai Fjords National Park sits along the rugged southern coast of Alaska, where massive glacial ice fields meet the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. This coastal park features steep rock cliffs, forested mountain slopes, and deep marine fjords carved by ancient ice. Visitors hike through dense coastal forests and across rocky shorelines to explore the dramatic edge where land and sea collide.
60.006° N 149.886° W
🦜 Nature
174 Species sighted
17,028 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Jun Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
+ 219 more species with insufficient data
Challenges you can complete here
Recent sightings in Kenai Fjords National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a day
3.9Jan
4Feb
0Mar
4.9Apr
21May
23Jun
22Jul
21Aug
21Sep
0Oct
0.1Nov
0.1Dec
Sighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Aialik Bay
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Resurrection Bay · Aialik Cape
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Resurrection Bay · Spire Cove
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Northwestern Fiord
Daily sight. prob.vs avg -
Exit Glacier Nature Center
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Free
Tourism
High
Typical stay
1
dayTrails
Hard
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0.0 Excellent
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
Very goodHow rich is the wildlife?
4.3
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 252
🐒 Mammals 79
🦎 Reptiles 2
🐸 Amphibians 1
334 Total Species
828 Global average across 316 parks
24 Threatened 0 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.6
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
72% 📊
Coverage (79 species at ≥5% of 334 in the inventory)
24% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (7 bird, 5 mammal)
65% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
61 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
20 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
22 🏕️
Experience
GoodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
3.1
Climate Harsh Low
Entrance Free High
Tourism Medium Medium
Trails Hard Low
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
I said, I’ve seen both Alaskan brown bears and black bears here in the park.
On our 7.5 hour Kenai Fjords boat tour we spotted a group of orcas, a breaching humpback whale, sea otters, sea lions, harbor seals, puffins, eagles and a black bear foraging along the shore.
We had the opportunity to see numerous horned puffins hanging out of cliff faces and diving for fish in the sea.
Before you go
What animals can you see in Kenai Fjords National Park?
334 species
Kenai Fjords National Park has 334 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Sea Otter (about 90%), Harbor Seal (about 80%), Northern Sea Lion (about 80%), Humpback Whale (about 80%) and Killer Whale (about 70%). Among birds, the most-seen is Black-legged Kittiwake (about 70%).
Can you see a Sea Otter in Kenai Fjords National Park?
Yes
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Sea Otter sighting in Kenai Fjords National Park on a given day, based on 429 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026.
Can you see a Humpback Whale in Kenai Fjords National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Humpback Whale sighting in Kenai Fjords National Park on a given day, based on 118 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is June and July (about 80%).
Can you see a Killer Whale in Kenai Fjords National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Killer Whale sighting in Kenai Fjords National Park on a given day, based on 100 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May and June (about 80%).
Can you see a Northern Sea Lion in Kenai Fjords National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Sea Lion sighting in Kenai Fjords National Park on a given day, based on 185 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is April (about 90%).
Where in Kenai Fjords National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Aialik Bay
The richest sighting zone is around Aialik Bay, followed by Resurrection Bay · Aialik Cape and Resurrection Bay · Spire Cove, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Kenai Fjords National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.8 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Kenai Fjords National Park rates 3.8/5: 140th of 316 parks worldwide and 6th in North America. 24 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
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