Woohoo! I got the go ahead from the wife yesterday to start planning our Alasakan Vacation for next May. We are going to the Kenai Peninsula for a week sometime over the Memorial Day weekend. I will have the wife and two kids with me so it's intended to be a family vacation. Dang I am lucky to have a wife who chose Alaska over Disneyland! I have a friend in Soldotna that I want to visit that is going to hook us up with some stuff to do and see. I know we have a lot of AK experience on here as well so I wanted to ask if anyone had some must do and see's in the Soldotna/Kenai area that is family friendly. Looking to drive in from Anchorage and stay in furnished cabin rather than a hotel. Open to suggestions!

Joey, what a carrot on a stick!
This is a great place to get information on your adventure. I'm sure this thread will be a long one.
Let me be the first to wish you well and take care up to then. Chance

If you are going to go fishing on the crowded Kenai or Kasilof river, look no further than "Iron" Mike Wheat. http://www.fishwheat.com

The dude is a fishing machine. When you get into a hot spot and start hooking up, he rows the friggin' boat upstream so you can do it again!

He also helped us out with accommodations. We stayed at a real nice place right on the river, the owners name was Jackie but I can't remember the name of her outfit.

That's all I got.

AvidFlyer wrote:Woohoo! I got the go ahead from the wife yesterday to start planning our Alasakan Vacation for next May. We are going to the Kenai Peninsula for a week sometime over the Memorial Day weekend. I will have the wife and two kids with me so it's intended to be a family vacation. Dang I am lucky to have a wife who chose Alaska over Disneyland! I have a friend in Soldotna that I want to visit that is going to hook us up with some stuff to do and see. I know we have a lot of AK experience on here as well so I wanted to ask if anyone had some must do and see's in the Soldotna/Kenai area that is family friendly. Looking to drive in from Anchorage and stay in furnished cabin rather than a hotel. Open to suggestions!

Well, of course, down on the Kenai, there is always Portage Valley, Hope, Seward, Homer, Seldovia, and Halibut Cove. These are all great destinations for all of the family with good attractions. Look them up on the internet. You should really enjoy the trip if the weather cooperates.

If you want just a little more adventure, get in touch with Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. It is on the other side of the inlet, Great bear viewing that time of year, Great people.Great Lodge.
http://www.silversalmoncreek.com/

David and his crew will treat you well

My wife and I just got done tent camping across the peninsula. We stopped at Soldotna for a couple of days and did some fishing and visited a friend. After that we drove down to Homer and spent a couple of days camping on the beach of the spit and just seeing the sites (Homer Brewing Company, Bear Creek Winery, etc.). Bring $$ if you want to go on a halibut charter. We then drove over to Seward but the weather was crappy and forecast to stay the same for a few days so we just stayed the night and headed north again. We had intended to hike the Harding Ice Field trail but didn't want to do so in pouring rain. On our way down to the peninsula we hiked Flattop Mountain (1st 3/4 was nice, last 1/4 was pretty tough) just outside of Anchorage and also hiked out to see the Byron Glacier (easy stroll through a maintained trail in the woods) just South of Girdwood.

There's lots of cool things to do!

Thank You for the replies. Fishing is not very high up on the priority list for this trip so that should make things a bit easier. I would love for the kids to see a grizzly catching a fish though.

Your priorities are all screwed up dude!

gbflyer wrote:Your priorities are all screwed up dude!

GBF, I told him the same thing, I got boats for all kinds of fishing, but if its bears he wants to see, well, I got a few places picked out for him Will see how he feels about getting up close and personal with them!

Sorry guys if it were just flying and fishing would be the only thing on the menu. Unfortunately fishing is not nearly as exciting for the wife and kids.

I will second the Silver Salmon Creek suggestion, it is awesome to see the bears up close. It is an easy beach to land on. That time of year you should see spring cubs. Always a treat!