Kenai Peninsula Fishing Spots

Each head of house­hold is allowed to keep 25 sock­eye salmon per year, and every addi­tion­al mem­ber of the fam­i­ly is enti­tled to 10 fish.

One of the most pop­u­lar areas in the state for dip­net­ters to fish the Kenai Riv­er in the month of July. There’s a large paved park­ing area, and camp­ing is allowed July 10 — 31 dur­ing the sock­eye salmon run. Restrooms available.

Large park­ing area for over 200 vehi­cles and 4 boat ramps. Not a shore fish­ing area.

Locat­ed down Beaver Loop Road, just out­side of Kenai, Cun­ning­ham Park is a great, easy-access loca­tion for sock­eye and sil­ver salmon. The shore­line here is a mix of grav­el and mud, with the mud being more preva­lent below the tidal zone. That said, this spot is very tidal depen­dent, so you’ll have to con­tin­u­al­ly adjust your bait set­up as the water ris­es or falls.

Wad­ing access and boat launch. Grav­el park­ing area and boat launch are both avail­able for a fee. Check web­site for cur­rent rates. This is a small­er park­ing area than some near­by access points for the Kenai Riv­er. Depend­ing on the sea­son can fish for rain­bow trout, dol­ly var­den, salmon (King, Sock­eye, Coho). Check the ADF&G web­site for regulations.

Pop­u­lar loca­tion to fish the Kenai Riv­er from a raised plat­form along the water and to launch boats. Large park­ing area and boat launch are both avail­able for a fee. Check web­site for cur­rent rates. Vault toi­lets. Depend­ing on the sea­son can fish for rain­bow trout, dol­ly var­den, salmon (King, Sock­eye, Coho). Check the ADF&G web­site for regulations.

The most pop­u­lar camp­ground in Sol­dot­na with over 250 camp­sites in a large wood­ed area. And, it’s a fish­er­man’s dream for access­ing the boun­ty of the Kenai Riv­er. There are twen­ty-five sets of stairs to the riv­er, 2 fish­ing plat­forms that are 85 feet long (one is acces­si­ble), and 650 feet of ele­vat­ed boardwalk. 

Sol­dot­na Park, in down­town Sol­dot­na, offers all Kenai Riv­er species — but most peo­ple are here for the sock­eye. That means it can get crowd­ed dur­ing peak sock­eye sea­son, but it’s also a good place to learn how to fish for sock­eye. The com­bi­na­tion of easy acces­si­bil­i­ty, hard-packed grav­el and a shal­low grade make the fish­ing enjoyable.

This spot is par­tic­u­lar­ly good for any­one who’s mobil­i­ty impaired, since you access the riv­er by a flat, met­al board­walk — and the actu­al fish­ing area is also from the board­walk. This makes Moose Mead­ows one of a very few places where anglers can fish for sock­eye with­out hav­ing to be in the water — you can do excel­lent even from a wheel chair.

This spot in Ster­ling — at mile­post 82.3 at the Isaak Wal­ton Camp­ground — is where the Moose Riv­er meets the Kenai Riv­er, and the two rivers’ dif­fer­ing paces are dras­tic. The Moose Riv­er is very slow and wide, with almost no cur­rent — so much so that it feels more like a lake. The Kenai Riv­er, on the oth­er hand, flows fair­ly swift­ly in com­par­i­son, and the con­flu­ence can play strange tricks on your tackle.

Access point to fish the Kenai Riv­er between the Russ­ian Riv­er and Ski­lak Lake. Species found here include trout, dol­ly var­den, and salmon (kings, sock­eye, and sil­vers — depend­ing on time of year). There is a grav­el park­ing area and a boat launch point. Check with Alas­ka Depart­ment of Fish and Game for reg­u­la­tions and limits.

Access point to fish the Russ­ian Riv­er near the con­flu­ence of the Kenai and Russ­ian Rivers in Coop­er Land­ing. It also pro­vides park­ing for anglers using the Russ­ian Riv­er Fer­ry which is right next door. Fish­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for red (sock­eye) and sil­ver (coho) salmon, as well as dol­ly var­den and rain­bow trout.

If you like to fish, you’ve come to the right place. This is the Kenai/​Russian Riv­er Access and Sports­man­’s Access Site (ADF&G) and the Kenai-Russ­ian Riv­er Fer­ry. The fer­ry takes you across the Kenai Riv­er to the mouth of the famed Russ­ian Riv­er for some of the best fish­ing in Alaska.

The six-room B&B, in a log build­ing, is strict­ly no-frills, but you’ll find clean, com­fort­able rooms with one dou­ble bed and one twin bed. While they may be basic, you won’t find more afford­able lodg­ing in the area — there’s even a con­ti­nen­tal break­fast. It’s the per­fect choice for hard­core fish­er­men and adven­tur­ers who want a warm, clean, afford­able room to return to in the evening. 

At mile­post 75 of the Seward High­way, you’ll see a large pull­out with a road you can fol­low even fur­ther to access Ingram Creek. Fish­ing for Kings is not allowed, but oth­er salmon, trout, and dol­ly var­den when in sea­son. Check the ADF&G web­site for lim­its and guidelines. 

Res­ur­rec­tion Creek right in down­town Hope offers some of the best pink salmon fish­ing in the region dur­ing the late sum­mer run. Known as a great spot for kids to hook their first salmon.

Upper Sum­mit Lake is one of the most beau­ti­ful views along the Seward high­way. Sum­mit Lake Lodge is at one end, open sea­son­al­ly May through Sep­tem­ber. Behind the lake is Ten­der­foot Creek Camp­ground. Fish­ing avail­able for Dol­ly Var­den and Rain­bow Trout.

Mile­post 17.7, Seward High­wayKe­nai Lake offered a flat tree­less path to trav­el in win­ter. This trail was one of two over­land routes to Sun­rise and Hope. (The oth­er over­land route was through Portage Pass.) Min­ers trav­eled by dogsled from Seward to Snow Riv­er and on to Kenai Lake. At the oth­er end of the 17 mile lake, trav­el­ers would fol­low Quartz Creek north through Tur­na­gain Pass along Canyon Creek to the gold rush towns of Sun­rise and Hope.  ...more

16 sites in a wood­ed set­ting. There’s a fam­i­ly friend­ly trail that leads to Ptarmi­gan Lake. It’s a sev­en mile round trip and you’ll see sheep and goats along the way. There’s also good trout and Dol­ly Var­den fish­ing, so bring your gear.

91-site camp­ground for tents and RVs (no hook-ups). There’s a side-road that will take you to Kenai Lake, which has great trout fish­ing. The Kenai Riv­er has rain­bow and Dol­ly Var­den all through the summer.

8 site RV park and camp­ground (no hook-ups) next to Kenai Lake, man­aged by the Chugach Nation­al For­est. Near­by hik­ing trail is the 7.5 mile Prim­rose Trail to Lost Lake. Boat tramp and toi­lets. Anglers can fish for dol­ly var­den, lake trout and rain­bow trout. Check with ADF&G for cur­rent fish­ing regulations.  ...more

Great lake fish­ing near Seward for Dol­ly Var­den. Accord­ing to the Alas­ka Depart­ment of Fish & Game, fish­ing is best mid-May through ear­ly June and again in August and Sep­tem­ber. This lake is also a pop­u­lar ice fish­ing spot dur­ing the win­ter months.

These pop­u­lar trails lead to two beau­ti­ful, pris­tine lakes. Even bet­ter, they’re both easy hikes, which makes them per­fect for peo­ple of all ages. Bring a fish­ing pole and angle for stocked trout in Merid­i­an Lake or grayling in Grayling Lake.

This trail is also called the Prim­rose trail at the north end. It begins in a beau­ti­ful rain­for­est and even­tu­al­ly takes you up to a mul­ti­ple of beau­ti­ful lakes in high mead­ows. Anglers can fish for rain­bow trout in the lake.

This is a great spot to fish for Dol­ly Var­den begin­ning in August.

Small camp­ground with 9 camp­sites in the Chugach Nation­al For­est. All sites are first-come, first-served. Fish­ing for Dol­ly Var­den is great in Cres­cent Creek.

Quartz Creek camp­ground is sit­u­at­ed on the banks of sparkling Kenai Lake. This is a great spot to cool off on a hot day. Kenai Lake has a good sandy swim­ming beach and a trail that fol­lows along near­by Quartz Creek. Cast your line for some awe­some fly-fish­ing at the creek or look for the near­by horse sta­ble for a scenic ride. 

The six-room B&B, in a log build­ing, is strict­ly no-frills, but you’ll find clean, com­fort­able rooms with one dou­ble bed and one twin bed. While they may be basic, you won’t find more afford­able lodg­ing in the area — there’s even a con­ti­nen­tal break­fast. It’s the per­fect choice for hard­core fish­er­men and adven­tur­ers who want a warm, clean, afford­able room to return to in the evening. 

View­ing is easy due to the all-acc­ces­si­ble view­ing plat­form and stream­side trail. Sock­eye, chum, pink, and sil­ver salmon will be vis­i­ble August — November

Small camp­ground with an open park­ing area on the shores of Kel­ly Lake. Great, qui­et spot to choose if you have a kayak or canoe, or want to fish for trout.

Small, 3‑site camp­ground, tucked away from the noise of the Ster­ling High­way on the qui­et shore of Wat­son Lake. Bring your kayak or canoe and fish for rain­bow trout.

Camp out at this qui­et, clear­wa­ter lake, along Ski­lak Lake Road in the Kenai Nation­al Wildlife Refuge, where glac­i­ers once stood over 2,000 feet tall. There’s oppor­tu­ni­ties for fish­ing (and a boat launch) and a pic­nic area along the shore. All camp­sites are avail­able on a first-come, first served basis. 

Small, 3‑site, free camp­ground acces­si­ble via Ski­lak Lake Road. There are toi­lets and a rough boat launch. Anglers can fish for dol­ly var­den and rain­bow trout. Check with ADF&G for cur­rent regulations.

Small, free camp­ground acces­si­ble from Ski­lak Lake Road with 3 sites. Anglers can fish for Dol­ly Var­den and land­locked salmon.

Check out this salmon-friend­ly habi­tat and learn why so many salmon spawn here annually. 

Small, water­front camp­ground on the shores of shim­mer­ing Ski­lak Lake. There’s a boat launch and fish­ing. Refer to ADF&G for regulations.

Fish for rain­bow trout on Bar­bara Lake. There’s a boat launch on the south side of the lake off Pipeline Dri­ve, and a park­ing pad (room for about 3 vehi­cles) and walk­ing path to the lake on the north side off Bal­lard Drive. 

The trail is half a mile long and takes you through a mature birch for­est that is car­pet­ed with dev­il’s club and water­mel­on berry plants. It’s an easy walk­ing, ide­al for small chil­dren, and ends at a small camp­ing area on a slight bluff that over­looks Bish­op’s Beach and Bish­op Creek.

The Stormy Lake boat launch and day use area is locat­ed with­in the Cap­tain Cook State Recre­ation Area. Anglers can fish for rain­bow trout and Arc­tic Char in Stormy Lake. There’s a pic­nic shel­ter, water, and toi­lets avail­able on site.

Small camp­ground with 3 sites in the Kenai Nation­al Wildlife Refuge. Access to Swan­son riv­er and fish­ing for rain­bow trout, dol­ly var­den, and a small run of sil­ver salmon (mid-Sep­tem­ber). Vault toi­lets and boat launch.

Small, free, 12 site camp­ground in the Kenai Nation­al Wildlife Refuge. Fish in Dol­ly Var­den Lake for Dol­ly Var­den and Rain­bow trout.

Small road­side camp­ground along Swan Lake Road in the Kenai Nation­al Wildlife Refuge. 2 camp­sites and vault toi­let. Fish lake stocked with Arc­tic Char. 

Dur­ing the sum­mer months it’s a great spot for canoe­ing, kayak­ing, pad­dle board­ing, even pad­dle­board yoga. The cold­er months are just as live­ly as the warmer ones. There’s a skat­ing loop on the lake’s perime­ter, as well as sev­er­al skat­ing areas on the lake. The City offers free pub­lic skates Sat­ur­day after­noons, ice con­di­tions depen­dent, Decem­ber through February.

Pop­u­lar lake due to its close prox­im­i­ty to Sol­dot­na to fish for rain­bow trout and coho salmon. There’s also a boat launch, and on sun­ny sum­mer days locals will be kayak­ing, boat­ing, jet ski­ing, and tub­ing. There’s a paved park­ing area.

Day use area for fish­ing (stocked rain­bow trout and coho) and trail access, with pic­nic shel­ter and toi­lets. Access is just off the Ster­ling High­way and W Scout Lake Loop Road.

Kasilof Riv­er per­son­al use salmon fish­ery. Per­mit and fish­ing license required. Dip­net­ting avail­able to Alas­ka res­i­dents. Con­firm sea­son with ADF&G.

This is a pop­u­lar boat launch for drift boaters fish­ing for king salmon. The Kasilof Riv­er red salmon dip­net fish­ery is here, but only open to Alas­ka res­i­dents. It’s worth a look if you’ve nev­er seen dip­net­ters in action before. There are 16 camp­sites, water, tables, toi­lets, hik­ing trails, a boat launch and fishing.

48 camp­sites by John­son Lake, a pop­u­lar lake for pad­dling and fish­ing for rain­bow trout in Kasilof, just south of Sol­dot­na. There’s also a day-use pic­nic area. Some camp­sites can be reserved in advance. 

Access Cen­ten­ni­al Lake by dri­ving Tuste­me­na Lake Road. There’s a sign for the lake on the left-hand side. There’s a sandy beach area and some spaces to park a vehi­cle or RV. There are no restrooms. The lake is stocked with land-locked salmon and rain­bow trout.

King salmon enter dur­ing late-May and ear­ly-June and there are always some fish spawn­ing in areas near the high­way dur­ing ear­ly-July. Wear polar­ized glass­es if you have them and watch for dark red kings in the rif­fles and deep­er holes. A very lim­it­ed fish­ing sea­son is avail­able on these streams dur­ing the ear­ly sum­mer for both salmon and steelhead.

King salmon enter Deep Creek dur­ing late May and ear­ly June and con­tin­ue to spawn into ear­ly July. Watch for their dark red bod­ies in the rif­fles and deep­er holes. A very lim­it­ed fish­ing sea­son is pro­vid­ed dur­ing the ear­ly sum­mer for kings and steelheads.

Although this can be a busy spot, it is a lot less con­gest­ed than the Homer Spit. Things to do here include: tak­ing small day hikes, pad­dling in the lagoon, camp­ing, stay­ing at one of the three near­by pub­lic use cab­ins, and the most pop­u­lar, fish­ing for Kings dur­ing the month of June.

Locat­ed towards the head of Tut­ka Bay on the north side is Tut­ka Bay Falls. The beach in front of the falls is a good spot for clam dig­ging, pink salmon fish­ing and just loung­ing around. Explore along the trail that par­al­lels the water­fall and take a back­coun­try show­er in one of the pools. Be cour­te­ous of pri­vate prop­er­ty in this area.

The Nick Dudi­ak Fish­ing Lagoon (aka The Fish­ing Hole) is a pop­u­lar park with both locals and vis­i­tors. The lagoon is stocked with fry that grow up to pro­vide sport fish­ing. The fish­ing hole has a hand­i­capped acces­si­ble plat­form and ramp. King salmon return mid-May to ear­ly July fol­lowed by an ear­ly run of sil­vers mid-July to ear­ly August and a late run ear­ly August to mid-September.

This easy trail winds along the banks of three lakes. There is a camp­ing area on the side of the trail. The trail climbs a sad­dle and drops down into the val­ley. It can be dan­ger­ous to cross the rivers, as they are glac­i­er-fed and you can­not see the bot­tom. The rivers are low­er dur­ing the begin­ning of the year, but they are also colder.

This is one of the few spots along the road sys­tem where you might catch hal­ibut from the shore. Check out the beach, which sur­rounds the Land’s End Hotel, on the Homer Spit. Here, you’ll find a small park­ing lot, and the water’s only about 100 feet away.