Kayaking with Icebergs in Bear Glacier Lagoon

By Moira Finn

If you ever find yourself following your dreams and coming to Alaska one day, you must visit Seward; and once you’re in Seward, you must do the coolest kayaking tour ever. Liquid Adventures does an exceptional job at creating an experience you could only have in the Kenai Peninsula. This tour encompasses all the best that Alaska has to offer with the abundant wildlife, ubiquitous snow capped mountains, and ice---lots of it. 

  The trip began in the Liquid Adventures shop where our guides Pyper and Anneliese briefed us on what the day would look like and helped us gear up and ready ourselves for an adventure. The company provides retro dry suits for each guest to wear as well as a classy pair of crocs. Not only do you get an incredible tour experience, but you get to look better than ever during it. Pyper then drove us over to the boat harbor where we met our captain, Brendan. We then hopped on board our little jet boat and started the 45 minute ride towards Bear Glacier.

  If you’ve never been on a jet boat before, brace yourself for the wildest yet most fun boat ride of your life. If you’re an adrenaline junkie like myself, sit closer to the captain, that way you bounce and bob with every bump---quite literally being thrown off your seat. Shortly into our ride, Brendan slowed down and pointed out a couple mountain goats---a nanny and a kid---perched atop the most precarious point possible. Anneliese passed around a pair of  binoculars so each of us could take a closer look in awe at these agile creatures. Although we could’ve doted on them for hours, we had to resume our ride to the lagoon. As soon as we began speeding off, a puffinry, which is fittingly what a group of puffins is called, flew alongside us to wish us well on our journey.

As we approached the rocky beach where our kayaks awaited us, Brendan noticed his friend flying a seaplane above and naturally began racing him for a moment before he made the sharp turn to drop us off. It was quite the eventful boat ride, and the perfect start to this adventure. We offloaded onto the shore and got our equipment ready. Pyper went over some kayak basics before we took off, and I of course had to snap a few group selfies. Our group was all coincidentally from the Midwest, so we had a genuine camaraderie right off the bat. 

The water was unbelievably calm this morning, so as we set sail for the lagoon it felt as though we were merely gliding along. Within just a few minutes, we rounded the corner and arrived into the Bear Glacier Lagoon---the most epic iceberg playground you’ll ever see. Collectively, we were speechless. The monstrosity and abundance of the icebergs truly takes your breath away. Additionally, the recently rolled ones exhibited a deep sky blue hue that was even more pronounced with the contrasting overcast clouds. The setting was as serene and epic as it could be.

We continued to paddle around together, taking copious amounts of photos of all the surrounding ice and one another. We were sure to be careful to not get too close to the big bergs, as they are unpredictable and can roll at anytime, which could undoubtedly squash you. As we followed Pyper’s lead, we paddled ourselves into a narrow path among smaller ice chunks, giving us an even more immersive experience. After about an hour of dreamy paddling around the lagoon, Pyper announced that we had one more stop before we had to book it back to the beach. We pulled up to the side of this hilly peninsula, parked our kayaks, and followed him up the thick vegetation. It only took a minute or two to arrive on the top at his favorite viewpoint; I didn’t think it could get more breathtaking, but here we were lifted above the lagoon with a view of every single ice berg out there and Bear Glacier just 3 miles away in the distance. A light sprinkle began to fall---or as we call it up here, “liquid sunshine”---and there we stood with big smiles and deep respect and appreciation for the Alaskan natural beauty. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to wrap up the tour.

With our newfound feeling of expert kayakers, we briskly paddled back to meet Brendan and our dear jet boat near the shore. As we retrieved our belongings from the kayaks, Anneliese graciously offered us each a cookie to conclude our adventure---as if we weren’t satisfied enough. We joined Captain Brendan on board and shared our photos with one another as we processed the overwhelmingly sublime experience. With a smooth and inevitably scenic ride back to the Seward harbor, the tour was complete. We thanked our guides for their expertise and friendly demeanor. After returning our drysuits and crocs, we said our goodbyes and all parted ways to embark on new adventures, knowing we had now made new friends in one another by sharing this once-in-a-lifetime experience.