Kenai Peninsula Alaska

Looking for an intimate and accessible getaway with an authentic Alaskan feel? Alaska Wildland Adventures's Kenai Riverside Lodge will fit the bill, with just 16 cabins set on the Kenai River, surrounded by 3,000-foot snow-capped mountains. If you don't have enough time to delve into the backcountry, this is a great place to feel remote.

The lodge usually houses fewer than 30 guests at a time, serving meals family-style, so you get to know the guides, staff, and your fellow guests on a different level than at a large resort. The site has been in use for over 25 years, with native species and natural landscaping-it's lush, gorgeous, and doesn't look manicured. Riverside isn't set on a compound far removed from Cooper Landing, so you can get a taste of local life on your vacation.

Kenai Riverside Lodge features newly remodeled cabins with two double beds and private bathrooms. You won't find cable TV or internet here, but you will find a sprawling riverside deck with awe-inspiring views of the Kenai River and all it has to offer. You'll just have to spend your day hiking, fishing, or strolling down a self-guided trail. At night, take in a naturalist program, or just relax on the riverside deck by the fire pit. You can spend hours just watching the gorgeous turquoise waters go by, listening to the sounds of gulls and eagles, and watching the fish jump.

Most Riverside guests are picked up in Anchorage, so you're taken care of from beginning to end. You won't have one guide for your entire stay, but all the guides are specialists in their field. On your arrival, tour the lodge before enjoy a welcome dinner-your coordinator will stop by to let you know what to wear and when to meet the next day. Different groups start their stays on different days, so it doesn't feel like a herd vacation.

Many guests book Riverside Lodge stays as part of AWA's Kenai Explorer package. Besides a guided hike in the Chugach National Forest, the package includes a shuttle down to Seward for a small-ship cruise in Kenai Fjords National Park. A scenic rail trip returns guests to Anchorage.

Riverside also serves as the home base for AWA's Kenai Wilderness Sampler package, which includes a stay at their remote Kenai Backcountry Lodge. The lodge is boat-accessible only, and you'll raft down the Kenai, maneuvering through Kenai Canyon, and then motor across Skilak Lake.

For sport fishing enthusiasts, Kenai Riverside Lodge is also host to the Kenai River Sportfishing Lodge package. This program includes intensive sport fishing excitement (salmon, rainbow trout, and dolly varden) led by some of the river's most experienced guides, using top-of-the-line equipment. Eight cabins are reserved just for the fishing camp.